David Foster Wallace Questions and Answers
David Foster Wallace
Exploring the main themes of "Good People" by David Foster Wallace
The main themes of "Good People" by David Foster Wallace include morality, faith, and internal conflict. The story examines the protagonists' struggle with ethical decisions, their religious beliefs,...
David Foster Wallace
Why is the story titled "The Devil Is a Busy Man"?
The story is entitled “The Devil is a Busy Man” because it's about widespread insincerity in American culture, and the Devil is a figure famous for being an insincere trickster with selfish...
David Foster Wallace
How does the use of story and plot in "Incarnations of Burned Children" by David Foster Wallace establish the central...
The story's plot, told primarily from the father's point of view, begins at the high point with a being child scalded. The intensity is sustained because of the plot: we are right there with the...
David Foster Wallace
Compare and contrast Lydia Davis's "The Caterpillar" and David Foster Wallace's "Incarnations of Burned Children."
Both “The Caterpillar” and “Incarnations of Burned Children” tug at readers' emotions as they relate the sufferings of small, helpless creatures. In the former, however, the creature is merely a...
David Foster Wallace
How are water and sunlight used in David Foster Wallace's "Everything Is Green" to symbolize Mitch's choice to love...
In David Foster Wallace’s “Everything Is Green,” rain and sunlight are used in reference to the window and what is visible through it. Although Mitch disagrees with Mayfly’s assessment that...
David Foster Wallace
How does the writing style in "Good People" by David Foster Wallace serve the story?
The stylistic choices the author makes suggest that Lane Dean is emotionally distant from Sheri and the baby. The omniscient narrator, one that can report on everyone's thoughts and feelings, makes...