ellauri074.html on line 207: Most of the action in the novel takes place in the Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment, or Y.D.A.U., which is probably AD 2009, taking the Year of the Yushityu... (the lengthily titled 6th Subsidized Year) as 2007. Critic Stephen Burn, in his book on Infinite Jest, argues convincingly that Y.D.A.U. corresponds to 2009: the MIT Language Riots took place in 1997 (n. 24) and those riots occurred 12 years prior to Y.D.A.U. (n. 60).
ellauri074.html on line 208: Other evidence that Y.D.A.U. is 2009 includes the mention that November 20, Y.D.A.U. is a Friday (p. 198). Years on which November 20th is a Friday include 1992, 1998, 2009, 2015, 2020, etc. The most fitting of these is 2009.
ellauri074.html on line 209: It is also possible that Y.D.A.U. is 2008, as Matty Pemulis turns 23 in Y.D.A.U. (p. 682). Matty's (and Mike's) father came over in 1989 when Matty was "three or four" (p. 683). If Matty had been three and four in 1989, he was born in 1985, which would mean he turns 23 in 2008.
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