Do we eat to live, or live to eat? Food is essential for our survival, but people do not pay attention to the ethics behind the food that they consume. In “Considering the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace aims to regard and think about what people consume. Similar to the idea of Alice Waters, the famous American Chef and owner of Chez Panisse, he explores that eating is a political act that is present in every single choice that people make about food matters. He attempts to criticize the actions of MLF, the Maine Lobster Festival, and open people’s eyes to the cruelty that happens to lobsters. He emphasizes the pain of the lobsters and focuses on their cooking process. In addition, Wallace writes describing the agonizing pain that lobsters feel when they are boiled alive. In addition, he argues that through people’s eyes, lobsters are not considered meat. Wallace brings up some controversial topics about animal rights that so many people tend to avoid. In other words, Wallace is asking people to be aware and think of what they eat. He uses some of rhetorical strategies that get the reader thinking of the feelings of the lobsters.
Taste tends to
…show more content…
Wallace describes the pain in which the lobster may experience. He writes, “Lobsters do not on the other hand, appear to have the equipment for making or absorbing natural opioids like endorphins and enkephalins, which are what more advanced nervous systems use to try to handle intense pain. From this fact, though, one could conclude… that lobsters are maybe even more vulnerable to pain…” (Wallace 7). He writes this to make us think that the food that we sometime consume, can experience pain. Like politics, we must understand what hardships took place to get to the point for example where a law is passed. He wants the reader to be aware of what he is eating and not just eat it for the pleasure but rather be considerate and open minded to what the food on his plate
In his essay consider the Lobster; it is apparent what Wallace is trying to tell the reader: we should really think about the lobster before or while consuming it.wallace uses many rhetorical strategies to prove his point of view. His use of rhetorical strategies puts the readers in thinking and captures the argument of many vegetarians against the consumption of animals. Wallace explores about the lobsters. He begins by giving a brief explanation about the loaine lobster festival and brief introduction about lobster, what lobster actually is.
As a matter of fact, the lobster industry contributes significantly to the growth of the local tourism in the US, and the Maine lobsters account for over half the total lobsters supplied for the industry. This is well to say that the lobster production is self-sufficient and enough to cater for the requirements. This is especially because the festival is annual. If we consider the biological aspect of the creature, it is one in a large group but still does not at any point fall under the group of the endangered species. As the author states, “The point is that lobsters are giant sea-insects.”
David Foster Wallace's article "Consider the Lobster" analyzes the agony that Lobsters feel when they are being bubbled invigorated to be devoured by Humans. He utilizes the lobster for instance to grow his examination, drawing out the relationship amongst people and the creatures that we devour. Wallace begins of his paper by saying the Maine Lobster Festival and its colossal horde of more than 80,000 individuals that devour more than 25,000 pounds of lobster amid the 5 days that the celebration keeps going. He begins off the paper with esteem in his tone as he depicts the Maine Lobster Festival to his perusers. After he's done lauding the celebration, Wallace uncovers
In David Foster Wallace's, "Consider the Lobster", he comes at a topic of animal cruelty. Writing this article for a food magazine, Gourmet, Wallace knows the audience his is writing to is most likely not interested in thinking about the way the animals are treated before they consume them. Using a number of techniques, he gets his readers to at least just think about this topic, without trying to persuade them to quit eating meat. Wallace implies ethos using sophisticated language and pathos using imagery in an effective way to get through his readers. "Consider the Lobster” was written in a way that makes the reader feel that the author is credible.
We are all familiar with the notion of “pleasure.” Simple pleasures are ever-present in our lives but complex, extended pleasures are fulfilling yet fleeting. They bring about intense experiences to gratify our desires, although they are not a necessity, in the same way slaughtering and plating an overhunted species is not absolutely imperative. However, despite my own belief that an endangered species is not to be poached upon, I commend Liz Alderman for completing “Chefs Fight for Songbird” in a way in which she successfully set key points from both sides of the arguments while also discreetly and strategically establishing and backing her own position in the feud. For those completely unfamiliar with the topic, Alderman might be able to
This short story explains and questions how people find eating animals morally acceptable. Steiner 's short story explains that whenever people think these animals are being treated respectfully they are being ignorant to the fact of how these animals are truly treated; Steiner brings up the fact of how an animals typical horrid life is and how it transitions from its horrid life to being killed by a butcher in a matter of seconds. Moreover, Steiner also adheres to the topic of how unacceptable, it is to kill these animals just for human consumption. Steiner 's purpose in writing this short story is to display to us the fact that eating any animal is not only wrong, but it is just downright unacceptable as it is mass murder of these innocent animals. Finally, Steiner tries to define at his best, what a strict vegan truly
David Foster Wallace is known for his work in countless articles including “Big Red Son”, “F/X Porn” and “Federer as a Religious Experience”. He covers very bold topics such as self castration, government defying conspiracies and godly athletes. In his work titled “Consider the Lobster” which is about the Main Lobster Festival, and how they boil thousands of lobsters in a giant pot for all the attendees. Wallace effectively proves his thesis of that people should consider the animal they are consuming, not stop eating it all together, but simply consider it. Wallace begins building his credibility by explaining what the Maine Lobster Festival is and how it became a New England tourist attraction.
As he was leaving the water he sees a lobster like creature
By doing this, it makes his final statements all the more effective and thought-provoking since the audience is subconsciously making the connection between how dogs should be treated as food and how other animals are currently being treated as food. Yet, he hides this connection under the guise of a harmless argument for the consumption of dogs, making his final argument a realization, of sorts, for the reader. The sudden shift of focus from
Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Consider the Lobster The lobster is a disgustingly beautiful creature, known for its delicate taste, menacing shell and controversy. In his essay, “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace describes the events and festivities of the Maine Lobster Festival and the history of the lobster to deliver a poignant message about the moral implications of killing and eating animals. Wallace is able to develop his position and vividly capture the audience’s attention through a strong use of humor, deliberate tonal shifts and a unique structure. David Foster Wallace, and “Consider the Lobster” in particular, are known for their footnotes- and for good reason.
It said that a lobster’s nervous system is quite simple and it is ill-equipped to feel pain; however, Wallace explains that the claim is “incorrect in about nine different ways”(pg60). He convinces the reader by first of all displaying the information in an easy to read and unbiased way. Wallace then explains the anatomy of a lobster and shows the reader that lobsters have a centralized nervous system. Then, he uses a mixture of logical and pathetic appeal to demonstrate that lobster’s can sense the scorching hot water, by saying “Lobsters have pain receptors sensitive to potentially damaging extremes of temperature,”(pg63). While saying that, he reports the “struggling, thrashing, and lid-clattering” which occurs when the lobsters’ are in a boiling kettle, Wallace asserts that due to the lobsters’ behavior and neurological build-up show that a lobster can perceive pain, by saying that a lobster’s action show a preference to not get boiled alive, and this preference leads to the lobster suffering.
Ethics can be based off of preference on this topic by acknowledging that lobsters are sentient beings and that humans should have “the willingness to exert personal agency and accept responsibility”(Wallace 6) if they partake in the practice of boiling lobsters. Another step towards a moral and ethical practice is trying to understand why humans disconnect and dissociate themselves from the similarities found in other species. It is acknowledged that the “clacking” of lobsters in a boiling pot are indications of pain, but there are prolong and complicated effort to reach this answer. This difficulty stems from the fact that lobsters are not place on the same level of importance. The author states, “I have not succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of selfishly convenient.”
Meals in literature often represent something bigger, bringing communities together in a form of communion. However, this is not the case; in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the meals are ironic they help to show discord and strife among the characters of the book. She uses meals to foreshadow future events, reveal the flaws of the characters, and as the book progresses, allows for the reader to see character development. In novel, Kingsolver twists the normal connotation of a meal and makes it ironic in order to demonstrate the discord and strife that is commonplace throughout the book that shows the lack of community between the Prices and those they interact with for most of the book.
“Consider the Lobster,” by David Foster Wallace, published in the August 2004 edition of Gourmet Magazine explores the morality of the consumption of lobsters through the analysis of the Maine Lobster Festival. Foster Wallace guides his readers through his exploration of the festival and general circumstances of lobster eating before evoking a sense of obligation to the creature’s well being. His gentle slide into the ‘big picture’ through his causal argument wades readers into the depths of his thoughts through the power of storytelling until they are left with no choice but to engage with their own perception of the act with skepticism. Ultimately, the passage commands readers to reexamine their own consumption of lobsters regardless of
Likewise, he demonstrates his discomfort about society’s acceptance of lobster’s pain and dismissal of their essence. However, in order to understand Wallace’s real intention in the essay, it is necessary to know his perspective towards modern society. By reading the Incarnation of Burned Children, it is possible to relate the society issues displayed, with considering the Lobster issues. The inability of lobsters, or the child, to communicate their pain of our careless acts is what disturbs Wallace. Therefore, he displays different examples to persuade the readers that society’s morality is corrupted and that the whole industry of boiling lobsters alive is accepted under a false premise that some animals are not deserving of protection, or are not ‘highly developed’ to feel pain.