Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace discussion

This thread is for discussion of pgs. 450-527 in Infinite Jest. Page 527 → Kindle location 12,580 (49%)

Schtitt's pep talk to the ETA first rankers is very impressive- minimum words & maximaum impact- talk abt German efficiency! (P 459-60).
His whole idea of transcendence-of rising above the limiting circumstances brings into sharp focus the Determinism v.Free Will theme of the book- earlier Marathe was expresssing this idea that even if the 'entertainment' is let loose on the American public,they still have the 'free will' to choose not to see it! (P 430).
The various addicts in this book have the choice to choose sobriety over self- destruction.

Pat Monestein is described far more poignantly than Joelle-"Pat walked with a dignified but godaweful lurch,dragging a terribly thin right leg in back leather pants behind her like something hanging on to her that she was trying to get away from."(P465).

Gately's journey is presented in such a heartfelt way that when these lines came,I cried: "... and the White Flaggers presented him,on the September Sunday that marked his first year sober,with a faultlessly baked and heavily frosted one-candle cake,Don Gately had cried in front of nonrelatives for the first time in his life. He now denies that he actually did cry,saying something about candle-fumes in his eye. But he did." 
And then you get these touchingly funny description of Gately serving his routine bland & horrible  communal supper at Ennet House:"...his eyes full of anxiety and hopes for everyone's full enjoyment,basically looking like a nervous bride serving her first conjugal dish,except this bride's hands are the same size as the House's dinner plates and have jailhouse tatts on them.. Any sort of culinary comments are always extremely oblique."(P 468-69).
Wallace makes you smile through your tears!

The Antitoi brothers finally make an appearance ( they were earlier mentioned in relation to Pemulis buying DMZ from them & Tony Crause planning to meet them), only to die brutally at the hands of the Wheelchair assasins. Lucian Antitoi's inability to communicate in french recalls Hal's verbal breakdown at the beginning of the book & also DuPlessis's inability to communicate with Gately,leading to the former's accidental death.
Communication or rather the lack of it is one of the keys to the novel.
Something important seems to have taken place in pages 480-88, we'll see how it all plans out.
"Antitoi Entertainent"- yes that's right,it's not 'entertainment' but that's how we all read the word- the mind self-corrected it. Also Antitoi was Foster Wallace's friend & tennis partner during his childhood & teenage years!

After Lucien Antitoi's innocent blood is spilled,the colour scheme turns predominantly blue- we learn that the clouds filled blue sky (the cover of this book) is a wallpaper in CT's & a dentist's rooom.(P.509). But Wallace didn't choose the cover of this book- here is a conversation from Lipsky's "Although  of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself,” where, while on an airplane leafing through the safety guide, Wallace-

"[Closes it, looks at cover. Clouds and sky.]

This was my major complaint about the cover of the book. …Is that it looks — on American Airlines flights? The cloud system, it’s almost identical.

[On safety booklet for 757]

Oh, that’s funny. What did you want instead?

Oh, I had a number of — there’s a great photo of Fritz Lang directing Metropolis. Do you know this one? Where he’s standing there, and there are about a thousand shaven-headed men in kind of rows and phalanxes, and he’s standing there with a megaphone? It wouldn’t have been…Michael [Pietsch, Wallace's editor at Little Brown] said it was too busy and too like conceptual, it required too much brain work on the part of the audience….

Because you were making a metaphor on the cover?

No, I just thought it was cool —"

Dawww, Mala, I agree with you; Gately's childish earnestness in the kitchen is so heartbreaking/heartwarming! He tries so hard just to make a good meal for the residents. Reading that part made me want to just give him a big hug and a personal cooking lesson, free of charge! Looks like he's got a certain softness underneath that gritty exterior. What a sweetheart!

Yep,he is a sweetheart & believe me the Ennet House residents would've hugely appreciated a cooking lesson from you to Gately :-)

Mala wrote: "Antitoi Entertainent"- yes that's right,it's not 'entertainment' but that's how we all read the word- the mind self-corrected it...."

There is an end note with it that either it's a spelling mistake or Quebecois solecism.

On Page 510, there is reference to Nabokov's Lolita in relation to coach R.Billy and how one Dr. Dolores Rusk keeps check on young girls not to be victimized of any kind of paedophylic episodes.

Mala wrote: "His whole idea of transcendence-of rising above the limiting circumstances brings into sharp focus the Determinism v.Free Will theme of the book- earlier Marathe was expresssing this idea that even if the 'entertainment' is let loose on the American public,they still have the 'free will' to choose not to see it! (P 430)...."

Mala, a variation of this theme keeps popping up throughout: the idea of the need to find something bigger than the self to believe in and live for.
One can choose the "something bigger", which includes choosing not to indulge in the self's need to be entertained, and live with a sense of greater purpose, which includes freedom from the chains of such things as the Entertainment (Samizdat).
Living for the self chains one; living for the bigger cause frees one.

Gately is an interesting fellow and turning into quite the softie. I'm beginning to really like him.
The Lolita references were a hilarious insert. I wasn't expecting it and it made me laugh out loud.
I felt so sorry for young, 8-yr old Mario in the Eric Clipperton segment. The poor child!
Also, there are numerous hints that Mario is around and has picked up a lot of tiny bits of information (statements such as "X, Y and 'maybe Mario' knows this info"). If true that Mario knows all these things, he may become a pivotal point in this story. Mario is my favorite character so far, so having him come into the forefront is an interesting thought.

That's true Petra,this is one of the big themes- the things that limit the self from connecting with others,from engaging with life in a meaningful way- be it drugs/alcohol/addiction to mindless entertainment/solipsism.

Depression is also a stumbling block but there the person has very little choice regarding their actions compared to addicted personalities of various kinds.

Mario & Gately are my favs too! Glad you are enjoying it so far :-)

Quick question: When Gately asks Joelle about how she is disfigured, she tells him she is disfigured because she is so beautiful. And, I know Hal and Orin refer to her as the P.G.O.A.T. However, for some reason, I feel like I remember (in a Joelle or Orin section) a reference/statement that Joelle was in some kind of acid accident, and I assumed she was actually disfigured. Can anyone clarify this for me? I definitely concede that I could be "mis-remembering" this! :) Thanks!

Hi Elle! Yes, there was an acid accident involved but whether or not it was an actual cause for her deformity can't be said with complete confidence. There is a huge ambiguity to this issue and at the end it's up to the readers what they want to assume or believe because either ways the victimization of Joelle because of her beauty/deformity is highlighted.

Thanks! Yeah, I did some more research on it last night, and found where I'd highlighted a sentence about Orin avoiding "flung" acid. I haven't finished the book yet. I'm still right about here. But, I think that she is actually deformed and there's something to this acid incident. I think Orin couldn't handle that she was no longer the P.G.O.A.T., just like he struggled to handle that she was before the incident. She was victimized for being both too beautiful then too deformed. She couldn't win either way.