The Art of Considering the Lobster

Jayden Jaehee Paik

The Art of Considering the Lobster

 "The Art of Considering The Lobster," originally published in Jayden Paik's AP Language blog in 2026, was selected as one of the best blogs that Mrs. Valentino had read, and serves as the title essay of a 2026 collection of his blogs. The blog grew out of Paik's interpretation of "Consider The Lobster" by David Foster Wallace and serves as a kind of "review" of that boring essay. 


I absolutely love lobster. Lobster may genuinely be one of life's best creations. If I could eat only one food for the rest of my life, lobster would be a top choice. And no, i'm not even "glazing"–lobster is just that absolutely delectable. On top of that, lobster is very versatile–it can be eaten on rice, inside a sandwich, with pasta if you're feeling fancy, and even something as simple as with melted butter. The point is, lobster is basically my wife. 

LOBSTER SHITPOSTING TAKEN TOO FAR (shouldn't spoil anything but the base anime) : r/MadokaMagica

lobster #lobstertok #ocean #oil #cook #cooking #funny #sad #haha #for... | TikTok

However, this week in AP Language, we read "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace, and I realized this essay makes me feel evil when I talk about my love for lobster. It debates the morality of killing lobsters, in "unethical" ways specifically, and it forced me face the uncomfortable truth that i'm willing to watch the soul of a living organism leave its eyes just so I can pleasure myself in eating its tasty flesh. Now, will I stop eating lobster? Probably–no, definitely not. Lobster is just too freakin' finger-lickin' good to give up, but the question still stands–where does killing lobster fit into this moral debate? For one, boiling a sentient being just seems wrong. Imagine you think you're about to take a fun little trip to the swimming pool but as you dive in, the water just completely fries you alive. Obviously thats not a very ideal situation. Still, some argue that lobsters don't feel pain the same way humans do. Whether that arguement is true or not (which we don't know for sure yet), it raises another question–is it wrong to take a life purely for enjoyment? Does this question imply that one individual's life is less important than another's?

As of now, i'm pretty torn on this topic. While I know that I would be murdering another organism in order to simply eat better, I'm too selfish to actually give up lobster. Until science can provide concrete proof on what lobsters actually exprerience, I WILL continue to gobble up lobster. 

For now, however, I'll keep on considering the lobster.

Comments

  1. Daniel ChoFebruary 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM

    Great Blog! I liked how you somehow made the notoriously boring piece "consider the lobster" into something much more enjoyable by including memes and an edited photo of a lobster. I immediately and clearly saw your stance on DFW's argument after you said, "Lobster is just too freakin' finger-lickin' good to give up." Your use of rhetorical questions was really meaningful as well.

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