Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way is a novella written by David Foster Wallace. Released in 1989, it is the tenth and final story in his collection Girl with Curious Hair and is a very long commentary on John Barth's Lost in the Funhouse.
Characters[]
- Drew-Lynn "D.L." Eberhardt - a self-proclaimed postmodernist
- Mark Nechtr - D.L.'s boyfriend
- Tom Sternberg - a claustrophobic actor deformed by poison sumac and an eye sitting backward in his skull
- J.D. Steelritter - the owner of an advertising firm named J.D. Steelritter Advertising
- DeHaven Steelritter - J.D.'s son, who plays Ronald McDonald
- Magda Ambrose-Gatz - a woman who is invited to the Reunion advertisement
- Jack Lord
- Hogan - a man working for J.D. Steelritter Advertising
- Professor Ambrose - presumably meant to be Ambrose from Lost in the Funhouse
Plot summary[]
To start the story, an unnamed narrator recounts how a self-proclaimed "postmodernist" writer named Drew-Lynn Eberhardt met a fellow writer named Mark Nechtr in a graduate writing program after writing on the blackboard of one Profesor Ambrose mocking his idea to build a Funhouse and eventually became parents together. While Drew is pregnant, the two of them are invited to a McDonalds Reunion commercial in Collinson, Illinois by one J.D. Steelritter.
Due to Mark's archery supplies not being allowed on the helicopter sent by J.D. Steelritter, Mark and Drew (alongside an actor named Tom Sternberg that D.L. knows from a McDonalds commercial) are forced to take a plane to Illinois - something the claustrophobic Sternberg complains about while on the flight. Once at the Central Illinois Airport, the three travellers find noone from J.D. Steelritter Advertising welcoming them. D.L. tries to rent a car but finds that she is unable to buy one due to an issue with the card they were gifted by Mark Necthr. Around the same time, a group of mysterious Asians stalk the travellers and the narrator comments on the state of the narrative (which is stalled) and the difference between postmodernists and new realists. Fortunately, a man from J.D. Steelritter Advertising named Hogan notices the three lost travellers and supplies them with a van. Before they can get into this van, Tom accidentally offends a pesticide salesman while J.D. and his son DeHaven arrive at the airport to pick up the late guests to their Reunion advertisement in DeHaven's car.
Along with Tom, D.L., and Mark, J.D. Steelritter and his son also pick up a slightly older woman named Magda Ambrose-Gatz who is also late for the Reunion advertisement. While driving through the cornfields of Illinois towards Collision, the passengers of the car are effectively surrounded by the extremely dense corn within the field. Though the massive arches of Collision soon come into view, DeHaven's car approaches the city at a snail's pace. While J.D. rants about the true meaning of advertising after realizing that Mark has been eating fried roses gifted to him by Professor Ambrose (something that makes him absolutely despise the Professor), DeHaven's car breaks down as rain begins to fall. Fortunately, the car breaks down close to three ramshackle buildings. J.D. sends his son out to find someone to help fix the car - with Mark and Magda getting out and wandering through the rain together. While doing so, Magda reveals that she can predict the future. She tells Mark that D.L. will eventually leave him (scalding him with a pot of boiling water before doing this) and marry DeHaven. She also reveals that Mark will write a story about an archer being sent to jail that will give him the praise of Professor Ambrose. Once this finishes, it is revealed that Magda is (possibly) Professor Ambrose wearing a disguise. The story ends with DeHaven and the farmer trying to free DeHaven's car from the mud that it has gotten stuck in, though the narrator assures the readers that everyone in the car will arrive at the Reunion commercial in time.
| Works of David Foster Wallace | ||
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Novels | ||