In his essay 9/11: The View From the Midwest (what an uncreative title), published in Rolling Stone on October 25, 2001, David Foster Wallace describes his experiences during a visit to Bloomington, Illinois, from September eleventh-thirteenth. He begins his story on Wednesday, September 12th - exactly seven years later he would take his own life - beginning with the fascinating observation that, less than twenty-four hours after the imfamous 9/11 attacks, almost every home and business place in Bloomington displayed a flag. What's even more fascinating is the peer pressure that Wallace experienced upon realizing the realization of this phenomenon, which led to a desperate and pity-enducing mission to find a flag, and eventually the creation of a construction paper flag.
Source: http://viz.cwrl.utexas.edu/files/dfwc-podium-edrantscom.jpg.
The second part of Wallace's essay describes his experiences on 9/11. What is so brilliant about Wallace's writing is his ability to create an essay that is so creative, complex, and original all in one. It is not merely an account of watching the attacks from a television in a living room amongst praying elderly women; it is also a critical look at the lifestyles of Bloomington residents, and ends with Wallace questioning his lifestyle choices. I love that he chose not only to describe the events of that day, but presented profound questions and ideas in his thought process throughout his visit.
I also found his writing style rather fascinating. His writing sounds more like a conversation he would have with a friend than an article, abundant with swears and personal opinions, especially regarding President Geroge W. Bush. In other words, this article definitely would not appear in The Wall Street Journal. In his brutally honest descriptions of people, I often wondered if these people read this article, and if he cared. I wish I was less self conscious about speaking my feelings, and I continue to question to what extent one should speak / write puplicly one's opinions of others. I wondered if this writing style was used purposefully to fit the style of Rolling Stone, or if this is just another side of Wallace, as his 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College is swear-free, and features a drastically different style.
I've only just found out about Wallace, but I'm starting to conclude that his writing often features somber themes that often encourage deep personal reflections.
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