Exploring Infinite Jest

Exploring “Infinite Jest”

A celebrity has become president. The populace is chronically distracted by technology and entertainment. This isn’t a Buzzfeed article; it’s David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. Explore these prophetic images and more as we read, analyze, and discuss the larger-than-life Infinite Jest.

Locations: Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside

Cost: $100/hr.

Recommended hours: 10-12

Goals:

Understand, analyze, and develop arguments regarding Infinite Jest
Increase confidence reading contemporary and “difficult” texts
Work in a learning environment closely resembling a college seminar
Create compelling responses to questions and/or prompts by close reading, conducting careful research (if you choose), and integrating textual evidence

To Enroll Call (650) 331-3251 / (408) 345–5200

Course Description:

David Foster Wallace is universally acclaimed as the author of boundary-pushing non-fiction, novels, and short narratives. Infinite Jest (1996) is a large, masterful, ambitious novel that Wallace composed to provoke thought and spark conversation. Working as a group, practicing close reading, open-ended questions, and discussion, we will analyze Wallace’s virtuoso prose, his one of a kind thought process, his prophetic images of a future of America (set 20 years after it was published), as well as his deeply personal and sensitive depictions of character. We will ask such questions as: What is Wallace’s place in American literary history? How does he depict contemporary culture, media, and technology? Does he provide strategies for the reader to navigate the onslaught of information, distraction, and entertainment in the 20th-21st centuries through literature or interpersonal relationships?

Make the Most of the Summer!

Students who stay actively engaged in the learning process during the summer perform better during the school year.

Contact AJ Tutoring to Enroll in Summer Tutoring Peninsula (650) 331-3251