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Chapter 67
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
14 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment. Poor Tony did not expect that his victims would chase him, and is now struggling to run in his heels. Ruth, who is following him, has evidently chased people before. She manages to get her fingers around Tony’s wig while Tony dashes into an alley. Meanwhile, the A.F.R.’s leader Fortier has overseen a thorough search of the Antitois’ shop that has taken place over the course of multiple days. The A.F.R. believe that if they unleash the Entertainment on the U.S., Canada will not just allow but force Quebec to secede in order to “face the wrath” of a U.S. felled by its own appetite for pleasure.
The explanation for why the A.F.R. think the Entertainment will trigger the secession of Quebec is a little odd. While it is possible that the rest of Canada might want Quebec to take the blame for the damage caused by the Entertainment, there is no guarantee that the U.S. will accept these terms. Indeed, the American government might well wish to punish all of Canada as more of a “lesson.”
Themes
DuPlessis had original copies of the Entertainment and appeared to have obtained them via a relative who was an athlete (Orin). Steeply has been “clinging to this person like a bad odor.” Fortier notices that the U.S. treats people who use wheelchairs with patronizing deference.
This passage seems to confirm the earlier indication that Orin has been distributing copies of the Entertainment, meaning that he is probably in possession of the master copy.
Themes
