Eating Environment

One of the distinct characteristics of David Foster Wallace’s writing style is his common use of catalog. When listing what was present at the Maine Lobster Festival in his article "Consider the Lobster", Wallace says, "Also available are lobster rolls, lobster turnovers, lobster saute, Down East lobster salad, lobster bisque, lobster ravioli, and deep-fried lobster dumplings." Another important feature that shines through his author’s voice is his extreme attention to detail and his creative ways of describing these details. Wallace writes with high diction and a variety of sentence structure and length.
Below, I have inserted a small excerpt of me explaining an extreme version of our school lunchroom while adopting some of David Foster Wallace’s writing techniques.

Slimy, gooey, watery substances slid around my lunch try as I walked into the cafeteria, trying to find a seat. My eyes scanned the room- jumping from the annoying freshman talking too loudly, to the stressed sophomores trying to cram for their ap chem test, to the exhausted juniors complaining of lack of sleep and standardized tests, and finally to the unmotivated seniors questioning their whole existence and future. Between the crowds of students scrambling to finish their homework due next class period and the piles of trash and backpacks, there was hardly enough room for me to actually sit at a table. The distinct "school lunch" scent flooded into my nostrils as I pondered upon the mind-boggling thought that the lunch room seemed to smell exactly the same every single day despite the variety of meals being served. As I settled for half of a plastic circular seat and the very corner of a table, I struggled to identify the components of my burrito, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to make that discovery. I meticulously picked through the bits of mystery meats and vegetables on my tray and slowly classified each piece into “food for me” and “food for the trash”.

Comments

  1. Amanda KovacsMarch 10, 2019 at 8:06 AM

    This was a great description of the cafeteria! I think people who have never been in it could totally envision the atmosphere after reading this. I loved how you were able to capture Wallace's style from consider the lobster :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. molly capelliMarch 10, 2019 at 12:35 PM

    I really like your description. I feel like you captured Wallace’s style perfectly while also accurate describing the craziness that is our cafeteria at lunch. Another great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Richard LiMarch 11, 2019 at 5:48 AM

    What a vivid description of the lunchroom! “Flooding my nostrils,” “meticulously picked,” I really felt that I was in the lunchroom with you (which, ocassionally, I am) and experiencing the same thing. Your description really brings back that scent to my head, so great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Isabella SmithMarch 11, 2019 at 10:19 AM

    I liked all of your imagery and description through the piece it made me feel like I was there! It was really interesting and I enjoyed reading it

    ReplyDelete

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