Ortho Stice is a student at E.T.A., nicknamed “the Darkness.” At one point he gets his forehead stuck to a window and loses a large chunk of skin when he is ripped away. Stice seemingly has a strange connection to Hal’s father James, as it’s suggested that James’s wraith moves around objects in Stice’s room, and possibly even possesses him.
Get the entire Infinite Jest LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ortho Stice Character Timeline in Infinite Jest
The timeline below shows where the character Ortho Stice appears in Infinite Jest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...playing, Hal is sure that he himself will win, and that he will play either Stice or Polep in the final on Sunday. There is a rumor that Venus Williams might...
(full context)
Chapter 45
One of Lyle’s repeated phrases of advice is “Do not underestimate objects!” When Stice seeks Lyle’s help about the problem of his bed moving around his room at night,...
(full context)
Chapter 56
Late P.M., Monday 9 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment. Pemulis and Stice are in Dr. Rusk’s office, and Stice is being told that he suffers from “counterphobia,”...
(full context)
Chapter 59
...childhood accident developed a neurological condition that makes food taste like the smell of vomit. Stice has been telling a long Christmas story about his parents’ “epic rows.” Theirs is a...
(full context)
Chapter 62
...Adult Undergarment. Helen Steeply has arrived at E.T.A. and watches a match Hal plays against Stice. Both players are left-handed. Steeply has (ostensibly) come to speak to Hal about Orin, but...
(full context)
...tunnel as fast as possible. Meanwhile, above ground there is a tie between Hal and Stice. DeLint has left, and Thierry Poutrincourt has come to sit next to Steeply instead. She...
(full context)
Chapter 64
...November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment. Something went very wrong in Hal’s game against Stice, and now Stice’s name is 2nd on the rankings, where Hal’s used to be. Hal...
(full context)
Chapter 73
...in the first person. The narrator, Hal, describes walking through E.T.A. and running into Ortho Stice in the boys’ bathroom. Stice remarks that Hal is up early and then observes that...
(full context)
Hal tells Stice to prepare himself, because Hal’s going to attempt to un-stick him. Stice admits that he...
(full context)
Chapter 74
...there is a strip of human flesh on the window upstairs, and Hal explains about Stice being stuck to the window. Kieran McKenna pops in and mentions that Stice now resembles...
(full context)
...are watching an early film by James called Accomplice!. They discuss the incident of Ortho Stice’s face getting stuck to the window and having to be ripped off. Mario then says...
(full context)
