Blog #5: Follow The Lobster...

My favorite part about David Wallace's "Consider the Lobster" was the way he constructed his thoughts. Wallace had a message that – if not tackled in the right way – would fall on deaf ears. If he were to have simply jumped straight into the debate of whether or not lobsters feel pain, Wallace's readers might have given up on the article.

Instead, the author began his piece by drawing us in to the heart and soul of the annual Maine Lobster Festival. Wallace explained the premise of the event, while also incorporating history and background information to aid our understanding of it. It wasn't until his dive into the preparation of the lobster, however, that Wallace arrived at the crux of his message. It was here that he chose to bring up the ethical issue of boiling lobsters alive and the debate regarding whether or not they feel pain.

I personally loved his approach at the situation and would love to attempt to employ a similar tactic in my own writing. His method of hooking the reader in with one topic, only to take them on a ride of direction changes, is not only unique but highly effective. While I have no personal interest in lobsters, I couldn't stop reading because every time I would get slightly bored, Wallace was onto the next idea.