r/InfiniteJest

it's funny to see where Wallace sticks to facts and where his imagination leads him. It's something more than just a writer being a writer.

Like that area of Commonwealth Ave., for example, that passes both Ennet and ETA -- in reality it's way more boring and drab than anything else. But in DFW's hands, it becomes this kind of crime-ridden cesspit, which feels of a piece with him showing the enshittification of America in the near-future. "Enfield" would in reality be a few miles away from the river and the highway, but in the Ennet and ETA sections, it's a dramatic, expressionistic landscape, full of hills, a gaping ravine, the Charles, the Mass Pike. He'll mash together facets of actual neighborhoods in order to emphasize differences of class that are less obvious in person. Like for example when Gately's cruising through BU-land up over the river toward Inman Square. In the book, BU kids are almost uniformly soft and pampered to highlight Gately's difference. Whereas BU has a reputation for being scrappier compared to BC, Tufts, Harvard, Emerson, and other nearby colleges.

No complaints about any of this btw. it's just a window into his process.

And as someone who's spent time in Boston 12-step programs -- there is very, very little obvious fictionalization. He nails it.

"...this fall’s focus on pathologic double-bind-type quandaries was turning out to be not quite as compelling but weirdly — almost intuitively — easy..."

Schacht's solution for the agoraphobic kleptomaniac is mail fraud.

What might Schacht's easy, intuitive solution be for "exhibitionism among the pathologically shy"?

KEEP YOUR ANSWERS BRIEF AND GENDER NEUTRAL

*I meant bleachers

The passage:

“The snowfall was intense and looked silky. The East Courts' pavilion's green canvas roof bowed ominously down, its white GATORADE logo obscured. A figure was out there, not under the shelter of the pavilion but sitting in the bleachers behind the east Show Courts, leaning back with his elbows on one level and bottom on the next and feet stretched out below, not moving, wearing what seemed to be puffy and bright enough to be a coat, but getting buried by snow, just sitting there. It was impossible to tell the person's age or sex.”

My analysis, from a little while ago:

The performers (tennis players) sit in the pavilion, and the audience sits on the bleachers, observing the performance from the outside. 
I believe the figure may be Pemulis, who was recently kicked out of ETA, changing from a player within the academy to an outsider—a spectator. 
The figure has ceased to perceive the performance from a viewpoint within the performance. He (?) now understands that the performance isn’t all there is, the performance exists as a limitation, a cage that keeps the real world locked out (another example of true individual freedom vs institutional control). His exclusion allows him to understand the existence of the illusion he once perceived as reality. Instead of being locked within the cage and seeing everything from its lens, he sees the cage for what it is, and he sees everything that exists beyond it. Most importantly, he is able to perceive his own performance from a new perspective; he no longer understands himself as the character he played, he realizes that he was always the actor behind the performance.

Not long after, Hal looks at his reflection in the window, but the image is beginning to morph with the snow behind the glass; in the Eschaton scene, snow represented the reality that had imposed itself on the illusion; “real world snow” falls upon the “nuclear theatre,” and Pemulis didn’t believe it because he was still confined to the “nuclear theatre,” but now it could be that the snow (the real, non-ETA world) envelops him like it enveloped the Eschaton court.

There’s so many examples but the only specific one I can think off the top of my head is “larger seafood to cook” instead of bigger fish to fry. I found all of these really funny and try to implement them in conversations in real life. What do we think the reason is for the misuse of popular sayings?

Yo, heavy spoilers, don't read this if you don't want the book's plot ruined for you.

I'm on my third reread since yesterday and I just got to the filmography and the following brainfart occurred to me.

Did Himself understand the potential of the Samizdat as a weapon?

I know he made the film ostensibly to communicate with/amuse/connect with/redeem himself in front of his (presumably only direct, biological) son. But did he, perhaps, before his auto-da-fé by microwave, realize its potential as a weapon? Surely he himself must have SEEN the thing before he had it implanted into his brain (which, why did he do that anyway, if he didn't realize how dangerous it was), and thus, have an idea of its potential uses?

The reason why I'm wondering is this: if you read JOI's filmography, there's quite a lot there about the establishment of OTAN and the reconfiguration. He documents the American century by following a brick that gets chucked into New-Quebec, and a town that gets accidentally destroyed by trash catapults, for instance. Could one read the text as suggesting that JOI had sympathy for the cause of canadian un-reconfiguration/separatism? We know that Avril consorted at one point with canadian separatists (although we don't know if she was being used or an active participant in their conspiracy, iirc), but is it perhaps possible that Himself, himself, also wished to aid their cause?

I realize that the main argument *against* the theory that JOI ever had any violent plans for the samizdat is Himself suiciding and burying the master in his own brain, evidently to avoid anyone else ever seeing it. But is it perhaps plausible that this was not always the plan, that maybe there was a phase, earlier on, when he considered other options? If so, would there be any way to check the text to find out?

Very curious what y'all think. It's been a while since I've read the whole book, so feel free to tell me if I'm totally wrong and if I'm convinced I'll delete or edit this post to reflect that.

Edit: upon readon on, it seems more plausible to me that JOI realized it could be used as a weapon but expressly wanted to avoid Avril's maybe-maybe-not accomplices in the AFR to get their hands on it, and that this is (part of) why the auto-da-fé + cranial burial.

‘Because no shit I really have to sleep here in a second. So listen — one way to lower the flag to half-mast is just to lower the flag. There's another way though. You can also just raise the pole. You can raise the pole to like twice its original height. You get me? You understand what I mean, Mario?’ (42)

Mario thinks of a steel pole raised to double its designed height and clips his shoulder on the green steel edge of a dumpster… (84)

The page this appears on (84) is double the number of 42. Also 42 is the meaning of life in HGTTG, so this quote is the answer to ‘what is the meaning of life?’ In a way.

I went to page 21 To see if there were any allusions to a flagpole but it was just Erdedy thinking about his new bong and having dry mouth from smoking. But still a really cool find nonetheless!

the Eschaton section, after a close second read, may be the high-point for me of the novel, and also DFW's career

I wish I had a brother and I wish he were Mario

Strong Ulysses vibes with the litany of real and doctored headlines on I-day

Sooo many Steeply/Marathe interludes.....

The class on double binds of psychology and the increasingly vile tv network ads pre-Interlace made me laugh so hard my neighbors could hear me

I completely skimmed that stuff about the brothers Antitoi and their demise because truly who cares...hoping it doesn't come to bite back me in the ass

The continuum between the surrender of recovery and Schtitt's tennis-related fascism is fascinating

Am a little apprehensive that there is more than half of the novel left to go....tho I guess we haven't really dug deep into Avril, Tavis, the mechanics of Hal's breakdown, the dissemination of infinite jest

really not interested in the FLQ stuff. anytime we stray too far from ennet or eta I get antsy

Hey Brighton folks 👋

I'm visiting your lovely seaside town from 05/25 to 05/30 (the correct way to write month and date).

I'm looking for some casual tennis partners while I'm in town. I'm a decent player, 3.5-4.0 or so. Not a "I played in uni and serve at 180 mph" but decent... more like "I will absolutely run for every ball and apologize way too much when I win a point" decent.

Very fun to play against, I'm told. 🤷 (nobody has ever said that)

The catch: I also need to borrow a racquet.

The airline I flew in on has apparently decided that a tennis racket is not a "personal item" but rather a luxury good requiring its own mortgage and seat assignment. So I am leaving mine at home like a coward. I promise I will treat your racquet with the love and respect it deserves, return it unscathed, and probably buy you a beer as payment (realistic outcome).

I'm happy to play anywhere... public courts, private clubs, a car park if you're into that kind of thing (jokes). Just looking for some good rallies and an excuse to not sit on the beach looking pale next to people who are also pale but somehow significantly more confident about it.

Drop a comment or DM me if you're around and want to hit some tennis balls between the 25th and 30th.

Cheers.

(I've been practicing saying that).

looking for something that scratches that same itch as infinite jest

I decided to upgrade my routine and bought a stainless steel tongue scraper a few weeks ago. I always thought brushing was enough but the amount of buildup that came off the first time was honestly life changing and kind of terrifying. My mouth felt so light and fresh like I had just finished a professional cleaning. But then the side effects started kicking in and I realized I had accidentally turned my nose into a high precision instrument.

The issue is that without that layer on your tongue your taste buds and sense of smell just peak. I can taste every single note in my morning tea now but the trade off is that I can smell literally everything in my house. I can detect a single damp gym sock in the laundry basket from three rooms away. I found myself deep cleaning the fridge at 11 PM because I could swear I smelled a lemon that was slightly past its prime. It is like I have traded my peace of mind for the tracking skills of a bloodhound .

I used to just walk through my day being totally oblivious to the scents around me. Now every room has a distinct profile and I am constantly on edge. I went into my favorite coffee shop yesterday and had to leave because the smell of the roasted beans combined with the milk steamer was suddenly so overwhelming I thought I would get a migraine. I am obsessed with how clean my mouth feels but I hate being this hyper-aware.

I have started buying unscented everything because any artificial fragrance now feels like a physical punch to the face . It is a weird spot to be in where you finally have perfect hygiene but you kind of miss being a little bit numb to the world. If you decide to get one just know that you are going to find out exactly what your house smells like and you might not like the answer.

I guess I am just doomed to be the girl who carries around a bottle of essential oils just to have one safe thing to smell when the air gets too loud.