Plot Summary of Infinite Jest
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
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What the heck in infinite jest about? In this video I summarize the setting, plot, characters, structure and something like the main thesis. Hope this is helpful!
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Great video; but you forgot the MAIN POINT! The crux of the book is a father-son tale: with JOI feeling disconnected from the person most similar to himself, his son Hal, and trying to connect with him through a series of very bizarre methods.
When Hal eats the mold as a child, he becomes outwardly very communicative, but very unfeeling and cold on the inside, JOI recognises this, and hears all of Hal's speech as a murmuring/groaning, because it doesn't come from anything; JOI then spends the rest of his life and the entire novel trying to connect with his son, by making Infinite Jest to reverse Hal's condition, by killing himself to become a wraith and communicate with Hal on a spiritual plane, by getting Hal to neglect his teeth so a yeast infection occurs and sneaking DMZ onto his toothbrush so it reacts with the infection and makes Hal once again feeling on the inside, yet outwardly incommunicative, so the wraith of JOI has some worthy mind to communicate with in the afterlife, and the last chronological point of the book takes place just before Hal would be playing Stice, who has become possessed by JOI's wraith, and thus the father and son may finally bond over a game of tennis.
JOI? jerk off instructions?
Father and son being able to finally communicate through a tennis ball over a net with the non-verbal language of tennis is the most touching image to end the book
@@lorenzozadro2892 really is; this book is great when read through that lens; it has a lot of call-backs to Brothers Karamazov too.
@@sterlingweston I'll get back to this comments when I read it 🤩 cheers man
Fun fact: in the Roman Calendar, years had the name of that year's elected consuls. You weren't born in -54 BC, you were born in "The year of Caesar". And people would be able to list all the names of all the consuls since the year they were born, like kids with multiplication tables today.
So there you go, not so weird. Thanks for the summary, this looks chaotic as fuck.
I remember, that „caesar“ is not a name but rather a title. The German word “Kaiser” is derived from it.
@@annakonda6289 Kai-sar, in Roman times, yes. It means "elephant" in Carthaginian, because an ancestor of Julius Caesar was in the Punic Wars and killed an elephant in an act of bravery, so his whole family inherited the title. Crazy stuff.
Don doesn’t end up dating Joelle. He has feelings for her but acknowledges that it’s predatory to pursue a relationship with anyone who’s newly sober. Joelle is only 2-3 weeks sober in the end of this book.
Spoiler Alert:
but was he not dying at the end ?
@@jacobrubio6667 No, he doesn’t die that we know of, although he was in intensive care after a gunshot wound. It’s implied that he recovers.
Anyways, this is a plot summary. People shouldn’t come to this video if they don’t want the book spoiled.
@@antichrist.superstar yeah, he may be dying, but Hal (way back at the novel's beginning, but the timeline's ending) speaks of a scene involving Gately and John N.R. Wayne digging up Himself's head. Which may or may not be an accurate memory on Hal's part.
@@ma-mo Exactly. In the first chapter Hal has memories of being in the graveyard with Gately, which could only have happened after the events in the final chapter. Whether Hal’s memories are real is up to interpretation. But in an interview DFW mentions that there is resolution to the story, but that it occurs just outside the frame of the narrative we are provided with. This makes me think the master copy of the entertainment is eventually found, which makes Gately’s recovery seem likely. Just my interpretation.
The guys in NA and AA should follow that principle. Makes the whole thing seem gross.
Fantastic summary. I would only argue that Hal does not become an animal on the inside in chapter 1. Instead, we can see that he thinks clearly and in the most logical way, but loses his ability to communicate with the outside world. That is the reason why, when he speaks, nobody can understand his sounds. This is a very interesting way to see this because, as you said, he represents this kind of philosophy where the language is the key to understanding the universe, and it seems that, perhaps, just like a guy named Cobb said on a paper about it, instead of involving into an animal, he could have reached a point in which his knowledge is non comunicable, thus developing a private language.
DFW's take on the Gregor character in Kafka's The Metamorphosis
kinda reminds me of the idea of that king somewhere in old english history that put twins on an island on their own in order to learn what the "language of eden" was. the twins did develop their own language but obviously nobody could understand them cause nobody else knew the "language of eden".
Joelle actually puts on the veil because she's been disfigured by acid being flung into her face semi-accidentally by her mother. I know people say it's a bit ambiguous whether or not the acid story is true, but on my most recent reading I came across a bit where Hal mentions Joelle's disfigurement, which in my opinion lends some truth to the whole thing.
Also, maybe a small point, but I don't think there being two types of people in ONAN was the point that DFW was trying to get across. I think the point is that the different types of people you mention are really driven by the same impulse, that is, the impulse to give yourself over to something. Media and entertainment, tennis, academics, drugs... it's all the same thing
There's room for the theory that the acid enhanced her beauty. I'm partial to this idea for it reflects how people who overcome adversity become stronger.
@@Frenchnoble I actually dont believe there is. As I recall its explicitly said at some point that her being "too pretty" beneath her veil was a joke.
@@dharmatycoon There are unreliable narrators in IJ. There is no actual description of her veil-less features and thus room for doubt and theory.
@@Frenchnoble I am well aware that there are unreliable narrators, but I mean come on, Joelle herself states that its a joke
@@dharmatycoon So, I hear you, I see you, I understand you; I don't think that's 100% satisfactory evidence.
Freakin incredible summary and graphic explanation of Infinite Jest. The book has been sitting on my shelf next to Don De Lillo's Underworld. I picked up Infinite Jest and really tried to read it but only got through the first 100 pages. Then back on the shelf for years. It says on the cover that it was a national bestseller but I guess that I am one of many who tried to read it and then gave up. I thought it was about tennis and drugs. Then I flipped back to the copious endnotes which i could not understand where this was going. Joyce's Finnegan's Wake did not have endnotes. Never finished reading that book either but have read Joyce's Ulysses a few times. But modernist and post- postmodernist literature are not the same in structure and style. Then again, I never got through Atlas Shrugged either. BUT now I am willing to go back and try my best to finish Infinite Jest. Thank you for this.
It took me three years to read this book. I don’t know how I feel about finishing it. There is nothing happening inside me particularly at the moment. I just finished it 20 minutes ago. But i know it has been important in my life for quite some time now. Thanks for this recap. I missed a lot of info you pointed out. Wow. What an accomplishment. What kept me going for these three years was DFW’s voice. Wildly intelligent but also kind and caring, like a loving big brother. I don’t know what I will do now. This leaves a big void in my life.
Read it again. I have read it many times in many different ways. Two suggestions: read it chronologically. Read it by character, aka follow Don or follow Hal.
Read Blood Meridian.
I just finished the book and totally agree with this analysis. The value of this book is in the experience of reading it and the broad but accurate view of how the world is evolving. Forget about the plot. It is merely a delivery vehicle.
Ive been looking for something on Infinite Jest that could possibly be un-spoilable while being 50 pages in. Your description less than a minute in got me hooked. Thanks!
i actually have a lot of problems with this video but its wildly impressive nonetheless that you could summarize the plot so accurately in 20 minutes . its like you were scrambling to get all this information out , video has a manic feel that i like a lot and i send this to friends as an introduction to the book sometime
Book has been sitting on my shelf for months (years?) and I’ve always been too intimidated to venture much past the first chapter. This summary gave me hope, thank you. I shall try again
Did you ever finish? How was it for you? I just finished recently
Terrific summary. I read Infinite Jest in high school and then a second time in college. You pointed out a lot of details I never noticed. I’ve got to make time to read this big chunk of paper and ink a third time.
I read it in English as a non native speaker, which was a pretty hard task sometimes, but also a fascinating experience. For sure I missed out on some details, so here is what I have to ask. What confused me a little bit about this great summary (congrats to that!), was the part of you describing Hal as a genius. For the most part of the book to me he seemed to be an intelligent but not at all exceptional young man. He wasn´t even good in mathematics (mind he needed a lot of extra help by his friend Pemulis to get him through the exams). The description of Hal as a genius was just in the first chapter, so didn´t he became one due to whatever happened to him during the year between the last and the first chapter of the book?
I want to say thank to you Caleb, because you clarified to me a lot of things that I didn't get through my first reading and others that I thought I have misunderstood but not.
Definitely the best IJ summary I’ve come across. Bravo! (also dope to hear your enthusiasm about the book itself!)
Hi Theophile. Thank you for making this video. It was helpful and I will recommend your channel to others.
I’m only halfway through and this is the most compelling video I’ve ever watched. An awesome summary! Thank you! Thinking about starting my second journey through infinite jest. Can wait to see Lateral Alice again!
I spent a long three months reading this book a few years ago. I loved it and I really enjoyed your quick summary.
Been a couple years since I read it, but as soon you reminded me of something I could feel the whole scene again
This is awesome! I read the whole book and your explanation really helps to put it all together. I will read again but probably skip the end notes next time.
Thank you so much for this. I was struggling to read this book on and off for some time, confused mainly with the structure of it all. But now understanding why its written such a way, I think Ill have another (proper) go at it! Cheers!
Bro, you got me so hyped for this book when I try to read it next! Great video!
This is very well done, well organized, and clear. Thank you for this significant effort.
Wow. This was the most thorough summary I've ever heard. It makes me want to read Infinite Jest again :). The one important aspect you left out (imo) is how the characters communicate. DFW spent a while discussing how vanity influenced things like video chatting. The book began with Hal unable to communicate and ended with Gately having a tube in his throat, unable to speak to the people around him. I think the methods of communication used by the characters is important enough to be included in such a summary.
For real, this was amazing. Thanks for putting it ou!
And it's worth noting that Hal winds up in a hospital bed next to Don at the end of the book, and the two of them form an important relationship, which his referenced in the opening section.
One other important detail--we are only given a glimpse into Hal's inner life after Pemulis negotiates the delayed drug test, giving them 30 days to detox. Hal's story switches to first person narration at that point, and it's mentioned a couple times by Hal's classmates that Hal's voice sounds strange. His deteriorating ability to communicate coincides with his rediscovered ability to feel and believe.
A most excellent summary! I listened to the audiobook version of Infinite Jest while thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and fell absolutely in love with it. I need to revisit the book in physical form, as the audio version doesn't include footnotes, which are no doubt a big part of the book.
Well done!. Someone who can speak from familiarity on the subject clearly, concisely, comprehensively-unlike the other brand-without turning his back to the audience to read from his own slides!
You're officially the only RUclipsr to properly summarised the plot of IJ (not just discuss its many themes -- which you do amazingly btw 😊 I had no idea about post modernism & linguistics stuff)
I think this content will actually make ppl want to read IJ. It has a bad reputation for being inaccessible and defying explanation
You've certainly inspired me to finish it. Thanks!! 👏
I had so much fun listening to this. It really brought the experience of the book back to life for me. Thank you, Caleb!
That was a truly incredible summary. I would say this is the most helpful I’ve found any literary resource to be. You really capture the essence of the book while not missing any plot devices either. I physically can’t not subscribe to you after watching this. Thanks!
same here!
I myself love satire, even published 5 books, and have always noted that something instinctive within the mainstream either outright rejects it, or co opt and dilutes it until it's defanged.
This was a lovely summary of a book I'd never read but seem compelled to know about! Subscribed!
Thank you sir, I finished it yesterday and was looking for some material to help me understand. I really appreciate this, thanks
thanks again for the great summary
Glad you enjoyed it
Hey Caleb, thanks for your great work here, enlightening and well paced. All the best, T.
Well done. Very well done! Thank you, I’m actually going to try to read it now and your summary will help a lot.
When you mention Don is drinking the alcohol his mother leaves in the bottle after she passes out- you say it’s to help her so she maybe will drink less. That’s inaccurate, he drinks it so it will be gone and she will have to go to the store the next day and replenish her supply enabling him insurance for himself to have access to the vodka again thus the cycle continues.
Thank you so much for this! I just finished reading the book and needed a quick summary to make sure I absorbed everything!
This video is insanely insightful and talented content creation, wow.
I was admitting defeat and putting the book (Audible) down some 20% in and this review has made me commit back into it.
Put some batteries in your smoke detector
what a FANTASTICALLY written video!
Thank you!
Thank you! About 4 chapters in and this was immensely helpful!
Brilliant summary. I've read it a couple of times but could never have summarised it so coherently. It added to my understanding as well e.g. the point about Steeply and Marathe's Platonic dialogue. A couple of other points occured to me as I listened: the 'infinite' in the title refers to the return to chapter 1 (perhaps I missed you saying this), Secondly, on a plot level, the title's Shakespeare reference may relate to the Incandenza family structure following 'Himself's' death i.e. half-brother takes over ETA / moves in with Avril, Hal's existential angst and James' return as a ghost. But hey, one could mine this book for decades for intertextual references!
This was excellent! Thank you for your work!
The story sounds as though it were the lovechild of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a Vonnegut yarn.
Nice synopsis and short analysis professor. I only got a few chapters in before my mind fuzzed and my eyes glazed over, so thanks for some clarification beyond the Wiki page Infinite Jest entry.
Thank you so much for making this video. Loved your comments at the end too on why it’s hated!
One note, although Don was shot by a Canadian, he was shot because Lenz killed the dog, not because they were looking for the cartridge
Hes also not dating JvD
Came to ask about that. I thought it was just some random "nuck" who's dog lenz killed, nothing to do with the wheelchair assasins
What the fuck happen to Lenz anyway? Last I remember he was lost and binging on drugs
@@LucasNauan its mentioned towards the end that the AFR, stationed in the deceased Antitioi's shop, scoop him up off the street with the intention of showing him the entertainment for research purposes but he cuts off all the fingers of Poor Tony while they are both in captivity, enraging the AFR leader. last mention is one of the leaders considering just killing him since he's obstructing their research. No definite end but you can imagine he's probably dead.
@@levisimpson4454forgot this!
This is a great summary, thank you
Rather than just beginning IJ, I finished it this week after nearly a two year period of on and off reading. As much as this is helpful for those looking to begin the book, I found it extremely helpful in gathering my own analysis and take aways from the book without rereading hundreds of annotations. I think this is a great summary and video, (aside from a few controversial points I see mentioned in the comments). Good work.
absolutely fantastic summary; thanks a lot.
This video was incredible--thank you very much!
That is impressively informative for a 20 minutes summary. Well done. Interesting point about the book being like tennis or ballet.
What is so amazing about DFW is that his magnum opus, IJ, has such a simple overall plot, but if you read his short stories, it's clear that he was also able create some pretty captivating storylines that span 50 pages instead of 1000.
Excellent summary of a difficult book. Subscribed.
Wow, that was impressive! Well done!!
Wonderful job summarizing the unsummerizable! It is criminal you dont have more views and subs. Welp I'll do my part and sub right now.
Thank you for taking the time to do this.. helped much.
Brilliant summary Caleb. I’ve read IJ twice now. The second time was an ah ha moment for me
What did you realize?
Dude, THANK YOU for making this
Bought this book after watching The End of the Tour back in 2015, just finally got around to finishing it. 🙌
Wow, that was great. A lot of stuff I missed in my first reading. Thank you.
DUDE! I literally just finished this audiobook this morning and was like, "What the heck did I just read?!?!" your summary was INCREDIBLY helpful!!! Wow! I wish I could give you a thousand likes. Seriously. I'm eager to read the book next time because I have a clue what's going on. Seriously, GREAT job! Thank you!
thank you for this synopsis. I have finished the book and definitely need a second lap
This was insanely well done. Wish I had had this in grad school! 😂 congrats!
Dude, that is so well made. You should do the same for Gravity's Rainbow.
Here's the climactic scenes missing from the book (I'm making this up): In the last chapter, the bed next to Gately is being prepped for the next patient. After his breakdown, Hal is taken to the hospital and placed in Gately's room and our two protagonists finally meet. Joelle shows up and Hal recognizes her. The three hatch a plan to dig up Hal's father and recover the original cartridge. Hal enlists John Wayne and Gately somehow gets better. They head to the gravesite and are confronted by the two triple agents, who have followed them. Thus the storylines of all our main characters finally converge. One of the agents kills everyone except Hal and takes the cartridge. The trauma causes Hal to lose the ability to communicate and we're back around to Chapter One.
My memory of the text includes Hal and Gately standing over the exhumed body of James O. Perhaps skull in hand... I experience this as the last chronological event portrayed in Infinite Jest.
In the first chapter, Hal relates the gravesite scene as a memory. Towards the end, Gately relates the gravesite scene through his delirium as (I believe) foreshadowing. This appears to be the thread connecting the end of the book to the beginning, chronologically.
this is so good man. thank you very much.
Very well made! Thank you very much.
I enjoyed this analysis. Another theme of the novel is "addiction". Many characters are in 12 Step programs or recovery facilities. The novel's funny and brilliant second chapter describes how a person addicted to marijuana relates to the drug and to his dealer. The video which the Saudi Arabia counselar official watches is the ultimate drug, in essence a process addiction. which is so appealing, that it's the only activity he wants to do and he cannot stop watching even to eat and drink, causing him to starve to death. It's a metaphor which covers many possibilities in contemporary culture, drugs of intense euphoria like methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl or even nicotine, whose addictive hold on users is as irresistible as harder drugs. In some ways it describes the experience of Internet users who check their Facebook page 10-20 times per day, even when they don't enjoy it. It also anticipates current concerns about artificial intelligence, which may produce programs and technologies which lead to the downfall of human civilization.
David Foster Wallace was deeply opposed to cynicism, which the internet delivers to millions many times per day.
Instead of giving themselves to meaningful pursuits, they watch many hours of cringe videos, or curating subreddits devoted to hating on this group or that group talking about the "world these days."
Instead of feeling inspired and called to action, they get lulled into nihilism and fear and cynicism. We spend much more time ironically watching things we don't like than on pursuits that fulfill us.
I would highly recommend not watching a summary before you read infinite jest because like idk I feel like I'm happy that I didn't know anything going into it and was surprised by all of the surprising things.
It has been years since I read IJ, but I have read it at least a dozen times... possibly twenty or so. My memory of the "end of the book," which I define as the last chronological event is this: Hal and Don standing over the exhumed body of James O. Incandenza, ostensibly in search of the fabled antidote to Infinite Jest. Secondly, a group of Canadians unrelated to les assassins shot Gately because he was protecting Lentz. Lentz killed a large pet dog belonging to one of these massive Hawaiian shirt wearing Canadians. While this was happening, Gately spied JVD's legs climbing out Green's window. Lastly, what's your story?
This is really excellent, thank you.
Caleb you are fantastic thank you so much.
Good content. Subscribed 👏🏼
Excellent summary! Any chance of tackling Gravity’s Rainbow? It makes Infinite Jest look like a Goosebumps novel
I love Pynchon. Inherent Vice is in my top 5 favorite books list. I tried GR recently and got 90 pages in then gave up in defeat. I picked up Mason and Dixon and am loving it. I have sworn to myself I will get through GR at some point!
@@CalebSmith3 Perhaps listening to the Audible version. I read it this way twice back to back. You have to be okay with not being able to make sense of large sections of GR. I'm listening to IJ at the moment. Gately has just gotten shot. I would say I neither love or hate IF. I've had the same reaction to GR and 1000 years of solitude.
@@CalebSmith3 I recommend listening to the pynchon in public podcast while you read gravity's rainbow. They do chapter by chapter analyses of the book so you have some other voices discussing the novel that can help you to stay on pace and motivated to keep at it.
Thanks a lot! Great video!
Before you even got to the summary, you nailed the video.
Nicely done!
This was super helpful. I get the beginning now that made no sense before. I hate 90 percent of the book but two parts start. The way DFW describes drugs addiction makes you really feel it and I was entertained by the two brothers on the phone coversation about their father's suicide with dark humor to it.
To hear someone talk about this book was interesting and piqued my curiosity.
Although you have mistaken some details of the book, you have provided some useful insights into it.
amazing job!! thank you!!
It's official, I'm buying this book on Amazon, ty again!
This explained nothing but everything, thanks
You aced that btw man ! Subscribed
Great summary, you speak fast very well.
GREAT SUMMARY BRO. SCARY BELL. MADE ME JUMP.
Really good job, thank you
Great summary 👏
Great video but I stopped halfway through so I can actually finish the book! I was very very confused after the first several chapters but now I kind of see the structure
In the book it says when subsidized time starts, there's a chart with it. If I recall Year of Glad takes place in 2009
Well done!
appreciete ur channel keep uploadingw 💪 sorry for some misspelled words
Thank you for the neutral and simply informative way you discribed current or not so recent politics. It's nice to not get a polorized opinion when all you want is information and entertainment.
had a great time with the video!
thank you for the Grand Canyon Metaphor, I will use this forever
That ding is way too loud, kept scaring the shit outta me, great video though.
Best summary - congrats quite a feat
Great summary
"All of the events take place over nine years" -- except the flashbacks to J.O. Incandenza's childhood and the background on his father.
Also not accurate to say he's not alive during subsidized time. His last film was filmed in the Year of the Trial-Sized Dove Bar.
Fine presentation.
Great job thanks