Toward a general theory of vision in Wallace’s fiction

Burn, S. (2014) Toward a general theory of vision in Wallace’s fiction. English Studies, 95(1), pp. 85-93. (doi: 10.1080/0013838X.2013.857858)

Abstract

Taking David Foster Wallace's The Pale King as an exemplary text, “Toward a General Theory of Vision in Wallace's Fiction” examines the multiple roles that vision and the neurophysiology of sight play in Wallace's work. Tracing the primacy of vision back to “E Unibus Pluram”'s vision of the writer as a “born watcher” and contextualizing Wallace's treatment of the eye against his scientific sources, the essay argues that close attention to Wallace's obsession with vision helps reformulate our understanding of the novel's structure (and its “unfinished” status), the book's relation to Wallace's ongoing dialogue with metafiction, his characterization and other strands of the book's narrative strategies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Burn, Professor Stephen
• Authors: Burn, S.
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
• Journal Name: English Studies
• ISSN: 0013-838X
• ISSN (Online): 1744-4217