In this passage from Consider the Lobster by David Wallace, there are many deep thoughts rooted in the passage and the author himself discusses many of his actions in regards to what he is saying. That said, he is not always credited with coherence: in some places he approaches a section by stating something about it and then seems to act in the opposite way when he continues with his footnotes. But do his actions speak louder than his words in this regard or are they simply viewed differently? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Begin this particular excerpt with a strong sentence that states: "questions of 'correctness' in contemporary American usage are both vexed and highly charged, and that the fundamental questions they involve are those whose answers must be worked out literally rather than simply found” (293) This ties in with how actions have a certain standing over those of words, in that sometimes to better understand what someone is trying to communicate, it is best to experience it yourself. himself Some of Wallace's experiences are discussed in the footnotes, especially those about how he himself is a university professor and how he has to insert information into the students' correct English at the beginning of each semester. what it offers students may be completely ignored until it affects them later in their lives Wallace in a way criticizes Garner for not necessarily connecting with his audience, as Wallace acts in a way during his passage for. make more effort to do so. Being readers ourselves, Wallace makes a strong point when he states that “we ordinary citizens tend to go to the Dictionary for authoritative guidance. Rarely, however, do we ask ourselves who decides exactly what to include in the Dictionary or which words, spellings, or pronunciations are deemed correct” (295). This is a flaw of virtually anyone who has used a dictionary, we as a society depend on it when we are unclear and simply trust what is presented to us. On top of this, Wallace praises Garner for his creation, then immediately degrades him by criticizing the way the words are written. He attacks his actions regarding numbers in footnotes, when Garner uses number symbols for words after "ten", when Wallace points out that he was taught that it was correct to physically write the number until it reached "nineteen". At another point, immediately after the above quote, Wallace adds in his footnotes that we do not question what we are presented with, and includes a personal story about how his father is still angry at those who decades ago , in 1984, decided that meringue should be written as it is. This creates a discrepancy from what Wallace expresses to readers, where at some points they are torn on Wallace's own side or Garner's. On the one hand, Wallace creates this personal connection or relationship with the readers themselves, so to speak, while Garner stands out on paper and achieves his results with the dictionary he published. Based on his footnotes, it appears that Wallace has a great appreciation for Garner and his work, but it introduces the question of why what he says is what the rest of society follows. By incorporating these experiences and opinions, Wallace encourages readers to not always accept what is plainly said and how people get more from a simple definition when it relates to them in some way. Keep in mind:.