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/lit/ - Literature

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14224231 No.14224231 [Reply] [Original]

Dude wrote a couple thousand pages, beat and stalked an ex-girlfriend, and then hung himself in a garage while the world still thought he was a genius.

Anyway, do you think the supernatural literally exists in infinite?

>> No.14224255

Do you consider history to be supernatural?

>> No.14224286

>>14224255
I do not.

>> No.14224354

>>14224231
>Dude wrote a couple thousand pages
He published a couple thousand pages, he wrote many tens of thousands.

>> No.14224612

>>14224354
Did you read the pages in between the jacket labeled infinite jest? Cause I’d like to know if you think Himself really is a ghost.

>> No.14224651

>>14224612
I like to think the wraith is indeed, the man himself, but wraith or fever dream, it has not real effect on the novel beyond giving people one more thing confuse what is ultimately a short, simple and direct novel buried within hundreds of pages of surprisingly relevant, misdirection,

>> No.14224688

Himself and Lyle are both wraiths. They're definitely real because (if memory serves) there was some proof that he wasn't just in Gately's head, something to do with his son. Yeah that's right--Himself tells him about his son and there's no way Gately would have known that. So yeah there definitely is an element of magical realism in IJ, even though it's hundreds of pages deep.

>> No.14224694

>>14224688
BTW: Lyle is a wraith because, besides levitating and licking peoples' sweat for sustenance, he was friends with Himself back in the day (and who knows what that means to our speculation).

>> No.14224707
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14224707

>>14224231

>> No.14224722

>>14224694
Wasn't Lyle the coach that was killed in the sauna?

>> No.14224778

>>14224651
Yeah, the actual story is pretty straight forward, just told in an unconventional way. It’s primarily about miscommunication and regret.

>> No.14225281

>>14224688
The wraith is ultimately just more misdirection, there is nothing about it that makes it certain the wraith is real or Himself, it is just highly suggestive, none of what the wraith says is definitively about Hal. This is a perfect example of DFW's methods with IJ, hiding the answers in plain sight by burying it in piles of highly suggestive and compelling misdirection all while he makes all of these connections between all the seemingly unconnected plots, he trains you to look for connections everywhere and you read right past those dozen or so statements that are spread throughout the novel and provide the answers.

For me, the most important statement is buried on 8 November YDAU, it is an important day and has at least two chapters devoted to it, forget if there are more than two. Once you find that statement and give the book a re-read, everything falls into place. I found reading the novel without the endnotes to greatly help.

>>14224694
I don't see it. Levitating could be another slang like interfacing or map, or he might be able to levitate, it is worth noting that there is some myth built around Lyle by the kids at ETA, they say he subsists solely off of the sweat he licks off people, but we find out later that he also drinks Diet Coke. It should also be remembered that there is a very real levitating listener in The Pale King as well, so levitation is possible within the realm of the DFW world.

>>14224778
You are either being reductive or you are missing a fair amount, I can not tell, I suppose it is as direct as one can be about it without spoiling it for others.

>> No.14225302

>>14224231
could my nubbin be supernal? the pen I mean

>> No.14225304

>>14224694
I like to think that him being a wrath has to do with
'transcending limits and boundaries', i.e. a result of meditation. IJ in general has a lot to say about boundaries

>> No.14225358

>>14224722
Nah, Lyle was the guy that just vibed out in the gym or basement or something (can't remember where it was exactly) but all the students were chill with him)

>> No.14225372

>>14225358
He was in the boy locker room, and not all the kids were cool with him, many of the younger kids were creeped out by him.

>> No.14226812

He's no Pynch