Writing
After having read David Foster Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster,” please address each of the following questions:
- What is Wallace “reporting” on? He attends the Maine Lobster Festival, obviously, but is this “report” confined to that particular event? To ask a little differently (and perhaps less rhetorically) using the terms of this course: What are the universalizable themes in this essay? How much of what Wallace presents is confined to simply reporting on an event celebrating lobster consumption/commercialism, and how much of it is trying to get at something more broadly human?
- Which aspects (please address content as well as style/structure) of Wallace’s “reporting” were unexpected, surprising, or simply different than what you expected? Be specific and take the time to substantively explain what expectations/preconceptions you possessed that shaped your unexpected/surprised response?
- Explain the role of bias in this piece. Connect that role to the level of effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the piece. Where was this published? How might the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the piece change if it was published in a newspaper (even a large one like the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal)?
Your post length should be 900 words (approximately 300 words for each question). Use MLA citations as needed. Additionally, respond substantively (300-400 words) to the posts of two peers.
link to consider the lobster 7 pages. http://www.columbia.edu/~col8/lobsterarticle.pdf
