What Is Infinite Jest the Book by David Foster Wallace?
Question by Kevin7: What is Infinite Jest the book by David Foster Wallace?
Best answer:
Answer by H????? ?oi 416™
Infinite Jest is a 1996 novel by David Foster Wallace. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a semi-parodic future version of North America, and touches on tennis, substance addiction and recovery programs, depression, child abuse, family relationships, advertising and popular entertainment, film theory, and Quebec separatism, among other topics. Wallace was 33 when the novel was published.
The novel includes 388 numbered endnotes (some of which have footnotes of their own) that explain or expound on points in the story. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Wallace characterized their use as a method of disrupting the linearity of the text while maintaining some sense of narrative cohesion.
In 2005, Time magazine included the novel in its list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.
SETTING
In the novel’s future world, North America is one state comprising the United States, Canada, and Mexico, known as the Organization of North American Nations (O.N.A.N.). Corporations purchase naming rights to each calendar year, eliminating traditional numerical designations, with most of the book’s action taking place in The Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment (Y.D.A.U.). Much of what used to be the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada has become a hazardous waste dump known as the “Great Concavity” to Americans and as the “Great Convexity” to Canadians.
The novel’s primary locations are the Enfield Tennis Academy (“ETA”) and Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House (separated by a hillside in suburban Boston, Massachusetts), and a mountainside outside of Tucson, Arizona. Many characters are students or faculty at the school or patients and staff at the halfway house; a conversation between a quadruple agent and his government contact occurs at the Arizona location.
PLOT
The plot partially revolves around the missing master copy of a film cartridge, titled Infinite Jest and referred to in the novel as “the Entertainment” or “the samizdat”. The film is so entertaining to its viewers that they become lifeless, losing all interest in anything other than viewing the film. The video cartridge was the final work of film by James O. Incandenza before his microwave suicide, completed during a stint of sobriety that was requested by the lead actress, Joelle. Quebec separatists are interested in acquiring a master, redistributable copy of the work to aid in acts of terrorism against the United States. The United States Office of Unspecified Services (USOUS) is seeking to intercept the master copy of the film in order to prevent mass dissemination and the destabilization of the Organization of North American Nations. Joelle and later Hal seek treatment for substance abuse problems at The Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House, and Marathe visits the rehabilitation center to pursue a lead on the master copy of the Entertainment, tying the characters and plots together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Jest
Infinite Jest character map with the connections and relations thereamong..
http://www.alecmichod.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/unendlicherspasubersicht.jpg
Reviews of Infinite Jest
http://www.smallbytes.net/~bobkat/jesterlist.html
Add your own answer in the comments!
Choose detox with drug rehab centers Massachusetts. – http://www.drugrehabvideo.com Find drug rehab centers outside of the Massachusetts area. It is time for you to start down the road of therapy for drug addict…
Kenmore Mercy recognized for leadership in heart failure care
Filed under: drug treatment programs in massachusetts
Over the last 12 months, the hospital has successfully adhered to the treatment guidelines for heart failure patients, which include aggressive risk-reduction therapies, such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin …
Read more on Metrowny.com
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Alkermes, Ensemble, Sinai, & More
Filed under: drug treatment programs in massachusetts
—Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS) unveiled three new drug programs at its R&D day, expanding a growing portfolio that has helped its market capitalization vault past $ 4 billion over the past few years. Alkermes … —Cambridge-based Dart …
Read more on Xconomy
Cancer survivor walking 60 miles in three days
Filed under: drug treatment programs in massachusetts
Her treatment would include a lumpectomy, radiation, and five years of drug therapy. Now, Diane is ready to take this … The remaining 25 percent helps fund local community and affiliate support and outreach programs. Thanks to events like the Komen …
Read more on Wicked Local- Cohasset