/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.6456181]

What was he actually depressed about though?

[Anonymous No.6456182]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhhC_N6Bm_s

[Anonymous No.6456212]

you;ve got to be jesting me

[Anonymous No.6456221]

>>6456182
I think his suicide proves this isn't a philosophy you should live by

[Anonymous No.6456225]

He was on antidepressants for 20 years. He tried to quit them, tried electroshock therapy, then went back on them. They didn't work anymore once he did.

>His wife kept a watchful eye on him in the following days, but on September 12, Wallace went into the garage, wrote a two-page note, and arranged part of the manuscript for The Pale King before hanging himself from a patio rafter.

[Anonymous No.6456227]

>>6456225
>you will never read that note

[Anonymous No.6456228]

>>6456181
Do you really need to ask?

[Anonymous No.6456231]

>>6456227

[Anonymous No.6456242]

I sort of want to read some short shit right now, not looking to get into a massive book like Infinite Jest.

Is Oblivion a decent Wallace book? Is it good entry level shit to Wallace?

[Anonymous No.6456261]

>>6456242
Start here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?_r=0

[Anonymous No.6456283]

>>6456181
>What was he actually depressed about though?
nothing, the depression is just whining officially recognized.

[Anonymous No.6456289]

>>6456225
i wonder how many footnotes the note has

[Anonymous No.6456330]

>>6456221
DFW is a rare example of somebody who can legitimately be classified as clinically depressed though. The commencement speech highlights the typical mentality of a depressed person; his speech, especially the grocery store analogy, shows a perceived monotony, overwhelming sense of helplessness, low self worth, and a notable lack of positive emotion present in any sort of manifestation, that are all generally common symptoms among MDD sufferers.

A major aspect of MDD is the potential for sporadic episodes of excessive emotional turmoil which, based on the account of events leading up to his suicide, is likely a major cause for DFW's death (especially considering his inconsistent usage of antidepressants around that time). His death shouldn't really be considered an objection to the validity of his philosophy, especially on the grounds that he wasn't in a relatively stable state of mind. More importantly this speech isn't a philosophy about how to deal with something as encompassing as MDD, but instead tackles a more general purpose of defining and solving feelings of monotony (a feeling which is present in a more general public).

Basically I don't think you can discredit his ideas on the grounds that it didn't work for him, mainly because his MDD is very clearly an irregularity that existed outside of the scope of his philosophy. This guy had all kinds of demons to battle besides a perceived monotony at grocery stores and traffic pileups.

[Anonymous No.6456377]

>>6456242
Yes. A very short story that is powerful and quite Wallacey is Incarnations of Burnt Children. It's pretty heavy though

[Anonymous No.6456382]

>>6456221
For you to be correct he would have to be claiming that his philosophy could cure chronic depression

[Anonymous No.6456398]

>>6456330
>DFW is a rare example of somebody who can legitimately be classified as clinically depressed

not really that rare

I mean its overdiagnosed to sell pills but it isnt too rare

[Anonymous No.6456401]

>>6456283
i believe the technical term is 'whinging'

[Anonymous No.6456408]

>>6456330
>DFW is a rare example of somebody who can legitimately be classified as clinically depressed though.

dumb statement on several levels and you decided to lead off with it, impressive

[« 零 » !Ry9.FWKNDY No.6456420]

>>6456181
>depressed about

YOU IGNORE WHAT DEPRESSION IS.

[Anonymous No.6456697]

>>6456242
Oblivion is okay (the collection, not the story) but for fiction read Brief Interviews, that's where the good stuff's at.

>>6456377
That story is literally Palahniuk.

[Anonymous No.6456701]

>>6456181
His lack of discernible talent

[Anonymous No.6456716]

He really didn't like supermarkets and he had a weed addiction.

[Anonymous No.6457123]

>>6456181
>implying you have to be depressed "about" something

It's like you don't understand how mental illness works.

>>6456697
Finally someone else who thinks Brief Interviews is better than Oblivion. In general I like middle Wallace (Brief Interviews & Infinite Jest) considerably more than late Wallace (Oblivion & Pale King). Although people will say that the prose is less self-indulgent in his later works, and I agree, I think the storytelling itself is more indulgent and more detrimental to the reader's experience.

[Anonymous No.6457142]

I don't read books from people who commit suicide. Books are meant to enlighten a person and someone who commits suicide was clearly not enlightened. Enlightenment is able to trump depression and all other forms of human nature.

[Anonymous No.6457148]

http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/inside-david-foster-wallaces-private-self-help-library

He killed himself because he was a narcissist, and being le genius writer didn't end up satisfying him in the end.
Just read Good Old Neon, it's pretty much autobiographical.

[Anonymous No.6457209]

>>6457148
>it's pretty much autobiographical
fraudulence may be a part of it. Good Old Neon is just a about one small part of depression that he tackled

[Anonymous No.6457228]

>>6456181
Nadal winning the 2008 Wimbledon final

[Anonymous No.6457240]

>>6456330
this.
DFW was the one of clinically depressed man. The rest are charlatans

[David Foster Wallace No.6457258]

>>6457228
this tbh

[Anonymous No.6457324]

>>6456398
>>6456408
The poster has never read Kafka.

[Anonymous No.6457406]

>>6456181
Read 'Good ol Neon'

[Anonymous No.6457413]

He got married, which stopped him getting that prime teen pussy he loved so much.

[Anonymous No.6457419]

>>6456181
>What was he actually depressed about though?
If you have a reason to be depressed you're not clinically depressed, you're just sad, and that's normal (everyone is sad once in a while).

[Anonymous No.6457422]

>>6456330
>dad's brother's son committed suicide
>dad's sister's daughter committed suicide
>I was told I had 'depressive tendencies' by my uni therapist

Boy I can't wait to have a kid so I can pass this on

[Anonymous No.6457439]

>>6456330
>mfw there's a good post on /lit/

[Anonymous No.6458197]

>>6456289

Underrated Post

[Anonymous No.6458204]

He couldn't be Sisyphus, contented. No one can.

[Anonymous No.6458219]

does anyone know where I can read his suicide?

[Anonymous No.6458407]

“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote.”

was he right /lit/?

[Anonymous No.6458449]

>>6458407
No, because it doesn't 'double' a die hard's vote at all

[Anonymous No.6458837]

>>6458449
>cherry picking
>not understanding what he means by 'doubling'
go back to /tv/

[Anonymous No.6458880]

>>6456330
It's likely that he was genetically predisposed for depression. In Every Love Story is a Ghost Story a few other family members who committed suicide are mentioned.

[Anonymous No.6458885]

>>6457142

[Anonymous No.6458887]

>>6456181
>author hasn't killed themselves
so jejune

[Anonymous No.6458893]

>>6458887
this

[Anonymous No.6458903]

>>6458407
How do you change the awful two party system then? Yes, I'm already taking the stance that it's awful and I imagine nearly anything could be better.

You can't change it by voting or not voting. What do?

[Anonymous No.6458912]

>>6458903
>What do?

Isn't it obvious?
Commit suicide.

[Anonymous No.6458915]

>>6457142
What if you read a book by living author that enlightens you. Then the author commits suicide. Do you have to revert and discard your enlightenment?

[Anonymous No.6458984]

>>6456181
>what was the diabetic actually intolerant about though?

[Anonymous No.6459197]

>>6456182
what an idiot

[Anonymous No.6459350]

That's not how depression works...

[Anonymous No.6459574]

>>6459197
Is that all you have to say?