Consider The Lobster

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace has a few different genres. It ranges between being informational, story-telling and giving reviews. At the beginning of the article, David gives some information and background knowledge on the Maine Lobster Festival. Then to help his audience understand and visualize the setting, he uses story-telling to describe exactly what one will see and experience. He also gives his personal review on topics, like tourism.

David uses footnotes quite often in this paper, and the longest one was about tourism. The footnotes are important in this article because some give more information and others help you see the authors point of view.

The focus of this article shifts dramatically. When the article first starts, the reader assumes it will be an informative article about the Maine Lobster Festival or a review of it. But as it continues on, the focus changes to the lobsters and specially how they are cooked. It begins to discuss the ethics and morality of boiling live lobsters. When Foster says “Consider the Lobster” he means to consider how it feels and what its like to be cooked alive in front of thousands of people for our enjoyment.