{"product_id":"the-iron-bars-of-freedom-stefan-hirt-9783898219549","title":"The Iron Bars of Freedom: David Foster Wallace and the Postmodern Self","description":"David Foster Wallace's \u003ci\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the most ambitious American novels of the last decade. Its huge scope, its immense array of characters, and Wallace's artful mastery of language make it a complex and sometimes difficult text that has frequently been compared with other works of magnitude such as \u003ci\u003eUlysses\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGravity's Rainbow\u003c\/i\u003e. This book aims to provide the reader of Wallace's novel with one (of many) possible thread(s) which might lead him through the textual labyrinth of \u003ci\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/i\u003e. It is concerned with the issues of narcissism, addiction, depression, and despair and interprets the novel within an Existentialist framework drawn from the philosophical works of Jean-Paul Sartre and S ren Kierkegaard. Hirt analyzes Wallace's portrayal of contemporary existence inside a society that, paradoxically, entraps the individual self exactly by exposing it to an unprecedented state of freedom. Furthermore, Hirt discusses the counter-proposals which Wallace weighs against postmodern culture. \u003ci\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/i\u003e is thus set in relation to postmodern literature, and the similarities as well as the differences between this literary period and \u003ci\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/i\u003e are illuminated.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stefan Hirt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 3898219542\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9783898219549\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ibidem Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/11\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 166\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.27h x 5.83w x 0.36d","brand":"Stefan Hirt","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48519828013311,"sku":"9783898219549","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_46dcc573-83e1-4c1c-9809-be802817babb.jpg?v=1778739067","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-iron-bars-of-freedom-stefan-hirt-9783898219549","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}