Sameshima1

KairiSameshima

5/9/15

WTESpring15
LeahSouffrant

Lobsters,Lust,andLuxury

Asidefromalloftheguntoddlingloonieswhowouldsayotherwise,prohibitionofany
lawfromimpedingthefreedomofspeechisbyfaroneofthemostcelebratedandpracticed
civilrightsintheUnitedStates.Thisfreespeechmixedwiththirtymillionofthehealthiest,
wealthiestcitizensintheworld,isanidealformulaforthemostinterestingofcultures.Inthis
expansivecountry,peoplecongregatebasedontheirinterestsandopinions,creatingan
expansivenetworkofcommunitiesandsubcultures.However,withanyresearchinto
subcultures,oneoftenfindsthatthesegroupsareexclusiveanddifficulttofullycomprehend
fromadistance.Inordertofullyanthropologizethesesubcultures,theresearchermustfully
embraceandintegratethemselveswithintheculturewhilesimultaneouslywritingtheirworkin
awaythatisaccessibletoallreaders.AsIreadtheessaysofDavidFosterWallace,became
moreintimatewithhiswritingstyle,Icametotherealizationthathisessaysarenotjusttrivial
storiesofhistravelsandgoings,butratherasetofdetailedanthropologiesaboutvarious
Americansubcultures.WitheachessaythatIread,hiswritingappearedaspiecesinthe
anthologyofthegreatAmericanculturaldiaspora.
ThefirstthingonewillnoticewhenreadingWallacesworkisthatallofhisessaysare
basedonhispersonalexperiencesandencounters.HistriptotheMarylandLobsterFestival
inConsidertheLobster,hisluxurycruiseinShippingOutonthe(nearlylethal)comfortsof

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aluxurycruise
,
hisattendancetotheAdultVideoNewsAwardsinBigRedSon,andhis
recountingofwherehewasonSeptember11thasreadinTheViewfromMrs.Tompkins
House,allofthesearebasedonWallacespersonalexperience.Yettheyareanythingbut
autobiographies.Theyreobservations.Theyreanthropologies.LiketheNewWorldexplorer
thatlivesdeepwithinthecongotolearnthecultureofthenatives,Wallaceimmerseshimself
withineachofthesegatheringsofsubculturalcommunities.TakeShippingOut

forinstance,
whilehecouldhavewrittenaboutthecruiseandtheseafaringcommunity,Wallacewrites
fromtheperspectiveofawritersecretlyexperiencingaweeklongluxurycruise.Couldthis
merelyaploytogetavacationwrittenoffasabusinessexpense?Inallhonesty,Iwouldnt
mind.ThewayWallacewriteswithsuchintimateknowledgeoftheongoingsofacruiseliner
wouldhaveonlybeenachievableifhehadbeenontheshipfirsthand.Andhispositionis
neverofawriterbecausethelastthinghewantsistobetreatedanydifferentlysimply
becauseofhispurpose..Hisworkcomesfromtheperspectiveofanewmemberofthe
community.Hemeetswithpeople,talkstothem,walksthesamehallswiththem.This
personallevelofexperienceisevidentinhisdescriptionofthepeoplehemeets.Upon
meetingthepeoplesittingattable64,whomhewillbeeatingwithfortheremainderofthe
cruise,hewrites:

One of the reasons I like all these women (except Mona) so much is that they laugh really
hard at my jokes, even lame or veryobscurejokes,although theyallhavethiscuriouswayof
laughing wheretheysortof
scream
beforetheylaugh,sothatforoneexcruciatingsecondyou

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can't tell whether they're getting ready to laugh or whether they're seeing somethinghideous
andscreamworthyoveryourshoulder.(Wallace,41)

Wallace displays hisinteractionswiththepeopleonhiscruisein ordertohelpcreateaclearer

image of what these people are like. He cant avoid bias, and he knows that. He tries
nonetheless to capture what fully feels like a representation of the people he meets. An
understanding ofnot just what these cruise goers are like as wellas investigating
why these
people go on cruises is evident in Wallaces writing. While he begins his writing by using
personal experience theseessays are anything other than autobiographies. In all ofhiswork
the scope of his thinking quickly grows to include not only himself, but also the entire
community that he has immersed himself in.Take The View from Mrs.TompkinsHousefor
example. Theessaycommencesasabiographical recountingofWallacesmemoriesofwhat
he did onSeptember11th.Itforcesyoutothinkanddothingsyoumostlikelywouldntalone,
like for instance while watchingtheaddressand eyestopray,silentlyandfervently,(Wallace,
1901) This passage shows how meta Wallaces thinkingis.Ina timeofnationaldistress,he
is able to notthink about what is happening just in New York, but howthepeoplearoundhis
and the people inthe media are reacting to such a shocking event. Hisability toeffortlessly
transition from the autobiographical standpoint to oneoftheanthropologistiswhatmakeshis
writingnotauthoritative,butknowledgeable,notremoved,butdeeplyimmersed.
Wallace often utilized humor inhiswritingtomakeitappealtoallkindsofreaders.His
anecdotal recounting of his interactions with the crew of the ship as well as the other

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passengers is reminiscent of a man who tells the stories of his travels at a dinner party. A
careful balanceofintrigue,humor,andwitmakesWallacesobservationsadelightfulread.He
uses humor to help show howstrangelifewasonthecruise.Forexample,uponlearningthat
his room is cleaned almost magically whenever he leaves for more than thirty minutes, he
tries to catch the maids in the act by running back at twenty nine minutes or searching his
room for hidden microphones and cameras. Was doing this necessary to the rest of his
writing? Of course not,yetthe factthat he would do try tofind theanswertothequestionwe
keep in the back of our head when reading what would happen if he tried doing *this*?
further emphasizes the casualtone he tries toachieveinhiswriting.Thishumorinhiswriting
stems from how he interacts withthe communitieshe explores. It lets the reader understand
that Wallace is not writing from a journalistic standpoint, or even an investigative one. The
casual toneof his writingreflects onhow his writing is based on his experiences and not his
experiences based on hiswriting. To further understand this the comparison between aman
writing an autobiography and an investigative journalist can be made. While the journalist
approaches an event or group of people or an experience with the
intention of finding an
answer to any preconceived questions, they often interpret the experience in an entirely
narrow minded way. Creating anthropologies are so difficult because numerous writers
investigate with the answers already in mind. Wallace on the other hand writes with the
experienceof amanwelltraveled,onewhohas seentheworldfirstandthendecidedtoputit
on paper. Thisis where his humor comes from. In a double whammy effect, hisdcasualand
genuine experiencetranslatesintoamore legibleessay.Heunderstandsthatinordertohave

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his writing reachmorepeople,hisworkhastobeapproachablebyanyoneandentertainingto

continue reading. The inclusion of humor givesWallacesessayscreatesthesameopenness
thatsay,adoctor'sofficemagazinewouldhave,easytoreadyetsointeresting.

While Wallace uses humor to make his writing more accessible to the reader, his
essays stillshowtheamountof dedicationheputsinhisanthropologies.Footnotes.Footnote
after footnotes. Short ones. Ones so long, perhaps even necessitating their own
footfootnotes. Hiscopious use of footnotes is adefinitetrademark.Liketheconversationalist
who takes a moment aside to explain something, Wallace uses his footnotes toexplain the
community specific jargon and language used bythosemembers.UsingBigRedSonasan
example, Wallace includes footnotes to define thevarious sexualeuphemismsspokenbythe
various award winners. I think that the footnotes are also a representationofwhatWallaceis
trying to accomplish. Clarity. Any writer has to make the choice of what information actually
goes
into
the main body of their text. Wallace carefully balances his footnotes to make his
writing seem knowledgeable because he has done the research, but at thesametimenot so
information dense that he cannot get his point across. Many times these footnotes are also
filled with less technical information, and instead more of hispersonalthoughts,connections,
and references. His use of afootnoteinShippingOuttopointouthisthoughtswhenseeing
the ships faux wood paneling illustrates a small afterthoughtof his. The many things on the
Nadir that were woodgrainbut not realwoodweresuchwonderfulandpainstakingimitations
of wood that a lot of times it seemed like it would have been simpler and less expensive
simply to have usedrealwood.(Wallace,45)Suchsmalllittleinclusionsof hisownopinionin

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the footnotes not only keeps the flow of his story going, he also shows his dedication to his
writingandtheresearchthathadgonetofurtherunderstandthesesubcommunities.
While institutions exist to preserve and record humanities great works,whoisthereto
capture thepeoplewhoinhabitthisworld?Not thesmartestorthemostaccomplishedpeople,
but the eccentricsandfanatics.DavidFosterWallaceseems tohave thoughtaboutthefreaks
and the geeks though.Fromadultvideoenthusiaststodiehardlobsterfans,Wallacehasmet
them all. It wouldnt be a bad idea for a budding anthropologist to read some of his works.
Integration into the communities, openness to new ideas and people, and above all a good
sense of humor. These are the key tools that Wallace employs to make his writing not only
coherent, his writing is derived from an authentic experience as a member of thesubculture.
Wallace paints cultural landscapes of the different American subcultures that flourishunder
thefirstamendment.

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KairiSameshima

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WTESpring15
LeahSouffrant

WorksCited

Wallace,DavidF.
ConsidertheLobsterandotheressays.237ParkAvenue,NewYork,NY
10017.
Little,BrownandCompanyHachetteBookGroup,2006.KindleAZWfile.

Wallace, David F. "Shipping Out: On the (nearly Lethal) Comforts of a Luxury Cruise."
Harper'sMagazineJan.1996:3357.Print..