This is Water by David Foster Wallace Book Analysis

It is incredible the number of people who know someone who has lost a fight to depression. Sadly, in my college career, I have experienced three situations where people that were friends or family of my friends be victims of depression and they sadly took their lives. One of them was my best friend’s brother. As I helped her grieve her brother, many things became apparent that I did not know before. Just like Wallace, the people I knew expressed depression in other ways than direct communication. There are many indications that someone is struggling with depression that only become obvious once he/ she is no longer here. Therefore, Wallace wrote “This is Water” not only to show his struggle with depression but to help people see the world more positively. 

Many people around the world struggle with depression every day, and many even lose the fight. As defined by the mayo clinic, some symptoms of depression that were displayed by Wallace are angry outbursts, irritability or frustration over small matters, lots of interest or pleasure in normal activities, tiredness, lack of energy, and trouble thinking or concentrating. As he tells his story about going to the supermarket, the symptoms above show some of the signs that he was not able to talk through with somebody, but he wrote in “This is Water”. “…if I don’t make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I’m going to be pissed and miserable every time I have to food-shop.” (Wallace 4). Therefore, I believe it’s important to pay attention to the little details that go on in people’s lives. 

In the story of Wallace, he expressed that the things that are harder to talk about are the most important and obvious. There are many parts of “This is Water” that Wallace expressed he was struggling with depression. “If at this moment, you’re worried that I plan to present myself here as a wise old fish explaining what the water is to you younger fish, please don’t be. I am not a wise old fish.” (Wallace 1). In the previous quotation, Wallace shows that he does not believe he is wise, and therefore it may show signs that he was struggling with depression as he does not think he has his life together. Another sign that he was struggling with depression is that he did not want to continue thinking negatively about the world and that he wanted to be a more positive person. However, depression was likely holding him back from seeing the positive things in his life.

The reason why people struggle so much with depression is that it was seen as a negative thing in the past. Thankfully, this is changing as companies and other entities such as schools have adopted not only talking about these things as well as assisting people. I was able to notice these things in “This is Water” only when I learned that the author had committed suicide and was struggling with depression. It saddens me to think that Wallace was trying to better himself and overcome depression by enjoying the little things in life. I do not know what happened to him after “This is Water” that ultimately led him to the decision to take his own life, but I can only imagine the struggles he went through as he made the decision. After learning about Wallace’s suicide, the following quote from “This is Water” was the one that impacted me the most. “… please don’t think that I am giving you moral advice, …, because it is hard, it takes will and mental effort, and if you’re like me, some days you won’t be able to do it, or just flat out won’t want to.” (Wallace 6). This quote is an obvious sign that Wallace was struggling with depression and the fact that it was two years after that he committed suicide shows that sometimes people say they are okay, but they show in other ways that they are not.

In this short essay, I have pointed out many signs that show Wallace was struggling with depression. These are not the only symptoms or signs of depression, and we must keep vigilant and make sure that the people around us and closest to us can come to us in a time of need. I am not aware of who Wallace talked to while he was struggling to make a decision but from personal experience, I know that it only takes one comment or conversation to change someone’s life either positively or negatively. As he did with his writing, he encouraged everyone to be more positive and this may help when another person is struggling, and we are helping them see the good in life. As I have been impacted by “This is Water”, I am sure many others who have read his ratings will feel the same.