Over the past year and a half, the McConnell Center has introduced me to great minds of both past and present. I have been challenged by the works of John Lukacs, and changed by St. Augustine’s “Confessions.” I have been inspired by the works of Wendell Berry, and influenced by C.S. Lewis’ “Surprised by Joy.” Even Western fiction author Louis L’Amour has contributed to my growth. However, the ideas and values imparted to me by the words of these great minds would mean significantly less if I had not encountered the work of David Foster Wallace.
Wallace has been named “one of the most influential and innovated writers of the last twenty years” by The Los Angeles Times. His most widely known novel, Infinite Jest, was included in Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Greatest Novels (covering the period 1923-2006). I have read a number of Wallace’s essays and short stories, and I have recently begun the 1,079-page journey that is Infinite Jest; but the most valuable lesson I have learned from DFW is found in the short anecdote he gave during his commencement address to the 2005 graduates of Kenyon College in Ohio:
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How's the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’”
The point of this fish story, according to Wallace, “is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” This means that if we are ever to experience any type of growth, we must be able to look beyond the ‘lens of self’ to truly understand the people and experiences that we daily encounter.
So what does that mean?
For the two fish in Wallace’s anecdote, it means seeing the water and remembering that it is transient. For a sophomore McConnell Scholar, it means being “just a little less arrogant” so that I may obtain a little more “critical awareness about myself and my certainties.” It means being a little less self-centered so that I may live a more compassionate and meaningful life.
Wallace has been named “one of the most influential and innovated writers of the last twenty years” by The Los Angeles Times. His most widely known novel, Infinite Jest, was included in Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Greatest Novels (covering the period 1923-2006). I have read a number of Wallace’s essays and short stories, and I have recently begun the 1,079-page journey that is Infinite Jest; but the most valuable lesson I have learned from DFW is found in the short anecdote he gave during his commencement address to the 2005 graduates of Kenyon College in Ohio:
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How's the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’”
To read the full text, click here: [http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words]
The point of this fish story, according to Wallace, “is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” This means that if we are ever to experience any type of growth, we must be able to look beyond the ‘lens of self’ to truly understand the people and experiences that we daily encounter.
So what does that mean?
For the two fish in Wallace’s anecdote, it means seeing the water and remembering that it is transient. For a sophomore McConnell Scholar, it means being “just a little less arrogant” so that I may obtain a little more “critical awareness about myself and my certainties.” It means being a little less self-centered so that I may live a more compassionate and meaningful life.