A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace is a postmodern written essay in which the author shares his experience on a 7-day Caribbean cruise ship.  Wallace shares his experience aboard the cruise ship M.V Zenith in a very detailed manner. He includes mental lapse, embarrassing situations, and mishaps during the voyage that occur quite often. While reading this essay, I noticed many instances of Wallace writing in journal form, using of abbreviated writing, and a lot of footnoting. I think with this and the very drawn out way he details his cruise experience, Wallace creates an exhaustive and direct survey of what it was like to be on the ship. These few couple of lines:

The railing I do most of my contemplative gazing from is on Deck 10, so the sea is way below, and the sounds of it slopping and heaving around are far-away and surflike, and visually it’s a little like looking down into a flushing toilet. No fins in view.

show the detail Wallace writes with. It also shows one concept that is reoccurring and just part of a key to an insight of Wallace’s views.

Wallace seems to sway his writing between two concepts: his desire to deserving of his paycheck by participating in cruise ship activities that he is supposed to be reporting on and a phobia of human companionship. For example in the beginning of the essay he writes:

There is 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 and simple in its effect: on board the Nadir — especially at night, when all the ship’s structured fun and reassurances and gaiety-noise ceased — I felt despair.

This excerpt from his essay shows his the beginning of his struggle with the human touch and company while on the ship. Wallace goes from this theme and switches to his other theme of his desire to earn his paycheck. He admits to joining in on a conga line, trying skeet shooting of the stern of the ship, and even entering the “Best Legs” competition. While he does want to earn his money by way of the ship’s activities, he is displeased with what the effects it has on him. It turns him into a spoiled brat, which in turn leads him to overwhelming internal despair. This is also why he ends up spending the last two days of his voyage inside his cabin by himself, which also shows his constantly changing themes.

These main themes of A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again shows a little insight into life as seen by David Foster Wallace. It is written in such a fun, personal, sincere manner, but deals with life problems that we might have as well. The way the author ends the essay bridges the writer and the reader, maybe in hopes of conveying a message. Maybe the message trying to be conveyed to us is that with all the hardships in life, we have to enjoy the small little things. We have to take in the bad with the good and live the way that makes us the happiest, despite setbacks and downfalls that result from it.