Jessica Minieri
ENG 110
“Consider the Lobster” Response
- If I could invite David Foster Wallace into the classroom, I would want to ask why he chose to write this series of inquiries in the format that he did. He claims in the writing that he isn’t trying to be preachy and tell people what to do, but just explain some of the questions he has running through his mind. I would therefore wonder why he did not present this in a format in which people could answer his questions. I would also want to ask Wallace what his actions are when consuming any meats. He claims to be polarly against the idea of eating lobsters, but I would be curious if he himself is a vegan. How could one be against the consuming of essentially brainless invertebrates, but then not “higher-type mammals”. I would also be curious to ask what his parents’ stance on this essay is. They were born in Maine, and therefore probably have a distinct opinion on the issue, and I would be curious if that influenced Wallace at all.
- I believe one of the biggest limits of written discussion is the lack of conversational style included. As I was reading and annotating this text, I found myself wondering both some big background questions about Wallace, as well as a few minor conventional questions. It is impossible to know exactly what your reader will be thinking, due to the fact that everyone comes from different perspectives, but I believe one of the best ways to anticipate questions is to get asked questions: that is showing the piece to others, and having them ask questions in which you answer in the piece. I believe Wallace actually did an excellent job at this. There were multiple times where he would write something, and I would jot a question on the side, only to have him answer that very question a few sentences down the page. However, one difficult side to this is his one-sided perspective. Throughout the essay, due to his vocabulary use, it is clear that he is against the idea of eating lobsters, or at least the way they are prepared. He then neglects to answer some of the questions that those disagreeing with him may have.
