This is the writing that I engage the least in. I am not much of an essay reader. I think it goes back to college when a literature professor would over analyze and argue essays to brutalize his students.

I have picked up a couple of essays over the years to accompany various works of literature in my classes. Some of them were big hits and others were flops. And that is one of the lessons I have taken from my experience with essays – they are either a huge hit or a great flop. Maybe that is why I don’t read or use many of them.

The one essay that I probably use most often or have read more than the others is David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster. In the midst of the Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace brings up the ethic question of boiling an animal to death for the gustatory pleasure. This ethical question is posed among the description of festival rides, beauty contests, and food booths. It is a great essay that is good for endless hours of debate.

I understand MFL will run from July 31 through August 4, 2024 if you would like to try to answer this question for yourself among all the festival goers, but please read Consider the Lobster first.