Read the excerpt from Infinite Jest.I cannot make myself understood. “I am not just a jock,” I say slowly. Distinctly. “My transcript for the last year might have been dickied a bit, maybe, but that was to get me over a rough spot. The grades prior to that are de moi.” My eyes are closed; the room is silent. “I cannot make myself understood, now.” I am speaking slowly and distinctly. “Call it something I ate.”Which statement best says how Wallace explores the conflict between personal and societal realities?
Answer
A
Wallace uses objective facts to show the conflict that can occur when people are dishonest about their pasts.
B
Wallace uses characters’ actions to show the conflict that can occur between society and people who act in nonconforming ways.
C
Wallace uses descriptions to show the conflict that can occur when people are placed in unnatural settings.
D
Wallace uses dialogue to show the conflict that can occur between inner perceptions of self and outside perceptions of self.
Explanation
The speaker insists, “I am not just a jock,” revealing how he sees himself, while his altered transcript and the silent room suggest that others may judge him differently. Wallace conveys this tension through the speaker’s dialogue, especially his attempts to explain himself and his claim that he “cannot make myself understood.” The best choice is that dialogue shows conflict between inner and outside perceptions of self.
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