An article titled “Consider the Lobster” written by David Foster Wallace discusses the common Maine Lobster Festival. In this article, Foster looks past the positive aspects of the festival and focuses more on the negative aspects. From Foster's experience at the festival, he focuses on the cruelty of cooking these animals alive and the impact it has on society. It is also worth mentioning that as humans, we put the lives of these organisms on the line just for our own benefit. The argument Wallace makes is that there is much more behind the celebration than what is displayed. Wallace does this in a way by sharing the idea of ​​animal cruelty throughout the article, using facts about the lobster he uses to introduce the Maine Lobster Festival to anyone who doesn't. ever participated, as well as speaking about the morality and ethics of eating these creatures. Rather than presenting the festival in a positive light, Wallace goes beyond and describes the festival as an immoral gathering. It asks the question “Is it acceptable to boil a living sentient creature just for our taste pleasure”? Which reinforces the ideology about whether or not these animals can feel pain. Wallace says these animals have a nervous system just like us humans, which means they must be able to feel pain. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay « Wallace says that there are two main factors in whether a living creature has the capacity to suffer and therefore has genuine interests that it can or can It is not our moral duty to take them into account . The first being the amount of neurological hardware required by Smith2 to feel pain - the animal is equipped with nociceptors, prostaglandins, neural opioid receptors, etc. The other criterion is whether the animal demonstrates behavior associated with pain. Wallace goes into more detail to describe how these crustaceans can feel pain, just like us humans. Considering that they share similar parts of the nervous system that we humans possess. It is also worth mentioning that these lobsters are boiled live in front of an audience for the satisfaction of human wants and not needs. Wallace also points out that these animals are prepared in different ways, such as sticking a knife between the lobster's eye stalks to instantly put it out of its misery. These animals are simply more submissive than the consumer, just imagine how the lobster feels before taking its last breath before being slaughtered. Wallace also mentions the organization of the festival and that you have to pay twenty dollars just to buy a lawn chair so you can relax at the festival. If Wallace were to write about how great the festival was, then why would he go so far as to point out all of the faults of the festival, especially the animal cruelty. Throughout the article, Wallace prompts facts about lobsters to engage the reader. , but these facts don't really help the Maine Lobster Festival. These facts are more or less there to highlight the disaster that is the MLF. Wallace says the festival is home to the world's largest lobster cooker, capable of cooking up to 100 lobsters at a time. Which makes it the largest lobster cooker in existence, and this cooker is fully visible to the public. So every time a lobster is thrown into the cooker, festival attendees can hear the screams of those lobsters as they are thrown in. Wallace also says that lobsters are also afraid oflighter areas, so when these crustaceans are thrown inside the tank, their first instinct is to find a darker area to soothe themselves, which doesn't help the whole ideology that lobsters can feel pain. pain. He also points out that it is us or we as humans who are torturing these creatures and that if we didn't cook lobsters they could live in peace. The final point Wallace makes is that "until the 1800s, lobster was literally a lower-class food, eaten only by the poor and institutionalized." Some colonies had laws against giving lobster to inmates more than once a week because it was considered cruel and unusual, like making people eat rats. . So, long story short, non-incarcerated humans started eating these shellfish, known to be a punishment and Wallace displays it as such. People who eat these creatures will never know what they feel. They are simply used for our entertainment and are not considered, hence “Consider the Lobster”. Finally, Wallace talks about morality and ethics. Throughout the article, Wallace speaks from both sides' perspectives and allows the reader to form their own opinion. Wallace begins by talking about the festival's highlights such as "the size of the festival being huge, zesty and extremely well marketed." He presents the festival as a success at the beginning of his article about the Maine Lobster Festival, but as he progresses he begins to open up about the festival and present both sides of the story. Later, Wallace brings up the topic of animal cruelty, which opens up the debate on the idea of ​​the festival. It just doesn't make sense for Wallace to highlight the festival if he wants to talk negatively about it. This is what makes him so confused, and as Wallace says in the article "What I really am is confused", which causes the audience to question his argument even more. But Wallace questions the idea of ​​morality and wonders if this festival can actually be broadcast to the public. Wallace also mentions the lives of other animals and this should be considered Smith4 before suffering similar punishment, such as that of lobsters. As humans, we could simply never know what an animal feels, because we are neither lobsters nor any other possible animal. He is simply not telling his audience to stop consuming these creatures, but to consider them and all other animals before making the decision to consume them and to make moral and ethical decisions about whether it would or would not be considered animal cruelty. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To conclude Wallace's argument, the whole idea of ​​the Maine Lobster Festival is a negative experience. Wallace wants the reader to take away that there is more than what meets the eye when witnessing the MLF. It does this by talking about animal cruelty, it uses facts to incite the reader and asks you to question the morality and ethics behind the consumption of these animals. Everywhere you look, these creatures are constantly being harmed for the sole purpose of making the audience happy. These animals are cooked alive and cooked in large quantities using the "world's largest lobster cooker" and it is questionable whether or not the festival considers this to be animal cruelty. These animals can be heard screaming to take their last breath before being cooked alive, so you, as the reader, make your own.. 2004.