Wallace's theory points out that the liberal-arts system of "teaching you how to think" is extremely important in choosing how to absorb views of the world. He states that through the present education system, students are able to "control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience."
Wallace touches base on a typical day in and day out example which is suggested to all be too familiar to the attending parents of the graduates. Through the example of an overworked person getting stuck in traffic jam, realizing he needs to go grocery shopping at the peak time, waiting for what seems like hours queuing up at the check out desk, David Foster Wallace stresses on the importance of taking a different approach on what seems to be depressing reoccuring events inmost people's daily lives. He states that if not taken a different approach on these situations "you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you".
He offers a significant solution to the depressing reality of adulthood which the graduates will soon face, they will have to become consciously aware of the possible scenarios which construct the present, thus creating meaning from the experience. By using the control over how you think, which the education today teaches us to do, Wallace suggests that this is what prevents "dying a thousands deaths" in life. Thus, being the well-adjusted; sympathetic and conscious person education has shaped you in, one will be able to achieve true freedom in life by overcoming these daily obstacles.
This therefore suggests that education, perhaps literature being thought, is crucial in developing empathy and emotional intelligence in life.
Munro's literature is therefore quite significant as it is proven to develop a better emotional intellegence amongst it readers. Like Wallace stated, Munro arouses empathy towards the different characters who all display different lives of ordinary people. This may therefore show that through this understanding of other people's lives aqcuired by reading Munro's literature, one may become better well-adjusted, conscious and sympathetic towards others by putting ourselves into the possible situations of others.
