David Foster Wallace

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/david-foster-wallace

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was David Foster Wallace born?February 21, 1962
2. Where was David Foster Wallace born?Champaign, Illinois, USA
3. What is David Foster Wallace known for?The novel 'Infinite Jest' (1996), short story collections, and essays
4. What is the key literary stance?Deliberately avoided postmodern tropes like irony and metafiction, advocating for sincerity
5. What is the career?Novelist, short story writer, essayist, and professor of English and creative writing
6. Who was David Foster Wallace?David Foster Wallace was a very smart American writer and professor who wrote novels, short stories, and essays.

Postmodernism: A movement in art and literature characterized by skepticism, irony, and a rejection of grand narratives.
Metafiction: Fiction that self-consciously draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to comment on the relationship between fiction and reality.
Sincerity: Genuine and honest expression of feelings or intentions, often contrasted with irony or artifice.
Addiction: A chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.