Comments for david foster wallace

Comment on Faces and Floors, Beginnings and Endings by tammy

tammy — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:08:08 +0000

MR–I had not thought of that before…the idea that the addict’s life is usually associated with a low point or downward direction, but here, the image of the rising floor is opposite and more optimistic, I suppose!

Comment on Narration and Tennis by tammy

tammy — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:04:10 +0000

Here is the quote I meant to use, which may shed light on Hal’s feeling of “Never have to, never get to”: “I’m just afraid of having a tombstone that says HERE LIES A PROMISING OLD MAN. It’s…potential may be worse than none, Jim” (168). Hal’s potential is both a privilege and a trap. He both gets to play tennis and has to play tennis. Yes, no, maybe so?

Comment on the man behind the words by marram

marram — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:35:03 +0000

I truly agree with you, and with kirk12. I wish I had been able to take a class with him because the concepts he brought up in his works are many that I think we deal with, at least I do constantly. And his consistency in bringing up questions and make us question what it is to be human and what that means for each of us is different.

Comment on the man behind the words by reidau

reidau — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:32:58 +0000

In the McCaffery Interview (I think), Wallace said that “fiction’s about what it is to be a human being”. When I first stumbled upon this quote, I took it in without much thought or reflection. But after reading all that we have, I definitely sense the person (not author or voice) behind the words.
Though, I too missed out on the chance to take a class with the genius, I get an usually strong sense of identity from his words and can’t help but feel connected to the Wallace that I will never know.

Comment on Its Been Thoroughly Enjoyed by marram

marram — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:32:27 +0000

I really like your point about that satisfaction that we get from reading Wallace. We get it when we get to the end and find that Wallace hasn’t really given us an answer to a question, problem or idea he has raised. He has merely brought it up and caused the reader to pounder over it, which I think is one of his goals. Even if he doesn’t have an answer he brings up questions that he thinks we should try to find an answer to. This reminds me of an essay we read where he argued that in order for a writer to come out of the author’s loop, he has to write what he really thinks, not what the public wants him to write about. I think we can agree that’s what Wallace does, and in this way we do get satisfaction.

Comment on [-->JPT.12.(...)] by reidau

reidau — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:16:35 +0000

I really like the way you apply the McCaffery quote to Wallace’s non fiction because it definitely seems to be the case. It’s a technique that pushes us to examine cultural happenings to a point that the ordinary and familiar can become the frighteningly inescapable. (I guess I’m thinking particularly of Wallace’s consumption-oriented nonfiction pieces)

Comment on [-->JPT.12.(...)] by erinlikescupcakes

erinlikescupcakes — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:08:44 +0000

There’s definitely a dichotomy there between intellectualizing and simply being moved or emotionally tugged by Wallace’s writing. But I do think we should focus on the intellectual elements as well as the sincere candidness- he obviously prods us to philosophize and ponder the way the world works. But beyond this there’s a less intellectual, more common-guy discourse that hits us at our most basic levels.

Comment on Its Been Thoroughly Enjoyed by erinlikescupcakes

erinlikescupcakes — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:05:21 +0000

I agree that we are often left with many unanswered questions, but I never feel quite alone in them. I think this is part of the power of Wallace’s questioning: I am examining these questions but I know that he is, too. We as humans are all to examine these questions and try to understand why we feel so lonely. Wallace is willing to stoop to our level, to get down to where we are so that we can explore these pressing questions.

Comment on Its Been Thoroughly Enjoyed by jtlax45

jtlax45 — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:29:42 +0000

This habit of refusing to wrap things up or move along conventionally is, to me, a pretty powerful indicator of Wallace’s refusal to compromise when it comes to his art. At the heart of this refusal to compromise is the near certainty that, in real life, things don’t end or get cleanly resolved. In real life, we don’t feel ourselves move, as characters. Though we love narratives that do pull together, we love them for the same reason we love entertainment (as distinct from art): it’s easy to absorb.

Really, I’m just saying I agree with the above. You guys both have a nice angle on it.

Comment on Narration and Tennis by tammy

tammy — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:59:25 +0000

This is such an intriguing post! Maybe as Elizabeth suggests, Hal does resent the repetition and desire an escape or a route to freedom out of this cycle. I was thinking about earlier on in the novel, there is a discussion on talent, which argues that there is a fear of not fulfilling one’s talent (168). Perhaps that is what Hal is afraid of disappointing: wasting his talent. The quote, “Never have to, never get to,” illustrates this binary trap: on the one hand, it is a privilege to have this talent, but on the other hand, this privilege can be perceived as a curse–once you have the talent, you have to live up to it; you become a slave to it. Just a thought…