| verdict | theory | crux | popularity |
|---|
| strongly-supported |
The book is annular by design — chronological end first, reader sent back to p. 3; organized thematically, not chronologically |
annular-structure |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
The anti-closure reading — the holes are constitutive design; fixing the missing year's events is misreading; closure would make the book an Entertainment |
designed-holes |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
The ending was always the ending; the missing year was never drafted |
designed-holes |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
The endnotes are essential, deliberately disruptive architecture |
endnotes-function |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
Lethality: the Entertainment is EUP's malignantly addictive television carried to its asymptote — continuous with real TV, not a sci-fi MacGuffin |
entertainment-lethality |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
Hamlet is the organizing intertext, present from conception |
hamlet-frame |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
The cuts were modest and scope-preserving; the "300–500 pages cut" story is a myth — the bigger fact is what was *added* after 1993 |
ij-cuts |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
JOI's death was suicide (default), not murder or a rigged relapse undecidable-by-design |
joi-death |
consensus |
| strongly-supported |
The post-1993 stratum (late-additions) — and the mold scene as late-addition red herring |
late-additions |
consensus |
| favored |
Avril has real, pre-existing Québécois-separatist ties — but is (probably) not Luria P— |
avril-afr |
consensus |
| favored |
Gately survives; the beach scene is his relived bottom, not his death |
gately-fate |
consensus |
| favored |
The Hal/Gately grave-dig is a real event of the missing year (Wayne standing watch, masked) undecidable-by-design |
joi-head |
consensus |
| favored |
John Wayne is a covert Québécois operative (allegiance near-text; which cell, live) |
wayne-afr |
consensus |
| favored |
Contents & mechanism: engineered "halation" — the wobbled crib's-eye lens and de-realized/blurred Joelle project every viewer's own mother, apologizing undecidable-by-design |
entertainment-contents |
majority |
| favored |
Purpose: JOI made it to reach Hal — the weapon use is downstream hijack |
entertainment-purpose |
majority |
| favored |
Orin mailed the Entertainment to JOI's enemies (and breaks under AFR torture) undecidable-by-design |
orin-mailer |
majority |
| favored |
IJ is two books — comic/tennis and AA — fused by a rewrite pass |
two-books-fusion |
majority |
| favored |
JOI's wraith is real (and object-capable, with a possible Lyle division of labor) undecidable-by-design |
wraith-reality |
majority |
| favored |
The Sierpinski gasket's vertices are the three addiction narratives (JOI / Hal / Gately), converging on God at the empty center |
annular-structure |
live-split |
| favored |
The veil question — deformed, too beautiful, both in sequence, or deliberately undecidable undecidable-by-design |
joelle-veil |
live-split |
| favored |
What is (was) in JOI's head undecidable-by-design |
joi-head |
live-split |
| favored |
Minor structure & design cruxes |
eup-connection |
|
| favored |
No dose at all — withdrawal (and/or Hamlet-patterned feigning) undecidable-by-design |
hal-dmz |
|
| favored |
Minor fate cruxes (registered for the sighting count) |
joelle-fate |
|
| favored |
Minor Joelle cruxes |
joelle-overdose |
|
| favored |
Wayne's fate & meltdown |
wayne-fate |
|
| open |
Hal's body synthesized DMZ endogenously from the childhood mold (Schmidt's Mold Theory) undecidable-by-design |
hal-dmz |
minority |
| open |
JOI killed himself in order to return as a wraith and finally reach Hal |
joi-suicide-motive |
minority |
| open |
The wraith's plan was to interface with Hal through Ortho Stice undecidable-by-design |
stice-wraith |
minority |
| open |
The anti-Entertainment & the book-as-samizdat family |
anti-entertainment |
|
| open |
Remaining Hal positions |
avril-dosed-hal |
|
| open |
Avril–Orin, and the parentage lattice |
avril-orin |
|
| open |
joi-father-scene — the 1960 Tucson scene enacts JOI's |
joi-father-scene |
|
| open |
Lyle |
lyle-wraith |
|
| strained |
The Swartz reconstruction — the missing year is recoverable, and it runs: wraith doses Hal; Hal, Gately, Joelle (Wayne watching) dig up JOI's head too late; Orin breaks; the AFR deploys the master undecidable-by-design |
ending-missing-year |
majority |
| strained |
The wraith dosed Hal's toothbrush with Pemulis's DMZ undecidable-by-design |
hal-dmz |
majority |
| strained |
JOI's wraith is the in-universe author/narrator of Infinite Jest |
ij-narrator |
minority |
| strained |
The wraith's agenda is not benign — the dose happened and the protective speech to Gately is a lie |
wraith-agenda |
fringe |