The description of the Enfield Tennis Academy (E.T.A.) in Infinite Jest reminds me of explanatory scenes in Wes Anderson movies. Something perfectly mundane is being described in detail by someone who seems to be anything but mundane. What makes such scenes unique is the contrast between the thing being explained and the explainer, but also what this contrast draws out about the explainer's character.
In the scene explaining E.T.A.'s layout we learn a lot about Hal's character. Certainly most importantly we learn that he gets as high on the secrecy involved in his dope smoking as the dope smoking itself.
What the scene boils down to is a confirmation that Hal is a complex character both because of the nature of the scene and because he admits to a lack of self knowledge. His lack of such knowledge gives him room to change, but more so, that he even wonders about things about himself that he isn't fully aware of makes his complexity clear.
Aside from the character building in the last 10 pages, the book's plot is starting to build momentum. It's doing so with all the gumption and speed of an octogenarian dog in a pool of molasses, but it is building its plot all the same.
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