Garima’s
Comments
(group member since Aug 11, 2012)
Garima’s
comments
from the Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace group.
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Dustin wrote: "Garima- I read this incredibly long article just yesterday and simply had to thank you very much for sharing! I found it deeply moving, insightful, and saddening, or course. I wasn't expecting it to so extensive!!"You're Welcome, Dustin. :)
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.
Jason wrote: "it also brings me to one of the major faults I have with the book, which is that the characters themselves don't all have a nuanced way of speaking, as people do in real life...which is pretty ridiculous, I think. "you nailed it, Jason! And Gary, full points to you indeed.
Jason wrote: "Oh my god, I am so stupid. Ignore message 10, please."Too Late! hehe!
Jason wrote: "Oh, nice. Garima rules."Te-hee
Shmuli wrote: "Does anyone have at hand the definitions to the acronyms for the teams in the Escheton game?"http://infinitejest.wallacewiki.com/d...
AMNAT
The United States of America and other NATO nations
SOVWAR
The Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations
REDCHI
The People's Republic of China
LIBSYR
Libya and Syria
IRLIBSYR
LIBSYR plus Iran
INDPAK
India and Pakistan
Mala wrote: "I once heard some journalist friend describe Aishwarya Rai as 'so beautiful,it hurts the eyes!"Yeah! A friend of mine was told by someone that one shouldn't be too beautiful in this world, anyways it could be both ways as there are many hints thrown by Wallace here, conforming to both the cases.
Gately did recognise her voice & perhaps the Incandenza boys couldn't because the movies were silent ones!?
But Incandenza boys met her and talked to her in person.
Petra wrote: "Chiming in a bit late......I think Joelle is disfigured [spoilers removed]. Orin, in a way, feels guilty for saving himself at her expense and their relationship went downhill after it.
I don't t..."
She is disfigured, yes. It was a smart move by Wallace to let the readers assume for majority of the narration that Joelle's deformity is basically her extraordinary beauty and when the acid incident revealed, it took the form of a kind of test for readers (at least I thought it to be like this) that what would you prefer, something unbearably beautiful or unbearably ugly and like you stated, it tells us what it feels like to be on both sides.
About none of the Incandenzas recognising Joelle's voice, Mario definitely recognised it and I can't recall properly (God, I need to read it again!), there was a mention that she attains an accent when talking to somebody in person so possibly her voice sounds different on Radio for this reason.
Mala wrote: "I haven't read the James Wood book so can't comment on that but these lines from Wikipedia make my position clear:"Free indirect discourse can also be described, as a "technique of presenting a c..."
I would have buy that w/r/t David's writing had I not read before Girl with curious hair title story, where there are some really offensive remarks by a character. So in IJ, I agree with Obfuscation's point. Though there was a risk involved, like with that Gately's remark you mentioned Mala, which IMO is a really bad case of allegorical reference, but I think Wallace was much more intelligent than giving away such foolish remarks, but not Gately, so I took it as a character's voice and not that of the author's.
Stephen M wrote: "Well they were warned! It probably doesn't mean much to them anyway and they'll forget like I did with the Hal and Gately digging up a head at the beginning. I just figured, Hamlet reference, but d..."I was ONE of those people :P But you were right Stephen as I conveniently forgot what I accidentally read.
Mala wrote: "Hal's epiphany: (P.896-902 & 906-11)Hal's nervous breakdown,which remains a subject of endless debates,leads to a kind of acuity which either results from drugs or high meditative state ( *he ear..."
Great analysis Mala!
Mala wrote: "From Marshall Boswell's Understanding David Foster Wallace. ..."That book is great! I used it to clear my several doubts about The girl with curious hair and now again shall refer to it since I've finished reading IJ.
Hal's first anonymous meeting part is hilarious. It kind of reminded me of DFW cruise ship essay in A supposedly fun thing.
Mark wrote: "One of the things I'm having trouble parsing, and this has been since, say, 150 or so: How the heck does this book get so many five-star ratings?? I know it's a subjective thing, but honestly, it f..."Hmmm..so you won't continue reading it then?
Mark wrote: "What if you've already made those connections (before they're revealed) and still don't see what all the fuss is about? ;P"Ha! then simply finish it and congratulate yourself on doing so. It's a pretty cool accomplishment as far as I know ;)
Mark wrote: "Actually, I said Aha from page 1-17, then it's been a steady slide downward"If you're not liking it till now then possibly you won't like it around the page no. I mentioned or a bit before that because that's when the whole thing starts falling into their respective places. The narration gets linear without making readers over working their brains. (view spoiler)
Mark wrote: "Is there any particular thing that made you [Jerry, Macdaddysinfo, anyone who's enjoying it] say, Aha, now here we go!? Feel free to use the spoiler code. I'm 430p in and ready to dig up Wallace an..."I said 'Aha' from the very 1st page but around 700th page I went for a bigger 'aha'. So there!
Sorry to know that Lisebee. I always find it difficult as to how to convince people to read IJ without all those feelings of failure or frustration or without thinking about the time it demands in reading it. I'm somewhere around 750th page which of course is almost there and here's when everything is coming together real fast and I'm really glad that I didn't give up (not that I planned to as I'm a fan of DFW writing) and know that there's something mesmerizing waiting for me just around the end of it. There shouldn't be any hurry on your part to keep up with the group and rather read it at your own leisure by taking your sweet time. I would say that having read DFW other works before helped me a lot in keeping up with IJ, so may be there's where a solution lies for you. Hope you'll give it a chance :)
Wallace does make the reader over think and read between the lines if at all there is something to be read in between. I didn't take that note from that angle but that's an interesting point you made which can be cleared once the book ends but I'm not associating Quebec with Orin.
