Compare and Contrast

These speeches both speak of how perception can change a situation. “This is Water” speaks of the more pessimistic view. This difference in how people see everyday life and use language to describe what their day is like can prove to be helpful in trying to figure out how language is manipulated. The Nobel lecture shows that language can be shown in a positive way to see life as a beautiful place. On the other hand, “This is Water” shows how language can prove life to be absolutely terrible. These different perceptions of life can change as life proceeds. The perception that a person has about different situations can improve or make their day worse. The Nobel Lecture also shows that the absence of language can prove to be more powerful than saying too much in frustration. When the woman is asked a question just because the kids wanted to be disrespectful, she did not answer because she knew their intentions. Instead she thought about what she was going to say. Something we all need to learn how to do. Overall, both of these speeches represent an idea that language can help people see life differently in a good way.