Question: Sure , DFW made you work -- the footnotes , the endnotes , the digressions and philosophical asides , the brain - stretching vocabulary and sentence structure -- but it was totally worth it . You feel smarter after you read his writing , you feel you ' ve been somewhere you did n't even know existed , like you ' ve peeked through all these oddly - shaped windows in weird buildings and seen all the fascinating things happening right on the other side of the glass . DFW never yanked your chain or threw stuff in just to make himself look clever -- he really was the genuine article .
Answer: Answer: DFW was genuine .

Question: Howard ? " Vince was annoying him . Howard felt Vince rubbing on the back of his pyjamas , to get his attention . Howard 's eyes were closed - he wanted his dream back."Hmmm ? " " What did you do while I was gone ? " Vince traced his fingers along the stripes on Howard 's pyjamas , up and down , until the skin underneath them tingled . Howard breathed carefully , shallowly , because he wanted to feel - really feel - every movement .
Answer: Answer: He is bothered by him .

Question: Ever since I was little , I have been let down . My parents would promise things to me , and then let me down . My friends would ceaselessly disappoint me ... but rather than resign myself silently to a life of disappointment and let - downs , I developed a better tactic -- I expected nothing . I lived a life of the lowest expectations possible .
Answer: Answer: The narrator never got nice things growing up .

Question: Now that it 's feeling a little Fall - ish , I ' ve had this massive craving for a slice of pumpkin pie . And that got me to thinking about different dishes that I have to have each season . Fall is a slice of pumpkin pie and warm apple cider ( I missed the apple cider like crazy when I was abroad in Japan . ) . Winter is sugar cookies . Summer is a slice of a juicy watermelon .
Answer:
Answer: They were in Japan in the fall , and apple cider was not available there .