Should i read this?

...

But what kind of statement does it make about humanity? Like catcher in the rye was about losing childhood innocence or some shit, Flowers for Algernon was about intelligence not being everything, etc. I know those are shit examples and probably wrong but whatever.

I guess? Honestly I didn't have a hard time making that connection given that literally the second chapter in the book is Hal eating the mold. There's a much bigger thing that's actually a spoiler you could have dropped but I doubt you got that far in the book.

IJ's general theme is (at least how I saw it) the modern world's loss of structure like religions and nationalism leading to people choosing entertainment in its various forms as a way to fulfill life

It's a meme, but discrete sections are enjoyable enough to justify the massive amount of time it requires. You can at least appreciate the novelty of its gimmicks (usually)

Dmz? On toothbrush?

IJ's real general theme is the inside of DFW's head in microscopic detail, with literal bonus content if you eat a bunch of LSD and have an OED on hand. Side themes include DFW's life and DFW's friends that he met in rehab and refracted views of the insides of their heads.

It's not the DMZ? I haven't finished it but as soon as we got to the DMZ part I figured that's why Hal was sperging out making animal noises the first chapter.

DMZ is synthesized from "mold that grows on mold," i.e. the red spots on the dark green triangle of fungus that he bites the tip off of. Maybe that got stuck in his tooth and is released when Dr. Zegarelli removes it; maybe Ortho/Jim puts the DMZ on his brush when he goes to get a bucket from Kenkle/Brandt. The ambiguity is deliberate I think, like how MP's face is either disfigured or drop dead gorgeous.

Fuck you haven't finished yet oh no

Its not a spoiler. He's clearly too dumb to have made the connection that's a real spoiler, so don't worry.

I think it's just disfigured since it had acid spilled on it

Also Orin is the one who sent the entertainment to people

Dfw said either at a reading q&a or in a radio interview (i forget) that theres no single master ending. He said there are four or five valid explanations for hals behavior in the first chapter.

You trust the word of an ABD in a Marx Mustache?

It could always be the spooky stork's ghost

True, but the part where Orin speaks with Hal and tells him he's at the post office leads to some cool speculation

'Have any of you ever tried LSD?'

Yeah. And also the post address in Phoenix. Also Himself isn't really intent on revenge, he seems like he just wants to help Hal

It's a never-ending joke.

its really good. i read it partly because of this board and id say it was well worth my time. it doesnt feel like a slog at all in my opinion. you get used to reading it all the time. its fun