Lyle is a mysterious “guru” who sits on top of the towel dispenser in the weight room of E.T.A. In addition to a Hindu guru, he resembles a Christian ascetic. He doesn’t eat or drink but survives on licking and inhaling the sweat of people in the room. He possibly appears to Gately in wraith form (or is a wraith all along) during Gately’s feverish period in hospital.
Lyle Quotes in Infinite Jest
The Infinite Jest quotes below are all either spoken by Lyle or refer to Lyle. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Back Bay Books edition of Infinite Jest published in 1996.
Chapter 45
Quotes
“To be envied, admired, is not a feeling. Nor is fame a feeling. There are feelings associated with fame, but few of them are any more enjoyable than the feelings associated with envy of fame”…
“So I'm stuck in the cage from either side. Fame or tortured envy of fame. There's no way out.”
Related Characters:
LaMont Chu (speaker), Lyle (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Infinite Jest LitChart as a printable PDF.
Lyle Character Timeline in Infinite Jest
The timeline below shows where the character Lyle appears in Infinite Jest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 21
...newer kids think he is creepy and object to his presence. He is “supposedly” named Lyle.
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Chapter 37
...petrified that he was going to “flunk grief-therapy.” In despair, Hal paid a visit to Lyle, who told him that instead of being a “student of grief,” he should start reading...
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Chapter 40
...pursuing more creative film projects. Many E.T.A. students see Mario as a mild annoyance, although Lyle loves him and Hal, who calls him “Booboo,” secretly “idealizes” him. Hal thinks Avril might...
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Chapter 44
...1 May Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment. Many years ago, James sought advice from Lyle after critics kept saying that the fatal flaw in all his work was plot. (An...
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When James would go to seek help from Lyle, he spent hours drinking whisky while Lyle drank caffeine-free Diet Coke. Mario would be there...
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Chapter 45
Down in the weight room, Lyle recalls an E.T.A. student called Marlon whose skin was always wet. There are almost always...
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Lyle’s advice tends to be straightforward and effective. Back upstairs, Mario’s film features James’s signature blending...
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One of Lyle’s repeated phrases of advice is “Do not underestimate objects!” When Stice seeks Lyle’s help about...
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Chapter 58
...blindfolded in the hall by the weight room. They can hear Anton Doucette crying to Lyle; apparently some of the other boys are watching him “like it’s entertainment.” Troeltsch and Pemulis...
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