Octet By David Foster Wallace Summary

David Foster Wallace’s short story “Octet” is comprised of a series of “Pop Quizzes” targeted at examining the reader’s reaction to a collection of hypothetical situations regarding the “price” of human interaction. The author attempts to “interrogate” the reader, fulfilling his duty as an author to create something thought provoking or of emotional effect. However “Octet” is not an octet at all. Its form is confused, consisting of four interrogative quizzes—with two labeled 6 and 6A—no number eight, and number nine beginning with a direct address to the reader. While the first four quizzes indirectly probe the reader, Pop Quiz 9 forces the reader to come to terms with their involvement in the short story. Mimicking the first four quizzes,