Infinite Summer

It is never mentioned outright, but his habit of substituting words that are similar in meaning or sound, plus his early effort and failure in school make me think that this is the case.

Gately probably has some "learning disability," given his lack of success in school (though a lot of that can probably be attributed to his drug use), but I see no evidence that it's dyslexia. Substituting words that sound like the actual word you want isn't a symptom of dyslexia as far as I know. Rather, I think it's meant to indicate what Gately's best guess would be if you asked him to spell a word that he's heard spoken before, but never read.

http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm

"Difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; leaves sentences incomplete; stutters under stress; mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words, and syllables when speaking."

We have a lot of dyslexia in my family. My dyslexic sis, very intelligent and successful in business, transposes words and phrases all the time. I find it cute and quirky, but I know it is an embarrassment to her, makes her feel uneducated and stupid.

Dyslexia is a fairly amorphous and wide ranging diagnosis. Most people think of it as only a reading and writing disorder, but there are also auditory and motor symptoms. Most people don't have them all. In my family, most of the symptoms are auditory in nature which is why I recognized them in Gately.

In IJ, I think Gately's academic failure pre-dates the drug use and if fact causes it to some degree. Gately was drinking and acting wild with his football buddies, but it wasn't until he got kicked off the team for academic failure that his drug use really took off.

Gately may or may not be dyslexic, and M. Psychosis is correct to note that there are associated auditory and verbal symptoms with dyslexia, but the list of symptoms that M. Psychosis provides is an extremely general one, all of which are common to a number of other issues (including everything from severe auditory processing issues to pronounced exhaustion). That list of symptoms might quite appropriately lead someone to consider a diagnosis of dyslexia (and thus seek evidence of other symptoms to confirm or rule out this and other diagnoses), but would, in and of itself, be very far from sufficient to make a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Like I said, the diagnosis dyslexia is in itself a catchall. Is auditory processing disorder its own diagnosis or is it a symptom dyslexia? Only a professional can decide, and they are fequently wrong anyway. And since Gately doesn't actually exist and he probably died anyway at the end of the book, it will be difficult to evaluate him

Gately's frequent mispronunciations and word substitutions, along with his academic failure despite obviously adequate IQ and effort, would indicate an LD, probably dyslexia. The academic failure and subsequent expulsion from the football team is what propels him more deeply into his addiction. So I think it is an interesting point to debate since Gately's addiction and recovering are pivotal in the book.

Maybe JOI attempt to get Hal in touch with someone who could teach him to live authentically, with moral purpose. Hal is so gifted in so many ways, but it is almost like he is a tool of his giftedness, but has very little substance. He is a phenomenal tennis player, but mentally not that tough (not the way Stice and Wayne are). He knows so many words, but to what purpose? Gately is no where near as brilliant, but he lives with a moral purposefulness and is trying to be connected to others. He is not a figurant in his own life the way Hal is.

Did Gately die? He is the only character who seems purposeful to me. The rest are either short, amusing sketches of people who are far more verbal and amusing than anyone ever is in real life, or they are drifting, prey to their various compulsions. Gately is the only fully drawn character who is mastering his. Joelle is also in recovery, but she never felt fully articulated to me the way Hal and Gately are. So anyway, what would be the purpose of killing Gately off? Should we all lose hope and not even make the effort to master our addictions? Or maybe he did die, but the process of recovery is its own reward? I dunno. And I have speculated that Gately waking up in the cold rain on the beach was his fever breaking. You know, the way you are so hot and sick and then suddenly drenched in sweat but feeling cooler and much better? But emotionally, it did feel like he died to me. This is what make this book so infuriating and so gorgeous at the same time. I never really know, will never really know, but can't stop thinking about it.

True. I should go back and read the first part with more of an eye toward the timeline and what would be physically possible. The novel is so complex and non-linear, I tend to get swept away by the mad-craziness of the characters and situations and don't worry so much about the actual timing. On the other hand, there does have to be an emotional reality to a novel. The facts should fit, but they have to fit with the authors intentions or else it is not an effective work. So I guess I am trying to feel my way to the truth of the authors intentions while other people are trying to fit things together in a more linear fashion. To get to the heart of it, we will all probably have to do a little of each.