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Home News by Category Critical Analysis DFW and Nietzsche's Concept of Oblivion

DFW and Nietzsche's Concept of Oblivion

Joshua Roiland of St. Louis University had his excellent article, Getting Away From It All: The Literary Journalism of David Foster Wallace and Nietzsche's Concept of Oblivion (.pdf), published in LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES, vol.1, no.2, Fall 2009.
 
The article argues that the best way to understand DFW's work is through Nietzsche's concept of oblivion, which is our consciousness's screening device. Joshua uses this concept to account for the sadness in DFW's literary journalism, which makes for a particularly interesting article due to the more common focus on the humour in his non-fiction. Well worth your time.
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