43
Boredom, Irony, and Anxiety: Wallace and the Kierkegaardian View of the Self
aw yes Allard den Dulk again. on boredom as one of the main themes in TPK and the rest of his work generally: "the challenges to becoming a coherent self and realizing a meaningful existence amid the fragmented plurality of the contemporary Western world" (p 42). traces the Kierkegaardian existential thought evident in his books: the self being something you make not have (Kafka is relevant here too; see DFW's Kafka essay); irony for the aesthete vs the ethical life view; boredom as anxiety due to the world being emptied of meaning. my fave essay here I think
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4
43
Boredom, Irony, and Anxiety: Wallace and the Kierkegaardian View of the Self
aw yes Allard den Dulk again. on boredom as one of the main themes in TPK and the rest of his work generally: "the challenges to becoming a coherent self and realizing a meaningful existence amid the fragmented plurality of the contemporary Western world" (p 42). traces the Kierkegaardian existential thought evident in his books: the self being something you make not have (Kafka is relevant here too; see DFW's Kafka essay); irony for the aesthete vs the ethical life view; boredom as anxiety due to the world being emptied of meaning. my fave essay here I think
1 / 4
xi
Foreword: 'Love Me till My Heart Stops'
(the quote is from some graffiti he sees on Valencia Street)
about sincerity, and community, and love, and how that's found in the novels of Wallace, Eggers, and Foer
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1
xi
Foreword: 'Love Me till My Heart Stops'
(the quote is from some graffiti he sees on Valencia Street)
about sincerity, and community, and love, and how that's found in the novels of Wallace, Eggers, and Foer
1 / 1
1
Introduction
DFW as leading the vanguard of discontent with the endless irony of American culture, and Eggers and Foer as following in his footsteps
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2
1
Introduction
DFW as leading the vanguard of discontent with the endless irony of American culture, and Eggers and Foer as following in his footsteps
3 / 2
26
Hyperreflexivity
hyperreflexivity as emblematic of contemporary Western life. some factors, acc. to Anthony Giddens in Modernity and Self-Identity:
- living in a post-traditional order
- pluralisation of life-worlds (being exposed to different cultures)
- contextual nature of warranted beliefs (can no longer intuitively trust authorities)
- prevalence of mediated experience (TV, newspapers, etc)
- transformation of intimacy (esp sexual, since people have more choices)
Sartre's view of consciousness: transcendence and facticity, becoming a self, the alienation of self-reflection, solipsism
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4
26
Hyperreflexivity
hyperreflexivity as emblematic of contemporary Western life. some factors, acc. to Anthony Giddens in Modernity and Self-Identity:
- living in a post-traditional order
- pluralisation of life-worlds (being exposed to different cultures)
- contextual nature of warranted beliefs (can no longer intuitively trust authorities)
- prevalence of mediated experience (TV, newspapers, etc)
- transformation of intimacy (esp sexual, since people have more choices)
Sartre's view of consciousness: transcendence and facticity, becoming a self, the alienation of self-reflection, solipsism
6 / 4
60
Endless Irony
mostly about Kierkegaard's theories on irony and how they're echoed in Wallace/Eggers. also how verbal irony is different from existential irony
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4
60
Endless Irony
mostly about Kierkegaard's theories on irony and how they're echoed in Wallace/Eggers. also how verbal irony is different from existential irony
2 / 4
88
Postmodernist Metafiction: John Barth
about Barth's problematic metafiction, analysed in light of Derrida's strategy of deconstruction
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7
88
Postmodernist Metafiction: John Barth
about Barth's problematic metafiction, analysed in light of Derrida's strategy of deconstruction
4 / 7
109
Postmodernist Minimialism: Bret Easton Ellis
on why Bret Easton Ellis' work is empty and pointless (just the ironic-aesthetic attitude wrought on paper); American Psycho is compared to 'The Seducer's Diary' in Kierkegaard's Either/Or
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1
109
Postmodernist Minimialism: Bret Easton Ellis
on why Bret Easton Ellis' work is empty and pointless (just the ironic-aesthetic attitude wrought on paper); American Psycho is compared to 'The Seducer's Diary' in Kierkegaard's Either/Or
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132
Wittgenstein and Wallace: The Meaning of Fiction
now we get into an explanation of Wittgenstein's views on language (which ofc DFW agreed with, at least the later views). on ostensive definitions, and private languages, and communal language structures as a cure for solipsism, and fiction as a source of paradigmatic cases for infusing language with meaning
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5
132
Wittgenstein and Wallace: The Meaning of Fiction
now we get into an explanation of Wittgenstein's views on language (which ofc DFW agreed with, at least the later views). on ostensive definitions, and private languages, and communal language structures as a cure for solipsism, and fiction as a source of paradigmatic cases for infusing language with meaning
3 / 5
162
Sincerity
using the Sartrean concept of sincerity. the problem with the word 'authenticity' is that it implies one has a real self, which existentialism vehemently opposes (one has to create it, moment by moment). sincerity in literature as a way of being vulnerable, of trying to convey some meaning
4
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3
162
Sincerity
using the Sartrean concept of sincerity. the problem with the word 'authenticity' is that it implies one has a real self, which existentialism vehemently opposes (one has to create it, moment by moment). sincerity in literature as a way of being vulnerable, of trying to convey some meaning
4 / 3
197
Reality-Commitment
overcoming irony and committing to reality through sincerity, examined in light of Kierkegaard's philosophy (the ethical life view, of responsibility and choice and transcendence)
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6
197
Reality-Commitment
overcoming irony and committing to reality through sincerity, examined in light of Kierkegaard's philosophy (the ethical life view, of responsibility and choice and transcendence)
1 / 6
229
Community
mostly drawing from Camus in this chapter, though Sartre and Kierkegaard play a small role again. on rebellion and community
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4
229
Community
mostly drawing from Camus in this chapter, though Sartre and Kierkegaard play a small role again. on rebellion and community
1 / 4
261
Concluding Remarks
the overlap between literature and philosophy (note that the philosophers mentioned are all literary philosophers). the value of sincere, solution-offering, irony-rejecting literary works like those by Wallace/Eggers/Foer as paradigmatic cases to help one deal with the challenges of contemporary existence.
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0
261
Concluding Remarks
the overlap between literature and philosophy (note that the philosophers mentioned are all literary philosophers). the value of sincere, solution-offering, irony-rejecting literary works like those by Wallace/Eggers/Foer as paradigmatic cases to help one deal with the challenges of contemporary existence.
0 / 0