Dear readers, the first section of Kevin McMorrow's Infinite Jest MA Thesis (387kb .pdf right click save-as) is a real treat.
Two years old now, this thesis brings together many threads of things that have fascinated me about DFW's work for a long time. Those of you out there who have conversed with me about DFW's work know that I have particular regard for Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way from Girl with Curious Hair. I think it is an entertaining, engaging, and thoughtful story. Often regarded as equally flawed, some of what DFW is trying to get at in this story delves deep into the core of what his writing is all about.
One part of the small type front matter of the GWCH collection reads:
Parts of "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" are written in the margins of John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse" and Cythia Ozick's "Usurpation (Other People's Stories)"
Thanks to Westward I tracked down those two pieces (enjoying them greatly) and scoured them for meaning hoping they would enlighten my understanding of Westward. In part, they did. With the helpful input of wallace-l posters and other readers online I quickly became convinced there was something more hidden away in this text. I was simply not capable of articulating my hunch, it sat just beyond my reach. Maybe it was because it was not hidden in the text, but beyond it.
It wasn't until Marshall Boswell's Understanding David Foster Wallace was released did any critical work begin to focus upon the importance of Westward to DFW's direction. On pages 16 and 17 of his publication, Boswell revealed that DFW had used the phrase 'cynicism and naivete' in Westard, in his essay E Unibus Pluram, and in Infinite Jest. Boswell wrote that Wallace 'does not merely join cynicism and naivete: rather, he employs cynicism - here figured as sophisticated self-reflexive irony - to recover a learned form of heartfelt naivete, his work's ultimate mode and what the work "really means," a mode that Wallace equates with the "really human." '
I sat stunned after first reading Boswell's passage. In the days following I picked up Infinite Jest for yet another read.
Which brings me to Kevin's MA thesis. Kevin emailed me back in January (09) offering his thesis for the site. Turns out he lived here in Canberra, Australia, too. It took us a couple of months to get things sorted, but eventually he got the thesis to me. And what a thesis it is.
The first section is non-fiction; an intelligent and adept discussion of Barth's legacy, metafiction, Westward, E Unibus Pluram, and Infinite Jest. It brings together many of the threads that had been bugging me for years and shines spotlights on the direction and development of the very nature of DFW's work.
The second section of the MA thesis is fiction. It is a story that explores the ideas addressed in the first section, and while not as successful, certainly reinforces Kevin's work.
Reading Kevin's MA Thesis is a must. I can't believe it has been in existence for two years.
The best part is that Kevin, another DFW fan, Adam, and myself recently met for drinks and I was able to tell Kevin, in person, how much I liked the first section of his thesis. Thanks, Kevin!
You can read Kevin McMorrow's MA Thesis here (387kb .pdf right click save-as). If you wish to contact Kevin about his thesis email him at kevinsboringemail at yahoo dot com (after performing the usual antispam substitutions).
(Eek! Sorry if you read the pre-edit-typos-galore version)
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