This paper focuses on David Foster Wallace collected essays about tennis which is called String Theory. The five essays approach and use the sport for different goals. In his typical manner, tennis becomes a starting point for quite different topics, be it Wallace's own life, his thoughts on a literary genre (in this case "top athletes' autobiographies"), masculine physicality, transcendence, or the industry behind sports events. While stylistically Wallace follows the method of "thick description," injecting elements of metafiction and humor, he ultimately takes tennis as a starting point for ontological questions in his search for some form of deeper insight or even truth that can be found on the sidelines of his respective topic.
His approach to writing essays and the function and possibilities of that literary form displays apparent similarities with the work of the protagonists of the so-called New Journalism. After a brief introduction to New Journalism as a mode of writing and some of its elements and key terms, the author will focus on Wallace's five tennis essays individually. In addition to connecting his M.O. to the tradition of New Journalism on the formal and content level, the author will provide a reading of each of Wallace's tennis essays with recourses to different theoretical approaches. In other words this paper will probe each essay for the question: about what is he really writing, how Wallace is doing it and why he chooses tennis of all things that functions as his way in.
In addition to his work as a writer of fiction (his bibliography includes three novels and three short story collections) David Foster Wallace has written a large number of essays, most of them for magazines and newspapers. His topics range from literature and film to mathematics, from music and subcultures to travel and the tourism industry, from politics to food, and have been issued in numerous collections before and after his self-inflicted death in 2008.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- New Journalism
- First Essay: "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley"
- Milieu, Mathematics, Material Body
- Observations on Wallace's Style
- Second Essay: "How Tracy Austin Broke my Heart"
- Importance of the Essay Title
- Narrator Perspective and Involving Oneself to Involve the Reader
- Zooming in on the Missing Element and Zooming out from Book Review to Genre Bashing
- The Paradox of High-Level Athletic Aesthetics
- Conclusion
- Third Essay: "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain stuff about Choice, Freedom, Limitation, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness"
- Narrator Position and Style
- Function of the Essay Title
- Untangling the Entangled
- Who is the Subject? Shifting Agencies; and Conclusion
- Fourth Essay: "Democracy and Commerce at the U.S. Open"
- Function of the Essay Title
- Some Notes on Style
- Capitalisation of the Game & Critique of Capitalism
- Fifth Essay: "Both Flesh and Not"
- Flesh and Light. Sublime Physicality.
- Chapter Conclusion
- Conclusion
- Epilogue
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper explores the five tennis essays collected in David Foster Wallace's *String Theory*, examining how the sport serves as a launchpad for diverse topics, from Wallace's personal life to his reflections on literary genres, masculine physicality, and the commercialization of sports. By analyzing Wallace's writing style and connecting his work to the tradition of New Journalism, the paper aims to uncover the deeper meanings and ontological questions embedded within each essay.
- The use of tennis as a springboard for exploring various themes and concepts.
- The intersection of sports, literature, and philosophy in Wallace's writing.
- The role of New Journalism in shaping Wallace's essayistic style.
- The significance of subjective perspective and metafiction in Wallace's essays.
- The exploration of ontological questions and the search for deeper meaning in everyday experiences.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction provides context for Wallace's tennis essays within his broader literary output, highlighting his diverse range of interests and the unique approach he brings to the sport. It introduces the concept of "thick description" and the connection between Wallace's work and the principles of New Journalism.
The second chapter delves into the origins and characteristics of New Journalism, emphasizing the movement's rejection of objective reportage and embrace of subjective perspective. It explores the role of magazines as a medium for New Journalism, its connection to social activism, and the use of literary techniques to convey "subjective truth."
The subsequent chapters offer individual analyses of each of Wallace's tennis essays, examining the function of the essay titles, the narrator's perspective, and the stylistic choices employed to convey Wallace's distinct voice. Each chapter explores the specific themes and ontological questions addressed in each essay, providing insights into Wallace's thought processes and his unique approach to writing about sports.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary focus of this paper is on David Foster Wallace's use of tennis as a springboard for exploring broader themes and concepts, particularly in the context of New Journalism. Key terms and concepts include: New Journalism, thick description, subjective perspective, metafiction, ontological questions, masculine physicality, transcendence, and the commercialization of sports.
- Quote paper
- Christoph Schrank (Author), 2017, Ontological Tennis. A Close Reading of David Foster Wallace's Tennis Essays, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/369564
