Wiggle Room Analysis

There are a number of occupations that qualify as boring professions; however, David Forster Wallace demonstrates that being an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee is most likely at the top of the list. In his short story, “Wiggle Room”, Lane Dean is a tax agent. In working his Monday thru Friday, 9 to 5 job, his boredom comes not only from being cooped-up in his tiny cubicle, but also from the rote task of adding numbers on the same forms, and with the same tax codes creates such boredom in this character that he mentally breaks-down.

It is obvious that Lane is bored beyond belief by the numbers he works with every day.

Evidence is given of his mental determination when Lane loses track of time when he, “Look[ed] up and saw that no time had passed at all,” (8). This shows the ennui he experiences in doing this boring job. His boredom with

He allows another character in the story named Donne to give a definition and he explained and, “Called it lethargy, and for a time conjoined somewhat with melancholy, saturninia, otiositas, tristitia; that is, to be confused with sloth and torpor and lassitude and eremia and vexation and distemper and attributed to spleen,” (6). The definition of these words is connected with sadness, lack of physical or mental strength, idleness, or being deranged; which are all evident of Lane Dean’s behavior. There are no direct references to Lane Dean being sad in this story, however, it is implied that he is as well as suicidal. He daydreams that, “the beach now had solid cement instead of sand and the water was gray and barely moved, just quivered a little, like Jell-O that’s almost set. Unbidden came ways to kill himself with Jell-O,” (4). This quote tells that Lane is so board that his daydreams take on a macabre air, and that he is so sad and tired of his job that death would be a relief from his