Well this was gonna bother me until I figured it out, so, drumroll... Hal Incandenza is... a white boy! Or at least he says he is. Who would've thunk.
> "I’m a privileged white seventeen-year-old U.S. male."
I think it has the air of a trick question though. Most readers will (correctly) assume that Hal is white, which the text does little to dispute or confirm barring a throwaway reference or two (and which is unlikely to stand out in their minds since it confirms what they already assumed), so encountering such a question makes it seem like the answer is more complicated than "Shockingly, the tennis heir protagonist written by a white American author is also a white American kid." And for many people it's somewhat gauche to admit that you assumed a character was white by default, so if you hazard a (correct) guess of "Well he's white, isn't he?" but it turns out there was a different throwaway reference to him being a quarter Puerto Rican or something, you might be a little embarrassed!
EDIT: I forgot there is actually a throwaway reference to Hal being (at most) 1/8th Native American, lol.
> ...a great-grandmother with Pima-tribe Indian S.W. blood, and Canadian cross-breeding...
You are correct, and I'm proud to grant you the first "Actually Read Infinite Jest" award. You've also come to the proof differently than I did: there's a section wherein the two urban black gentlemen who work at ETA rescue a severely intoxicated stork from the subway. They specify that James was a lost "white boy", which, along with his mother being French Canadian, inform the reader that he is "white".
You've also sniffed out my question's exploit, wherein people who haven't actually read the entire book, and who may have read the line about his dark skin near the beginning of the book, will reveal themselves because they assume the obvious answer can't be correct. They "tell on themselves" as the kids say. I smile at the idea that overthinking causes people to reveal they didn't read a book in which overthinking is a major theme. I highly suspect the majority of other commenters in this thread did not fully read the novel. This doesn't make them bad or "inferior", but lying does. They know they are wrong because my pointing it out caused them to become angry.
I've started a re read, and I'm taking notes this time. Perhaps we should start a HN bookclub.
I do need a new proof if this thread makes this one Googabale.
there's some insinuation that Hal's biological father could be the medical attache:
-- Hal's "atavistically dark-complected”
-- they share an interest in byzantine erotica
-- from what i remember, dates and ages line up correctly to put Avril and attache both attending Brandeis a yearish before Hal is born
-- there's a reference or two to James finding that specific affair particularly upsetting
-- Avril's said to have a preference for sleeping with Canadians
-- the attache is "one-half ethnic Arab and a Canadian by birth and residence"
IIRC it's mentioned that James is also unusually tan-skinned for a white guy, but I don't think that disproves the insinuation so much as it provides a convenient excuse for Avril, lol.
Perhaps you'll also believe me when I say I've read Infinite Jest too many times to warrant another reread right now, but best of luck on yours and the nascent book club, lol.
I think there are some less blink-and-you'll-miss-it type questions that are too broad to Google but that most people who read it would remember...
- Which location in ETA got its name from an infamous player?
- What fictional cartoon character is popular during Subsidized Time?
- What mortifying experience does Gately have in the hospital?
- What's Lyle's second-favorite beverage?
Or one that requires a longer reply and doesn't have a "correct" answer, but props to anyone who takes a stab at it, because I still don't have a satisfying explanation:
- What the fuck is wrong with Orin? Like in general?
