Discuss Wallace’s opening parable. How does this fictional anecdote elucidate and relate to the overall themes and ideas of the speech?

This question encourages readers to think through the overarching significances of the speech’s opening parable. This question also compels readers to acknowledge the various ways in which it relates to the speech’s multifaceted themes and assertions.

What are the relevant ideas and implications associated with the second parable that Wallace delivers in his speech? How does this parable address ideas of belief and personal conviction?

This question directs readers to examine the ideas that Wallace extrapolates from his second parable. Wallace utilizes this parable as a means of illustrating the relevance of personal belief in constructing meaning of personal experience.

How does Wallace establish and describe the idea of selfishness? According to Wallace, what factors contribute to selfishness as a default state of human experience?