Death In Don Delillo's White Noise

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Recommended: The portrayal of death in literature throughout the years

In Don DeLillo’s White Noise, death is an issue that is touched upon greatly. Death is everywhere. Death surrounds every aspect of every characters’ life in any shape or form, which eventually leads to the repression or acceptance of death. However, characters such as Babette and Jack have a pathological fear of death that it hinders they from functioning properly in their everyday lives. Different characters in the novel have different viewpoints on death, and this is solely due to death being forever uncertain. In addition, Jack, the protagonist of the novel, represses death by scrounging up the materialistic possessions that he obtains such as the status he has earned. Through symbolism, motif, and characterization, DeLillo implies that …show more content…

A warning is broadcasted on the radio in order to warn the citizens of Blacksmith. Heinrich, Jack’s son, is aware of the situation as he was able to see the train wreck that caused the toxic airborne event through his pair of binoculars. Heinrich describes that the agent that was realized into the atmosphere is called Nyodene Derivative. Heinrich explains to his father that the symptoms that occur when exposed to Nyodene Derivative are nausea and sweaty palms. But, Heinrich also explains “but now they say symptoms vary from nausea, vomiting, or shortness of breath,” (111). However, the symptoms differentiate once again as it is then stated through the broadcast that symptoms of exposure to Nyodene D are “heart palpitation and a sense of déjà vu,” (116). The symptoms of Nyodene are never truly defined; they are merely assumptions. The significance of introducing various symptoms that do not tend to precise, is that it shows how death is without a definition. Everyone knows what death is; death is the end of the life of a person or organism. However, one does not know what truly occurs during death or its symptoms per se. All one can do about death is make mere assumptions as it will never be possible to identify what occurs during

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