Shipping Out

            David Foster Wallace is nearly pampered to death as he recounts his time on a luxurious cruise with a lot of older people. He starts off his story by giving his audience a summary of what occurred during his cruise and the lessons that he learned from the encounters he had with the ship’s crew as well as the people enjoying the cruise. He uses a lot of anaphora to explain the sheer amount of information that he has learned from his time on the cruise. He proceeds to discuss how the brochure about the cruise was falsely advertising what would actually happen while on the cruise. With every example and story, Wallace describes to his audience how that moment affected him. By using these examples and quotes, Wallace is able to back up his arguments and establish ethos. One prominent description is of how he decides to carry his luggage to his room instead of allowing one of the carriers to do it almost getting him fired. This helps show how the cruise makes him feel over-pampered allowing his readers to understand the predicament that he was in and allows for Wallace to establish a connection back to the brochure he describes earlier.

            He keeps his audience engaged by making these specific connections from himself to the events on the cruise. By delving deeper and reflecting on his interactions with the crew members and others that are enjoying the cruise, the audience is able to feel connected to Wallace. He makes his writing meaningful and intriguing with his writing techniques and just understanding what his brain is thinking at those specific times. Wallace does a fantastic job recounting his experience and showing his connections to the cruise.