"Who will die first (Delillo 15)?" Driven by the fear of death, Don Delillo's White Noise strategically attempts to uncover the underlining notion of death relating to all aspects of popular culture. Based on television and radio commercials, print ads and the internet, there seems to be an earnestly increasing campaign to hide death beneath the surfaces of eye-catching ads and commercials to purposely divert people's attention from death. According to The Theory Toolbox, Nealon and Giroux state that "cultures influence subjects as much as subjects influence culture (Nealon, Giroux 53)," but if this is true, then why is there such a big emphasis being placed on concealing death? Why are so many people afraid of the idea of dying? In one way or another, does religion, or the lack there of prevent people from finding internal peace with death and the skeptical afterlife? Although these questions have been raised in a variety of scholarly debates, Don Delillo has managed to create a novel where the plot, theme, and conflict all revolve around the central fear of death. In order to understand the relationship between culture and death as it is symbolically portrayed in White Noise, one must thoroughly examine the character roles of Jack and Babette Gladney and their representation of real life fears and concerns.
" Even if culture somehow controlled subjects in some simple cause-and-effect way, contemporary culture itself is so diverse and diffuse that those methods of "control" would necessarily produce a very strange being indeed (Nealon, Giroux 53)." Meet Jack Gladney, the founder and professor of Hitler Studies at College-on-the-Hill. If "control" would produce a very strange being indeed, Jack Gladney would be god. Jack is driven by his fear of death. One of the many ways Jack displays his conscious fear of death is through the creation of the department of Hitler Studies. Based on the events that transpired during the Holocaust and the reputation of Hitler, one would question the goals of the department of Hitler studies.
The failure of technology in this regard is the general subject of Don Delillo's book White Noise. ... In one sense, I think this is what White Noise is. ... They are white noise generators intended to put us to sleep. ... White Noise is a book obsessed with death at the hands of our own technology. ... This same white noise is, ironically, also responsible for the random occurrences which act to disrupt itself. ...
Garfinkel kept his word about how this class would operate, that is until our final book White Noise. ... Many of the references in White Noise is so outdated, it just falls short on making an impression on the younger generations of our time. ... However, the concerns of the characters and the themes within White Noise are unquestionably contemporary. ... Because death is a constant in our world, the aspect of death within White Noise makes it contemporary and relevant to everyone. ... Being that it was written in 1985, Don DeLillo's novel White Noise was something way ahead of its time...
Don DeLillo's White Noise is a science fiction novel that deals with this phenomenon as it relates to a particular American family. ... There are various scenes throughout the novel White Noise in which Don DeLillo makes it obvious that the characters are "feeding off of" consumerism and technology... White Noise deals largely with the side-effect of the technological age in which the Gladneys live. The characters in White Noise are familiar with death, and are also aware of how death results from many of the products and industries they have accepted. ...
White's, "Once More To the Lake", the author describes his struggle to come to terms with aging and to stop living in the familiarity of the past. ... Many of the symbols in White's essay deal with the past, future, or life in general. ... Yet, he goes on to contrast this with the description of present motors that made an unfamiliar nervous noise that was irritable. ... White clearly paints a picture, through his symbols, of his longing to return to the past. Throughout his story White's ideas are effectively related through his use of diction and symbolism. ...
White's, "Once More To the Lake", the author describes his struggle to come to terms with aging and to stop living in the familiarity of the past. ... Many of the symbols in White's essay deal with the past, future, or life in general. ... Yet, he goes on to contrast this with the description of present motors that made an unfamiliar nervous noise that was irritable. ... White clearly paints a picture, through his symbols, of his longing to return to the past. Throughout his story White's ideas are effectively related through his use of diction and symbolism. ...
On this planet, it is a woeful reality that every living organism must die sooner or later. What places humans apart is our awareness of the inevitable demise. Death is something dreadful. No one knows when it could happen or how to gain control of it. When it comes, it takes away one's life. Th...
