In the Oxford English Dictionary, a genre can be defined as a “a type of literary work characterized by a particular form, style or purpose”(OED). In  “Navigating Genres,” by Kerry Dirk, the writer emphasizes that genres explain the overall characteristics of a writing piece and how vital it is for a reader to be aware of the different genres. Genres allows the author of a writing piece to artistically send out a message in their own unique way.

One of these genres is a graduation speech, in which a listener can expect to hear life changing advice . In a particular speech that became a book called “This is Water” by David Wallace, the author addresses this preciously but also includes “didactic little parable-ish stories”(Wallace 5) to break up the traditional themes a graduation speech contains. One of these stories is about two young fish that have no awareness of the water they are in. This idea of awareness is a big key that the speaker emphasizes. Wallace explains the importance of not falling into a “default setting” (Wallace 3)  but in fact, being consistently  consciously aware in the way one thinks.

David Wallace also advises the soon to be graduates of a liberal arts university that in the “real world” (Wallace 2) they must keep in mind of others and see other individuals point of view. As an example, the author uses being stuck in a long grocery line and instead of seeing them as people in their way, they may be going through a tough time such as a long day at work. Wallace does not mask the ideas of adulthood as a fabled great escape, instead he points out the realities about the negatives and “day in day out”(Wallace 3) activities the graduates will soon face. This is unlike the stereotypical graduation speech as a genre since it is thought to be uplifting to the graduate and primarily positive. This said, the writer conclusively emphasizes that as students we must not have a negative view on life but instead take life as it comes and enjoy it from a different perspective constantly.