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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Infinite Jest, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Talent, Precociousness, and Fame
Addiction, Mental Illness, and Suicide
Entertainment
Reality as Corporate Dystopia
Institutional Control vs. Rebellion
Summary
Analysis
30 April — Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment. Steeply points out that Boston is the home of the creator of the Entertainment, and Marathe replies that it is also the city nearest to the Great Concavity and Québec. Marathe asks why Steeply is never sent into the field as himself; he mentions that “the last time” Steeply was pretending to be Haitian. Marathe has a reputation for having a “near-perfect” memory, but he himself knows that his memory is flawed.
The fact that Steeply is sent into the field in comically extreme disguises—first in blackface, then crossdressing as a woman—is another surreal, comic (and somewhat offensive) take on the thriller genre’s use of disguise.
Themes
