History Literature / InfiniteJest

* BigBad: The closest thing the novel has to one is probably M. Fortier, Marathe's superior in the AFR and the one masterminding the search for the Entertainment. The narration notes that some people see Rod Tine as this, but within the story itself he's mostly seen trying to contain and react to the assassins' actions.

* CanadaEh: Inverted with the A.F.R. They're Canadian, quirky, and ''scary as hell''. The traditional U.S.A.\CanadaEh relationship is also PlayedForDrama, with the American administration inflicting grave abuses on Canada.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Unsurprising, given the length of the novel. The main factions are the Incandenza family, the staff and students of ETA, the Ennet house residents, and Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents.

* OverlyLongGag: A meta version with the extremely lengthy footnotes, some of which are so long they contain their ''own'' footnotes (although there often be at least a little plot-relevant information buried in there somewhere). Examples include the footnote that lists James Orin Incandenza's entire filmography and the long phone conversation between Hal and Orin.

## The lives of the students training and studying at Enfield, founded by auteur James O. "Himself" Incandenza, mother Avril "Moms" Incandenza and Avril's adopted brother Charles "C.T." Tavis.
## Various Boston residents such as [[GentleGiant Don Gately]] and [[TheFaceless Joelle Van Dyne]] who hit rock bottom with their drug and alcohol addictions and turn to Ennet House as well as AA and NA meetings in order to stay on the wagon.
## The [[ExpandedStatesOfAmerica Organization of North American Nations]], or [[FunWithAcronyms O.N.A.N]] and a group of radical Québécois separatists known as Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents' (The Wheelchair Assassins) efforts to seek a film called ''[[TitleDrop Infinite Jest]]'', directed by James O. Incandenza and rumored to be so absorbing that [[LotusEaterMachine anyone who sees loses all other interests and eventually dies]].
## The history of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Incandenzas]], with a focus on the youngest son [[TeenGenius Hal]].

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* OedipusComplex: Orin's relationship with his mother is... not good.

'''1.)''' The lives of the students training and studying at Enfield, founded by auteur James O. "Himself" Incandenza, mother Avril "Moms" Incandenza and Avril's adopted brother Charles "C.T." Tavis.

'''2.)''' Various Boston residents such as [[GentleGiant Don Gately]] and [[TheFaceless Joelle Van Dyne]] who hit rock bottom with their drug and alcohol addictions and turn to Ennet House as well as AA and NA meetings in order to stay on the wagon.

'''3.)''' The [[ExpandedStatesOfAmerica Organization of North American Nations]], or [[FunWithAcronyms O.N.A.N]] and a group of radical Québécois separatists known as Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents' (The Wheelchair Assassins) efforts to seek a film called ''[[TitleDrop Infinite Jest]]'', directed by James O. Incandenza and rumored to be so absorbing that [[LotusEaterMachine anyone who sees loses all other interests and eventually dies]].

'''4.)''' The history of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Incandenzas]], with a focus on the youngest son [[TeenGenius Hal]].

* NiceHat: Pemulis is almost never without his yachting cap, the lining of which can be detached to store drugs.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: About a dozen recurring for 3 out of 4 main plot threads. Each.

** AuthorAvatar: Hal Incandenza resembles Wallace himself in his youth to some degree. However, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools the trope is not used in any way beyond these resemblances simply existing]]. Indeed, although his empathy for the character is obvious, [[AllThereInTheManual one would have to have read Wallace's biography and probably some of his nonfiction]] ([[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife or, um, this entry]]) to even see the actual similarities.

* TinyGuy,HugeGirl: James Incandenza states that his mother was taller than his father. Additionally, the statuesque Avril is having an affair with her diminutive stepbrother, Charles Tavis.

* LeFilmArtistique: Much of James Incandenza's filmography.

* GainaxEnding: One could argue that the entire book qualifies as this.