Infinite Jest Essay
The insect in chapter two of David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” represents the main character “Erdedy’s” life as a drug addict. What proves this representation is what the author says directly before or after mentioning the insect. The proximity of these statements is a clear example of the symbolic nature of the insect to the main character’s life. Erdedy mentions this insect several times in the chapter, going so far as to explicitly compare himself to the insect on page 17.
In chapter two of Infinite Jest, Erdedy is waiting for a drug dealer to bring a large amount of marijuana to him. During this time, Erdedy frequently looks at and mentions an insect that is sitting on a girder. The strange thing is that this insect does not seem to fit into the situation or story very well. It seems as though this insect might be a metophoric representaion of Erdedy’s life as a drug addict. For example, on page 17-18 the book quotes the following, “ There was an insect on one of the steal shelves that held his audio equiptment. The insect kept going in and out of one of the holes on the girders that the shelves fit into. The insect was dark and had a shiny case. He kept looking over at it. Once or twice he started to get up to go over closer to look at it, but he was afraid that if he came closer and saw it closer he would kill it, and he was afraid to kill it.” The sentence that comes right after that says, “ He did not use the phone to call the woman who’d promised to come.....”, The two sentences almost make no sense next to eachother. Why would David Foster Wallace even mention the insect at all? It makes sense that the insect is representing Erdedy’s life as a drug addict. On page 17 it reads, “The insect kept going in and out of one of the holes on the girders that the shelves fit into.” Earlier in the book it is mentioned that Erdedy continuously relapses. He tells himself that he will not smoke and that it will be his...