This is Water + Alice Munro's literature

Alice Munro's works are filled with characters undergoing an important change in their life. We, as readers, are meant to sympathize, or empathize, with the protagonists as their stories are told to us because of what they've gone through, what they're learning or what they are dealing with. David Foster Wallace theorizes that to be an educated person, you must make conscious decisions and be empathetic to truly understand the world around you. A reasonable amount of emotional intelligence is required when analyzing or reading Munro's literature as each story presents a unique setting and cast with varying struggles and opportunities.

Munro's protagonist are typically female characters in various time eras, which is important to understand. The reader may think that the character should be able to do what she wanted, but Munro applies historical attributes to further enhance the experience of her story. With a deep enough understanding, the reader  would understand how and why these characters act. Empathy places a big role, especially in historical fiction where modern thinking isn't as evident.

Each character has their own set of personality traits and ways of thinking, much like in Wallace's grocery store example. The story may focus on the protagonist, but they are ultimately not the center of the universe as other characters are apart of the plot. Different characters have different opinions, like in Runaway. We are shown that Clark and Carla are two vastly different people, and also the fact that Sylvia tries to help Carla based on what she thought would be best for her. She has a limited understanding of who Clark is as a person and is unable to properly help Carla out of her marriage and into a better life.

Wallace emphasizes on the importance of open mindedness making efforts to make conscious decisions and being aware of your surroundings. His theory of education can be applied to both the readers and characters of Alice Munro's stories. Her characters are shown to often gain an understanding of the world around them, especially when they are not aware. However, as readers, we make an effort to understand her worlds and we ourselves gain a better understanding of her writing, based on realistic expectations. Munro is an influential writer and there is great potential to learn from her works, both new and old.