{"id":{"repo_id":"wfu","oai_identifier":"oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/38580"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wfu/oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/38580","repository":{"repo_id":"wfu","name":"Wake Forest University","base_url":"https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Alcoholics Polyphonous: Wittgenstein's Linguistic Philosophy in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest","abstract":"This thesis examines David Foster Wallace's magnum opus Infinite Jest in terms of its relationship with the linguistic philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Starting from a summary of the later Wittgenstein's famous Private Language Argument, I analyze the way Wallace adapts the idea of the Private Language User (PLU) as an archetype for his novel's characters. The third chapter details Wallace's use of the Wittgensteinian notion of the \"language-game\" as an antidote to the epistemological and existential solipsism entailed by the private referential or mentalistic paradigm of language, while the fourth concludes with a look at the formal implications of Wallace's use of Wittgenstein for what has already been rather unfortunately termed the nascent aesthetic of \"postpostmodern\" fiction.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines David Foster Wallace's magnum opus Infinite Jest in terms of its relationship with the linguistic philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Starting from a summary of the later Wittgenstein's famous Private Language Argument, I analyze the way Wallace adapts the idea of the Private Language User (PLU) as an archetype for his novel's characters. The third chapter details Wallace's use of the Wittgensteinian notion of the "language-game" as an antidote to the epistemological and existential solipsism entailed by the private referential or mentalistic paradigm of language, while the fourth concludes with a look at the formal implications of Wallace's use of Wittgenstein for what has already been rather unfortunately termed the nascent aesthetic of "postpostmodern" fiction.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cobb, Gavin"],"institution":"Wake Forest University","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013","date_published":"2013","updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:33Z","subjects":["Language"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10339/38580","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cobb, Gavin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2013-06-06T21:19:39Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-06-06T08:30:09Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2013"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Wake Forest University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Language"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/38580"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines David Foster Wallace's magnum opus Infinite Jest in terms of its relationship with the linguistic philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Starting from a summary of the later Wittgenstein's famous Private Language Argument, I analyze the way Wallace adapts the idea of the Private Language User (PLU) as an archetype for his novel's characters. The third chapter details Wallace's use of the Wittgensteinian notion of the \"language-game\" as an antidote to the epistemological and existential solipsism entailed by the private referential or mentalistic paradigm of language, while the fourth concludes with a look at the formal implications of Wallace's use of Wittgenstein for what has already been rather unfortunately termed the nascent aesthetic of \"postpostmodern\" fiction."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Alcoholics Polyphonous: Wittgenstein's Linguistic Philosophy in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Cobb, Gavin"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2013-06-06T21:19:39Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-06-06T08:30:09Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2013"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines David Foster Wallace's magnum opus Infinite Jest in terms of its relationship with the linguistic philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Starting from a summary of the later Wittgenstein's famous Private Language Argument, I analyze the way Wallace adapts the idea of the Private Language User (PLU) as an archetype for his novel's characters. The third chapter details Wallace's use of the Wittgensteinian notion of the \"language-game\" as an antidote to the epistemological and existential solipsism entailed by the private referential or mentalistic paradigm of language, while the fourth concludes with a look at the formal implications of Wallace's use of Wittgenstein for what has already been rather unfortunately termed the nascent aesthetic of \"postpostmodern\" fiction."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/38580"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Wake Forest University"],"dc:subject":["Language"],"dc:title":["Alcoholics Polyphonous: Wittgenstein's Linguistic Philosophy in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:33Z"}