Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Jest: pages 652 - 738

Page 654 line 7: cathected, to concentrate emotional or psychic energy on something such as an object, a person, or an idea.

Page 654, 4 lines from bottom: Remember that this section is titled “11 NOVEMBER YEAR OF THE DEPEND ADULT UNDERGARMENT”.

Page 661: DeLint explains sheltering the E.T.A. prodigies in order to prepare them. Is this the way out of The Cage?

Page 1048 line 34: anaclitic, characterized by strong emotional dependence on a mother or other nurturing person, especially to the extent of exhibiting or causing serious developmental and psychological disturbances. (good word)

Page 1051, 4 lines from bottom: Orin’s re-enactment of his nightmare, see p. 47.

Page 668 line 17: concavitated, a DFW neologism. He makes up words and they make sense.

Page 669, 12 lines from bottom: cute little nursery rhyme.

Page 670 line 21: pace, [pronounced pay-see or pay-chay and used as a preposition] with all respect to, used in front of a name or title as a gesture of real or ironic respect to somebody who is mistaken and about to be corrected.

Page 672 line 17: There’s that mammal thing again.

Page 680 line 8: More weirdness going on around the courts. Hal’s tennis balls seem to go off in a direction of their own. (A continuation of the weirdness from p. 632, perhaps) But Hal seems unconcerned.

Page 635 line 3: A whole new Hal – chemical free. Is this what’s changing his game?

Page 682 line 18 and 31: Does DeLint see what’s going to happen to Hal [by the front of the book]? By what’s happening to him now? Forgetful will.

Page 651-682: Hal Incandenza v. Ortho “The Darkness” Stice. Incandenza = incandescence; therefore light against darkness.

Page 678: Word play throughout on Ortho Stice and his large head, either his tennis racket or his ego.

Page 1052, note 275: s’annular: cancelling out as, like, annulations.

Page 682, last para: Introduces Matty pemulis.

Page 688: synopsis of “Wave Bye-Bye to the Bureaucrat”. By line 31, the bureaucrat is caught between two demands, q.v. Erdedy on p. 27.

Page 691 line 14: epicene, having both male and female characteristics; of neither male nor female gender; indeterminate gender; describing a male having typically female characteristics.

Page 694 line 28: a reference to encagement.

Page 695 – 698: A description of Kate Gompert’s depression. Depressing and chilling.

Page 699 line 15: 11/01 is a Sunday (as stated by the expiration date on the WalMart coupon). That makes Y.D.A.U. our year 2009. Happy new Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

Page 1053, note 285: catachresis, the incorrect use of words, e.g. by mixing metaphors or applying terminology wrongly.

Page 702, 16 lines from bottom: descant, a melody that is sung or played above the basic melody of a piece of music.

Page 707 line 22: catexic, cathexic, mentally or emotionally invested.

Page 723 line 11: So it really may have been Orin mailing the copies of The Entertainment. See p. 36 line 15: “…the padded mailer is postmarked suburban Phoenix area…”

Page 723, bottom: Joelle Van Dyne concerned about her teeth. It seems that a member of U.H.I.D. would not be overly concerned about appearance.

Page 726 line 8: “An employee at the Academy of Tennis of Enfield has been recruited and joined the Canadian instructor and student already inside for closer work of surveillance.” The instructor would be Theirry Poutrincourt. The student would be John Wayne. Who is this third agent. (Perhaps Clenette? She’s on part-time work at E.T.A.)

Page 726, 11 lines from bottom: “…several curious claims that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was defensive in bed.” I.e., not to be fucked with.

Page 728 line 4: sybaritically, devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual desires.

Page 729 line 19: agnate, an unfamiliar use of the word here.

Page 729 line 26: “The alley was devroid of cats and rodents both; he did not stop to reflect why.” It is because he’s been here before, killing them off.

Page 726, 6 lines from bottom: demi-maisons, literally half-houses but meaning halfway houses. I guess some idioms don’t translate well.

Page 737 line 11: Don Gately brings up thoughts of the Incandenzas in Joelle Van Dyne.

Page 737 line 16: Orin felt that his father did not acknowledge him in the same manner that the father felt Hal didn’t acknowledge him (the father). See pp. 27-31, the conversational professional.

Page 738: Joelle’s theory of why Orin dropped tennis and started kicking footballs.

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