Jacob Hickey
ENG 110-H4
Professor Miller
- Imagine you could invite David Foster Wallace into the discussion in our classroom. What questions would you ask him about this essay?
If David Foster Wallace were invited into the discussion in our classroom, I would ask him several questions. I would want to know what influenced him in writing and exploring the Maine Lobster Festival. The only small association with Maine was one of his parents, who was born in the northern-inland section of the state. Therefore, he really had little prior dealings with the state itself and its main industries such as lobster. During this reading, I wanted to ask him about the topic of the food chain. As I read, I was pondering these questions, “Isn’t a lion preying on a small zebra or other animal the same as us eating lobster or any other meat? Isn’t this the way we survive, as humans are omnivorous creatures?” I did however find it interesting the point of view he took on the whole topic of the harshness with which humans cook lobster, boiling and other cooking practices. I wanted to know specifically what happened at the Maine Lobster Festival that triggered his desire to write about this very rarely thought about topic. When eating lobster, I have never given a second thought into the way lobsters are cooked, and I assume many people felt the same when reading this excerpt. Has he had any dealings since writing this piece with PETA, or have they ignored his enlightenment of the masses on the cruel ways lobsters are cooked? I also want to know where he received all his knowledge about lobsters. Was it from reputable sources, such as a marine biologist or from a textbook in a library? Even with all of these questions, I became open-minded on this topic and will pause to reflect the next time I have the opportunity for a lobster dinner.
- Use that experience to think about larger issues, specifically, what are the limits of a written discussion? How might you anticipate your audience’s questions when you write?
Written discussions have a number of limitations that oral discussions do not. For example, people engaging in written dialogue are not able to often grasp tone, as well as, emphasis on words or phrases. Oral discussions have the advantage of being much richer because they can develop from participants sensing tone, inflection or body language or the emphasis of key points to be made. For instance, if I were to have a written discussion in which I ask the question about the lion killing his prey, it could be interpreted by the reader in several ways and it leaves a less clear understanding of whether I personally have an angry tone or a ponderous tone about his topic. It leaves the discussion with more room for misinterpretation.
In order to anticipate the audience’s questions, first you must conduct research and find out the point of view of the audience or know what certain audience members views are on the certain topic at hand. For example, Wallace speaking to a group of lobstermen would expect different questions than if the audience were made up of PETA members. It would be important to research that ahead of time in order to prepare and be able to address potential concerns specific to the audience.
