Infinite Jest Lesson Plan

Published in 1996, David Foster Wallace began writing Infinite Jest in the late-1980s. Upon its publication, the novel was immediately hailed as a postmodern masterpiece, although Wallace himself did not consider his work to be particularly postmodern; rather, he viewed himself as using the tools of postmodernism to undermine the intellectual trend's usual message. In other words, while postmodernism typically utilizes an ironic detachment and playful language to thwart the pursuit of a work's underlying meaning, Wallace used those same techniques with a more genuine goal in mind: Wallace has said that he wanted readers to engage with the text emotionally, to "feel less alone." Infinite...