Okay, still got quite a bit of reading to do, but as I've been reading, I keep thinking about this: from the moment I read Jim Incandenza's microwave-related death on April Fools (and Hal's reaction about something smelling delicious), I've been wondering if every death in this novel is going to be interlaced with some sort of humor. I remember the man who was robbed in the beginning of the novel, and died from a stuffy nose after the robbers put tape over his mouth.
And now we get the absolutely absurd story of Eric Clipperton, who swears he'll shoot himself if he should ever lose a tennis match, and then blows his head away when he's marked first on the rankings. The people at ETA compare him to the Kid who laced his Nestle Quik with cyanide after winning a tournament, and is discovered by his dad, who tries to give him CPR. Then every single member of his family (including the little medically-trained siblings) proceeded to give CPR to the last person who tried to recessitate someone in the family, and "by the end of the nigth the whole family's lying there blue-hued and stiff as posts, with incrementally tinier amounts of lethal Quik smeared around their rictus-grimaced mouth" (437). That moment was tragic, but also sort of amusing to me... very darkly comical.
What does it mean? Does it help to tie entertainment to death? Something tells me these aren't the last of the twisted but amusing deaths to come....
It seems like most of the deaths in this book are not dignified, or they are quirky. Like Mrs. Lenz's terrifying experience in the bathroom didn't kill her, but doing nothing after winning a lot of money did. Or Green's mother dying because of a prank. He (the author) sort of takes the seriousness out of death
Another near-death prank is when Pemulis attaches a battery to the metal doorknob of Dr. Rusk's office. the cleaning lady who first touched the knob only had a "permanent perm and irreversible crossed eyes" but if she hadn't been wearing rubbing gloves she "would have ended up way worse."
The tally of near-death experiences is growing every section. But I agree, the comedic situations seem to overshadow the tragic events to some degree. but then the consequences and later-scenes are always slightly morbid and depressing...
I feel like Wallace kind of takes the seriousness out of death, but each death in the novel seems to have some sort of serious consequence. At least, it seemed like it after Green's mother's death (around page 580). I got the feeling that this incident was one element that would later propel Green towards addiction.It's like the deaths are all hilarious (can I say that?), but the consequences are worse than they normally would be. I can't think of any other examples from the deaths of other characters--can anyone?
How about the death of Steeply's father after watching MASH? He does from a normal heart failure, but he essentially dies from watching endless amounts of TV (he even moves his bedding into his study so he can live there). This is certainly different from your textbook death. Another might be (very minor) the death of the Incandenza's dog as he is pulled behind the car while Orin and friend careen wildly down the street. All that was left was a "nubbin". That certainly seems worse than one would expect. (Or maybe I have just never thought of that before.)
Don't forget the near-death of Gately's mother when cirrhus (spelling?) left her "vegetablized." That near-death seemed to be pretty serious though.
Yeah, but Wallace tosses in the near-deaths of other addict's mothers (including the mother who was so large that her butt got stuck in the window of a greyhound bus)... the comical encounters with death seem to outweight the tragic.
It seems that in all these cases each of the characters already has in a way already become dead and their ridiculous deaths serve merely as the physical formality. e.g. Clipperton never really receives the recognition he wanted so badly, Gately's mother had nothing but the bottle and the abusive Navy sailor and Steeply's father only watched MASH.