Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"The New Millennium's Passion For Standing Live Witness To Things:” The Epidemiology Of Isolation, Addiction And Redemption In David Foster Wallace’S Infinite Jest, Natalie C. Helberg

All Student Theses

Infinite Jest is a one-thousand, seventy-nine page novel and it weighs almost three pounds; it is heavy in a literal and a spiritual sense. The novel is David Foster Wallace’s greatest achievement. It portrays characters who are dramatically isolated from one another and who cannot cope without some form of addiction. This addiction manifests itself in the form of an extreme dependence on drugs and/or technology to escape reality. This thesis first discusses the effects of technology on a society that is lonely and isolated. Then, two major characters with substance abuse issues are analyzed in an effort to understand …