Categories
Lucas Enrique Fernandez

Shipping Out

Description:

David Wallace’s Shipping Out is the paradigm for the power of words. In this text Wallace encompasses the reader with bountiful description, enabling them to feel as if they are really experiencing the same things as the writer. His words are so precisely chosen for a reason, when readers are fed more descriptive and vivid words we latch onto the messages that they carry. By doing this, the points he made throughout the text were that much clearer and more persuasive.

Her real birthday, she informs me on Monday, isJuly 29, and when I quietly observe that July 29 is also the birthday o(Benito Mussolini, Mona’s grandmother shoots me kind of a death-look, although Mona herself is excited at the coincidence, apparently confusing the names Mussolini and Maserati.

In this blurb, it makes me as the reader feel as if I’m sitting with a friend and they’re telling me a story from last week. The humor in the story and description involved lure me in and make the writer more likeable. By making his story more appealing, it makes me more susceptible to other messages stored in the text.

I felt despair. The word “despair” is overused and banalized now, but it’s a serious word, and I’m using it seriously. It’s close to what people call dread or angst, but it’s not these things, quite. It’s more like wanting to die in order to escape the unbearable sadness of knowing I’m small and weak and selfish and going, without doubt, to die. It’s wanting to jump overboard.

Here the word despair is thoroughly analyzed and placed in the situation of the cruiseline. Although originally I would not associate despair with a cruise, Wallace uses his words to persuade me as the reader and it actually made sense.

An ad that pretends to be art is-at absolute best-like somebody who smiles at you only because he wants something from you.

Here Wallace explains his negative feelings towards what a famous writer wrote in an ad for the cruise. The way the ad controls how you are to view the cruise shows the power of words, although it may sometimes be a dishonest power. Wallace seamlessly weaves together his points about the ad, along with the relinquished control once on the cruiseline, along with the feeling of despair that brings. By using description the blend of these ideas of at the end of the chapter is possible due to the ease by which the information was distributed to the reader.

Categories
Jack Albert Nusenow

I Hate Cruises

Progym: Narrative

Cruise ships are a shameless caricature of American capitalism and a working symbol of how dreadful life can be.

There’s something about a mass-market Luxury Cruise that’s unbearably sad. Like most unbearably sad things, it seems incredibly elusive and complex in its causes yet simple in its effect: on board the Nadir (especially at night, when all the ship’s structured fun and reassurances and gaiety ceased) I felt despair. The word “despair” is overused and banalized now, but it’s a serious word, and I’m using it seriously.

In what is easily my favorite section of the reading, Wallace sets up his transition from brochure style prose prodding you on the benefits and beauties of cruise life to sober but scathing criticism. And don’t get me wrong, I love American capitalism. I love standing in the cereal section of one of the six closest supermarkets to me, staring aimlessly at the fifty-odd options for empty calories. But I hate cruises. I’ve never been on a cruise, but I don’t have to to know. With deckhands and window cleaners and painters and their curated schedules, like Wallace talks about, cruises work as magicians toiling over their long form illusion. An illusion for which you pay generously, to be tricked into thinking that you’re sailing away from your worries and for a week, as you tour some exotic land, you get respite from your life. But what a cruise truly is is a more confining, more unpleasant, and more demanding version of everyday life that does more to remind you of your own mortality and insignificance than a near death experience can.

[the cruise] presents itself as being for my benefit. It manages my experiences and my interpretation of those experiences and takes care of them for me in advance.

I don’t hate cruises because I think I’m above them in some way. I see the appeal of being released from the shackles of decision making. Life as one of those people in Wall-E. It seems incredibly easy. But what I love most about vacation is getting lost, and cruises leave no room for getting lost in any enjoyable way.

Categories
Phillip Wade Wilson

Shipping Out – Encomium

In my 20 years alive I have been on, at least, 4 different cruise lines and 12 different cruise ships. I have never found something that explains the way a cruise ship feels better than the way David Wallace recounts his time aboard the Nadir. I found the way he compares a cruise, a vacation mode that much fewer people experience than the beach traveling to a different country, to feelings that nearly every person can associate with was a genius way to enable his readers to connect with his own feelings even though they might not have experienced themselves.

“A vacation is a respite from unpleasantness, and since consciousness of death and decay are unpleasant, it may seem weird that the ultimate American fantasy vacation involves being plunked down in an enormous primordial stew of death and decay.” (36)

In this quote, Wallace is comparing how he felt aboard to the feeling of vacations in general and the feeling of the ocean in general. Almost everyone knows how much they want their vacation to go perfectly and to have the most relaxing time because it is one’s time to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, but as he states thinking about death and decay would not be the most relaxing time. While not everyone would associate the ocean with death and decay as he does, it is quite common for people to be afraid of ships in open waters (due to the sheer number of boating incidents and the dramatization of the Titanic in 1997 and now when people reference their disdain for boats in open waters they typically reference the Titanic film and not the actual sinking). This skillful comparison makes it much easier for the readers who have been on vacation and who have an opinion on the ocean to make the association he does; it is as if he is giving the foundational framework for his own perceptions so that the readers can rationalize the same way he rationalizes.

Another aspect I find that Wallace effortlessly employs is his, at times crass, humor that provides a very open feeling for readers. This open feeling, to me, drew me in closer and made me more excited to continue reading because his writing style, from metaphors to tone, created a diluted fear of missing out within me that made me want to read and not feel like it was a chore. I say this because many academic writings are filled with jargon and complexities that make reading them difficult and unenjoyable. I believe Wallace understood this as he was an English professor, and even noted something similar early on in this article, so he crafted this in a way that would instill the want to learn (or in this case the want to read). There are numerous jokes and anecdotal stories present throughout this piece, but these are even extended to the footnotes which only emphasize his topics within the main article.

“My sense was that Cheeriness was up there with Celerity and Servility on the clipboard evaluation sheets the Greek bosses were constantly filling out on the crew.”

This comical quote can be found within the 8th footnote on page 37 and exemplifies part of his writing style. While this refers to the satirical tone he has about the ways in which Celebrity Cruises posits the feelings the crew has, it pushes it further to make it clear to see the irony between what is in reality and what is constructed by the cruise line for their “fantasy-enablement”. I think Wallace uses this satirical connotation because of how insane it seems to him that passengers aboard truly do believe the advertisements and the feelings the cruise sells. His shock and awe are seemingly translated to his readers through this method and, in my opinion, brilliantly executed.

There are too many quotes for me to talk about that I enjoyed. There are too many areas for me to praise him within his writing, though personally I feel like labeling this as a “writing” does not do it justice. The way he unpacked his time onboard the Nadir changes this article into a story because the way he constructed it was through storytelling. His use of rhetoric is a way that I hope to achieve one day and I will be reading more of his work on my own; in all honesty, from this one article I think he may have surpassed Albert Camus as my favorite writer… but only time shall tell.

Categories
Samuel James Conroy

Thesis Progymnasmata

Thesis Progymnasmata

            David Foster Wallace, one of the great American writers in recent times, produced a short collection of essays called, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.” In this collection of essays was the writing, “Shipping Out,” a piece about Wallace’s experience on a cruise ship framed as an advertisement for said cruise ship. Wallace was not a fan of his cruise experience as it brought an odd feeling of despair.

Wallace presents a thesis, “There’s something about a mass-market Luxury Cruise that’s unbearably sad” (Wallace). He by providing a list of all of the obligations that come with a seven-day cruise, such as,

“I have eaten more and classier food than I’ve ever eaten, and done this during a week when I’ve also learned the difference between “rolling” in heavy seas and “pitching” in heavy seas. I have heard a professional cruise-ship comedian tell folks, without irony, “But seriously” (Wallace).

Wallace immerses us into the life of the Nadir through this description, making us understand his discomfort and confusion.

Next, Wallace uses the advertising aspect to further push the you are obligated to have fun narrative. This advertising shows why the Nadir is so sad. Wallace states,

This is advertising (i.e., fantasy-enablement), but with a queerly authoritarian twist. Note the imperative use of the second person and a specificity out of detail that extends even to what you will say (you will say “I couldn’t agree more” and “Let’s do it all!”). You are, here, excused from even the work of constructing the fantasy, because the ads do it for you” (Wallace).

You simply do not have a choice on this cruise ship, you will need to have fun. It can be said that cruise ships truly are fun, and that Wallace’s experience is simply anecdotal. However, the overall concept of a cruise ship seems incredibly sad based on Wallace’s writing. Personally, I have never been on a cruise ship, but the thought of being in the middle of an ocean with no choice but to participate in the activities provided does seem gloomy. Overall, Wallace presents an interesting case about travel in general, one where everything seems artificial, even the place you are traveling. One where everything seems expensive rather than beautiful, and where the entire trip appears faux.

Categories
Paula I Arraiza

“Why Are You Here?”

Type of Progym: Fable

“The universal topic of discussion is ‘Why Are You Here?’ Nobody uses the word ‘pamper’ or ‘luxury.’ The word that gets used over and over is ‘relax.’ Everybody characterizes the upcoming week as either a long-put-off reward or a last-ditch effort to salvage sanity and self from some inconceivable crockpot of pressure, or both.”

“So, why are you here?” a middle-aged man asks to a couple who’s also around his same age. Both families are sitting down by the pool as the cruise ship sails away to a random island in the Caribbean from Florida.

“We’ve had a stressful couple of weeks and needed to get away from all of the chaos.”, the second man responds as they munch on some subpar burgers and sip on fruity cocktails.

“Same thing for us, we felt as if we deserved a break after working for hours on end. You can never go wrong with a cruise for getting away”, the first man says while lounging in his loud-patterned shorts and flip flops.

“Definitely, there’s nothing better than laying under the hot sun without a care in the world”, the first man’s wife responds, taking a break from reading a fashion magazine she purchased at one of the cruise ship’s gift shops.

“If we didn’t take a trip soon, we would’ve ended up going crazy and probably divorcing each other. The stress was too much” the second wife chimes in as she laughs.

“Agreed.” Her husband says and laughs along.

“Well you’re lucky, the relaxation of a cruise can fix everything. You’ll go back home a new couple” the first man tells the couple next to him.

“We can see. We haven’t felt so calm in so long and it’s only been a day. Seems like it’ll be a good week” the second husband agrees while sipping the rest of his drink before leaving.

“We might have to do this go on trips like this more often. It was good to meet you” the second wife says as she stands up and leaves with her husband to their cabin for an afternoon nap before dressing up in some fancy attire for dinner.

The couples continue to run into each other throughout the week, greeting each other every time as if they had known each other for years. However, once the week ends both couples go back to their busy lives to repeat the entire cycle all over again.

 

Categories
Aongus Mui

Shipping Out- David Foster Wallace

Shipping Out – David Foster Wallace

Progym: Narrative

As a person who loves to be around water, it is no surprise that one of my favorite places to be is a cruise ship. The warm weather, smell of the sea, and the slight swaying of the ship. All of these point to relaxation. The first time I got on a cruise I was only around 10 years old. I remember going on board, seeing all the bright lights in the indoor portion of the ship. It didn’t feel like a cruise, it felt more like a hotel; a long hall with doors on both sides. About 30 minutes after getting to my room, I could feel the ship start to move. I walked out onto the balcony, I could hear the sound of the seagulls chirping. I felt the warm breeze of air push up against me as I looked down to see the bottom part of the vessel slowly slicing through the water. There was a peacefulness in all this. I sat on the balcony for an hour with no specific purpose, no activity. It felt like the ship was taking me away from my world. I was quite literally getting away from everything. Wallace states that “Your troublesome capacities for choice, error, regret, dissatisfaction, and despair will be removed from the equation. You will be able-finally, for once to relax” (Wallace) This is one of the simple, yet unexplainable feelings of being on a cruise ship.

Categories
Catherine Dodd Corona

Shipping Out

Mimicking Wallace

Progymnasmata: Fable

I have never stepped foot on a cruise ship. I have rode the ferry to Haines, Alaska, a less popular cruise ship destination. I have collected mussels on the shore and watched people file out of a cruise ship. I have seen them look like a bird about to take flight, at the rim of the ridged mountains. I have watched them shop for chachkies, silicon magnets so they can place it on the refrigerator back home and be reminded of the special break they took. I have helped find the right size Xtratuf boot, the guides say rain boots won’t cut it. I have seen them point digital cameras at the ten eagles sitting on one tree. I have felt their fear as my dad explains how cold the water is. If you fall in you can swim for five minutes or go into fetal possession for 45 and hope someone gets you before hypothermia. I have seen them distinguish themselves from one another as the raft threads its way through glacial rivers. I have admired their ability to work together to lift the boat out of sand traps. I have giggled at the less ambitious passengers complaining about the cold, or the minimal paddle work. I have observed one paddle from an ignorant passenger make much more work for the oar-man by leaving it in the water. I have cheered people stiff from the small cabin sizes, pick up a boat and rest it back in the water. I have seen people pet a porcupine, feed a moose with their mouth, and watch rehabilitated Lynx and bears smell their foreign scent. I have picked up their litter and picked blueberries with them. I have never been a cruise ship passenger. I find cramping myself into a materialistic, consumption heavy boat with hundreds of other people unfavorable. I find many of the people that do, curious, kind and respectful but of course in any sample of people that big many are awful, demanding and disrespectful.

Categories
Samuel E Evans

“Shipping Out” by David Foster Wallace

Progym: Fable

“Luxury Megalines’ brochures are always magazine-size, heavy and glossy, beautifully laid out, their text offset by art-quality photos of upscale couples tanned faces in a kind of rictus of pleasure … Every Celebrity staff member takes pleasure in making your cruise a completely carefree experience and treating you as an honored guest (36-37).”

“Vacation is the ultimate form of relaxation,” says a man. He basks in a reclined deck-chair upon the deck of a massive sea vessel floating upon the Caribbean sea, somewhere between Miami and Kingston. He appears to be in his late 50s, is coated in sunscreen, and wears only a pair of swim trunks and flip-flops. He holds a magazine up before him, largely blocking the sun from hitting his face.

“Yes, and cruises are the ultimate vacation,” responds his wife, who lays on a similar chair next to him, her face shaded by an oversized sun-visor as she reads something on her tablet. A man staggers past, his face looking somewhat green from seasickness.

“The ocean is the best place to truly get away from everything, isn’t it,” says the man, as his phone buzzes and he turns instinctively to look at it.

“Undoubtedly,” responds the woman, not looking away from her iPad, “it really is the top-flight luxury experience as well, isn’t it?” As she is speaking a roar of laughter from a nearby onboard bar erupts, nearly drowning her out.

The man nods, and adjusts himself in his chair, flipping the page of his magazine. “We’re just here to pamper ourselves, and the staff is here to make our experience the best it can be,” he says, and looks up slightly as a Filipino waiter offers him a drink, “no, no thank you.” The woman sighs and sits up in her chair, setting down her tablet and turning to look at her husband.

“Let’s go sit in the cabin for a little while, I’ve had enough of the heat for now.” The man nods in agreement. The pair begin gathering their things, and as they get up, the man drops a flier. “Royal Antilles Cruises,” it reads, “Vacation is the ultimate form of relaxation, and cruises are the ultimate vacation. Come on your perfect trip with Royal Antilles Cruises, and escape to the ocean, the best place to truly get away from everything. We offer a top-flight luxury experience, and we allow you to pamper yourself, assisted by staff who are there to make your experience the best it can be.” The leaflet flutters gently to the ground.

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Catherine Dodd Corona

Frow vs. Culler

Progymnasmata: Comparison

Frow’s dissection of Cullers ideas on semiotics links into the illusion of free will. Culler argues that reality is always subjective and the judgment of that reality is already predetermined, because there is no way to break preconceived assumptions. Culler shows that this idea is emphasized through the lens of tourism. He argues that for example blue jeans will never just be blue jeans. They will always represent an assumption made by society. Weather that be casualness in western culture or an example of western culture in nonwestern societies. Culler explains how this subjectivity creates authenticity. It puts an aesthetic or certain “vibe” to a place or culture. Frow builds on this to argue that trying to label and determine what the semiotics of a certain place then diminishes its authenticity. Looking through the lens of tourism it shows people cannot travel and find authenticity in a certain place because of the semiotics or original assumptions of that destination. Because of semiotics any destination is already full of judgements, meaning it will never truly be authentic. This leads into the idea of free will. A tourist may think they are immersing themselves into a certain culture when really they are immersing themselves in a predetermined view of that place based on that tourists assumptions.

Categories
Ehren Joseph Layne

Urry through Frow – Confirmation/Thesis

Confirmation / Thesis 

 

Frow’s expository, “Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia”, presents an understanding of the tourist v. traveller dilemma and uses semiotics to interpret the network of concepts relating to tourism, nostalgia, and heritage(concepts such as authenticity, the tourist gaze, and so on). Frow also expands upon  paradoxes that Culler and Urry explain in their respective pieces on tourism – those paradoxes being: the continuous refabrication of the authentic coupled with the continuous validation of the refabrication of the authentic as authentic, and the inability to upkeep authentic cultural traditions because the upkeep of said traditions changes then from being “authentic” and instead makes them “the revitalization of the authentic”.  I find myself being more and more persuaded by the arguments Urry makes in respect to tourism, and was pleased to see Frow reference him almost ubiquitously(I had no care for references to Culler). Frow leans on Urry’s conceptualization of the authentic  when explaining the paradox of authenticity: Frow writes – 

 

 “The paradox, the dilemma of authenticity, is that to be experienced as authentic it must be marked as authentic, but when it is marked as authentic it is mediated, a sign of itself and hence not authentic in the sense of un- spoiled. “ 

 

Frow’s usage of Urry is not limited to this definition: Frow does a copy and paste of an excerpt from Urry where he is fantasizing about the prospect of  “real travel” but doing so in the context of the paradox. Urry wishes to travel authentically, but understands his inability to do so by nature of the dilemma of authenticity: Urry cannot wish for authentic travel because travel itself is the catalyst for the spoiling of the authentic, and therefore, the inability to ever experience the authentic. Urry goes as far as to saying that: 

 

“ I am the loser – and more heavily than one might suppose; for today, as I go groaning among the shadows, I miss, inevitably, the spectacle that is now taking shape. My eyes, or perhaps my degree of humanity, do not equip me to witness that spectacle; and in the centuries to come, when another traveler revisits this same place, he too may groan aloud at the disappearance of much that I should have set down, but cannot. “

 

I would like to emphasize this, for it helps in the contextualization of my thesis from my last post. My redefinition of authenticity is because I wish to dismantle the narrative that we are no longer able to perceive spectacle(the authentic). I hope to, with some rudimentary knowledge of semiotics, relieve tourism of its many incapabilities (inability to perceive the authentic, inability to deal with the authentic, and inability to think freely without compartmentalizing our knowledge of the authentic) and open up the possibility of discourse that upholds tourism rather than stigmatizing it.