Sheeple

            In David Foster Wallace’s speech, “Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he identifies mostly negative issues. Such as, asking us to pretend we are someone in line at a grocery store and we absolutely hate everyone there because they are creating the biggest line, thus enabling you to leave fast and go home. With references such as these his speech is much different than other commencement speeches that are given today. But within his message, I feel he is trying to tell everyone there, not only the students, the Capital T-Truth of what really happens in everyday life.

            David created a fictional person that is stuck at a dead end job, dislikes everything towards the end of his day because he is unable to go home straight after work. This person is hungry and has to go to the grocery store to pick up food. The fictional character is doing and feeling the same like every other person in the store. They are all alike. I like to call this category of people: sheeple. Why sheeple? Well, if you know anything about sheep, you would realize that if one sheep turns left the entire pack turns left as well. They are all followers. None of them are able to think on their own without the whole group deciding what is going to happen. People can relate in the same way. Everyone feeling tired and wanting to go home did not “think outside the box.” As cliché as it sounds, it is true. According to his story, no one was able to find his or her own identity.

            Even though Wallace’s speech in blunt or straightforward it makes me think: how will choose my path? Will I be a sheeple or will I find a purpose in life and try to live through that purpose? I believe his message is trying to show everyone, through his words, that we all exercise choice. Whether a major or minor, we all choose what we are going to do everyday. We each need to be our own person and have our own thoughts and ideas. We each have to think realistically. Without this kind of reasoning, I believe that we cannot move forward in our world today. Obviously not everyone can make a difference in the world with deductive reasoning, but knowing and understanding how to can create a difference in our own lives. Because either way, we are going to end up being that person in the grocery store or we are going to say no to that choice and become someone who makes a difference in the world.