“Your temple is self and sentiment”: David Foster Wallace’s diagnostic novels

This article contends that David Foster Wallace should be read as a contemporary Christian existentialist, one who depicts the alienation of the individual in mass society but also offers a way beyond this condition. Wallace’s work grapples with faith and morality in the modern, secular world, and h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Christianity & literature
Main Author: O'Connell, Michael ca. 21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Johns Hopkins University Press [2015]
In: Christianity & literature
RelBib Classification:CD Christianity and Culture
KBQ North America
TK Recent history
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This article contends that David Foster Wallace should be read as a contemporary Christian existentialist, one who depicts the alienation of the individual in mass society but also offers a way beyond this condition. Wallace’s work grapples with faith and morality in the modern, secular world, and he approaches these issues from a Christian framework, informed by the tensions of his own personal belief and practice. The essay explores the Christian elements in his biography, and then uses Walker Percy’s description of the diagnostic novel to examine the form and content of Infinite Jest and The Pale King, Wallace’s last two novels.
ISSN:2056-5666
Contains:Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0148333115577903