In the Oxford English Dictionary, a\u00a0genre can be defined as a “a type of literary work characterized by a particular form, style or purpose”(OED). In \u00a0\u201cNavigating Genres,\u201d 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\u00a0a writing piece to artistically send out a message in their own unique way.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cThis is Water\u201d by David Wallace, the author addresses this preciously but also\u00a0includes “didactic little parable-ish stories”(Wallace 5)\u00a0to break up the traditional themes\u00a0a graduation speech contains. One of these stories is about two\u00a0young fish\u00a0that have no awareness\u00a0of the water they are in. This idea of awareness is a\u00a0big key\u00a0that\u00a0the speaker emphasizes. Wallace explains\u00a0the importance of not falling into a \u201cdefault setting\u201d (Wallace 3) \u00a0but in fact, being consistently\u00a0 consciously aware in the way one thinks.<\/p>\n
David Wallace also advises the soon to be graduates of a liberal arts university that in the \u201creal world\u201d (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\u00a0“day in day out”(Wallace 3)\u00a0activities the graduates will soon\u00a0face. This is unlike the stereotypical graduation\u00a0speech as a genre since it is thought to be uplifting to the graduate and primarily positive. This said,\u00a0the writer\u00a0conclusively\u00a0emphasizes 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the Oxford English Dictionary, a\u00a0genre can be defined as a “a type of literary work characterized by a particular form, style or purpose”(OED). In \u00a0\u201cNavigating Genres,\u201d by Kerry Dirk, the writer emphasizes that genres explain the overall characteristics of Continue reading