Infinite Summer

Hey, I appreciate all the comments. I pulled the Gatsby reference out of my ass, but I do see that there is thematic commonality as I begin to discern the themes in IJ. And BTW, I really learned to appreciate my high school English teachers. Had it not been for them, I would probably be reading some crappy murder mystery or vampire love story or something (what those teachers called "mental masturbation"), rather than plowing through IF.

I just read Kevin Guilefoile's post of 7/8/09 and it struck me that the Lemon Pledge thing could be an urban legend, perhaps invented by DFW, and likely intended to be understood as such.

Ron Kershaw

Having read a bit further since my last post (to the early 200's), I see what was perhaps another reason to include LP. Being beyond the current spoiler point, however, I'll bite my tongue . . .

I actually asked a representative of Johnson Wax if there was any truth to The Lemon Pledge story. She looked at me as if I was from Mars.. Love the Iraq Lemon Pledge story but perhaps they were sent so our soldiers could teach the Iraqi women how to be good American house wives.

I don't know if there's any significance to the Lemon Pledge yet, but I found the description of its use funny as hell. I think DFW was a writer who had comedic timing down to a T.

Perhaps because it's so outlandish (I seriously doubt that it really works as a sunscreen), and the picture that it created in my mind (a kid spraying himself with furniture polish in a locker room) hasn't left for days, DFW used it because he knew it would be like a great punchline to a joke... lots of jokes use hyperbole to emphasize the funny, and maybe that's what he was doing here.

Not stating there is no meaning or significance to the Lemon Pledge though! Some of the ideas posted above are quite interesting - but I think my main take on this will still be the comedy of its use.

vtjackalope - would be interested to hear your theory when you can comment on this.

I must confess that Dunces still sits in my "must read before too much longer" pile (where it's been for far too long . . . ). I have to resist going off on my beloved AmLit tangents but doggonit, IJ keeps revealing itself to have been influenced by some of the best of the bunch as DFW put his own brilliant touch on this wacky & wild North American existence. I've been reminded of Gatsby several times since joining this thread, and I've got to believe that Melville's in there, as well (he himself having been influenced by Hamlet and other Will S.), e.g. w/r/t the various masks that man tries to hide behind and/or "strike through." I've vowed to refamiliarize myself with Hamlet once finished with IJ. As far as the humor factor that facetioushorse discusses, I'm totally on board with that; the moment of "insight" I had yesterday merely involves a connection enabled by the image of body-shaped chunks of Lemon Pledge that another contributor also alluded to, and that come up again in another context. Overall, I've been blown away as never before in Wallace's work with his use of the language in brilliantly original humorous and/or metaphorical ways (e.g. the "incisionish" nature of a jet's vapor trail, early on). Thanks for the responses; I'm quite new to this kind of online forum-participation thing and am happy for the added incentive to stay with the novel for the duration this time . . . (By the way, how do you include a piece of another entry in your own, as you did mine, ontour?)

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"It is easy to put on a show & be cocky. . . Or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself. . . now that, my friend, is very hard to do." --Bruce Lee

You press the quote button, which is to the bottom right of the post.[/quote]

Thanks. I also liked your post regarding "our culture's ridiculous commodification" and your take on "Pledge." Hey, why not? From all the feedback posts I've read, part of what makes IJ so special is the amount of speculation it inspires.

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"It is easy to put on a show & be cocky. . . Or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself. . . now that, my friend, is very hard to do." --Bruce Lee