Naked Lunch

Lee, who we later learn is William Lee, is the narrator and main protagonist of Naked Lunch. Lee’s escape from the police in New York and journey to Interzone forms the narrative basis of the novel. Lee’s drug-inspired visions and descriptions underpin the bizarre events and characters in Interzone and other fantastical places. However, Lee himself is an enigma. We learn at the start that he’s addicted to heroin and is a low-level dealer—and that he may be gay. Beyond that, and the fact that he lives in New York, the narrative reveals little about his background or identity. His acquaintances, besides odd references to people like Eduardo, who “died of an overdose in Madrid” (195), are—like “the Rube” or “the Vigilante”—just as obscure as him. Events or comments in Interzone don’t really help. At one point Lee says, in discussing the political parties of Interzone, that he is “on the Factualist side” (123). This party opposes the attempts to destroy individuality that the other parties favor. We also learn that Lee must go to the County Court House to “file an immediate affidavit that he’s suffering from bubonic plague to avoid eviction” (142).