Agreed. The title can't be anything other than a reference to "consider the lilies," and if the beatitudes aren't a lecture, then I don't know what is.
Huh, the reference didn't occur to me. I'll admit to missing the mark, though I suppose I place different connotations on "a lecture" and "lecturing". I really should have reread the whole article before posting my comment, I was working off my memory of it.
FWIW, I don't hate the writing. I like DFW's prose, but I happen to disagree strongly with him about the sentience of a lobster. It's a piece that has stuck around in the popular consciousness for a long time, however, so clearly many people think it's worth a read.
Yep. I've seen this article in the past and I've never read it until just now. In fact, it was kleinbl00's comment that finally made me read it. Not for his praise of it, but because I had to see for myself if his criticism of it was just. He is most certainly lecturing and not just that, he's doing it while snidely mocking the everyday men and women that flock to such "fairs." -As someone that lived in a town with one of the largest "art" fairs in the U.S., I can sympathize with his characterization of this group, but still...it's a lecture. You had a great comment in the past regarding the "pain" aspect.