In what ways could Wallace's theory be applicable to Their Eyes Were Watching God?
David Foster Wallace's 'This is Water' and Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' are at times quite similar. The default setting that Wallace describes in 'This is Water' is similar to the way Hurston describes Janie's emotion while she is married to Joe. She is forced to stay at home or at the shop, while Joe is working as mayor of Eatonville. While there is no mention of routine, Hurston does describe Janie feeling like she does not know where the last twenty years went, which is similar to the automatic or default setting that Wallace describes in his text. And you can assume that a contributing factor to this feeling, would be the fact that every day Janie is doing the same thing. When you are stuck in a constant routine, your grasp of time tends to get weaker and weaker the longer it goes on for. In terms of empathy and emotional intelligence, at times it is quite difficult to empathize with characters in Their Eyes Were Watching