Don DeLillo's White Noise
WHITE NOISE is probably Don DeLillo's most popular novel, largely because most readers see it as DeLillo's warmest and most human book. In this story, the ideas that seem to captivate DeLillo are fleshed out in real life in a way that none of his other books quite achieves. Of course, there are a few stubborn souls (like me) who still feel THE NAMES, or one of his other books is better. But I think everyone agrees, WHITE NOISE is a winner. It won DeLillo the National Book Award in 1985, and it also won a larger reading audience for a great American writer.
DeLillo has said that Ernest Becker's THE DENIAL OF DEATH was a book that influenced him at the time he wrote WHITE NOISE. There's certainly no denying that death, and the many things we do to avoid facing it, is a major focus of DeLillo's novel. Becker's book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1974, has as it's thesis the assertion that "the idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity---activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man." Becker's point is that this is *the* driving force in the human psyche today...which I think is overstating the matter a bit...but it certainly is a reality that all of us face in some way, sooner or later.
As I looked through Becker's book last month, I was surprised to discover that it's actually an exposition of the work of Otto Rank. Rank was the third of the three famous defectors from Freud's inner psychoanalytic circle early this century (the others being Alder and Jung), and he's known in the literary world to a certain extent because of his intimate involvement with Anais Nin. Like Jung, Rank developed a psychology of mythology and religion...and, in particular, Rank's emphasis was "The Hero" motif. This is what Jung called "the puer aeternus" (or the female "puella")---the eternal youth...who never ages...who never dies...to whom death is nothing. In psychology, this idea is linked closely with that of narcissism, which is considered prevalent in society today. Just look at all the things we do to avoid the appearance of aging!
Jack Gladney is, at best, an unlikely Hero, I think.
“One On The Nature of Humans: Sigmund Frued.” Contemporay Psychoanaltic Studies 12. (2010): 73-88. Academic Search Complete. Web 30 April 2014.
Hermann Hesse's repeated themes of enlightenment through religion, self acceptance, love, and fate, surface in Narcissus and Goldmund, as Goldmund, a student at Mariabronn cloister, discovers his true calling as an artist and lover. Taking the advice of his diametric, the analytical, dark, and spare Brother Narcissus, a teacher at the cloister who recognizes Goldmund as "a dreamer with the soul of a child," Goldmund acknowledges his suppressed childhood and rediscovers the image of his mother.
In Don Delilo’s, White Noise different themes are shown throughout the novel. Some themes that are shown often are the fear of death, loss of identity, technology as the enemy and American consumerism. The society represented in the novel views the people as objects and is emotionally detached from many things. The culture that’s represented in the novel adds to the loss of individualism, but also works hand in hand with consumerism.
Literature can be used as a platform for social commentary. The opening passage of White Noise by Don DeLillo employs a cynical tone, commenting on the clear separation between classes. The distinction between the privileged Americans and those who aren’t as wealthy is evident and self-perpetuating, due to the classist nature of the society. White noise is a form of background noise, which can be used to block out other distractions and unwanted noise. This is reflected in the shared attitudes of society due to the self-perpetuation of the wealthy to create a larger divide between classes and the separation of those with mental illnesses in the insane asylum. By conducting a classist reading, the disconnectedness and distance in the social
Bryant uses nature and nature’s past to comfort the scared reader. He does this by evoking the consoling thought that human death is a good thing because nature will be there embracing the death. The feelings of loneliness are encircled by nature’s calm and valiant deathbed. This portrays the tremendous power of nature over the intuition of human
...e and had millions of hits. Just shows how our society is. In the story Videotape the man watches the man getting shot over and over. He has an odd curiosity for death just like many people in this world do, because we are all afraid of death. We all want to know how we are going to die. Seeing other people die gives us a sense of what death is like and how it could be like for ones self. We watch it to see how a person acts when they are slowly dying or when they are about to die. Just like the man was waiting and watching for the drivers death. Death can happen so unexpectedly and people are afraid of it. By watching or reading incidences of murders society becomes less sensitive to it. This exposure through media demonstrates decreased sensitivity and increased curiosity in death and violence. Don Delillo’s Videotape reveals this aspect of society.
In the final chapter of Don DeLillo’s White Noise, Wilder absentmindedly rode through the freeway with a childlike innocence thus showing the clear contrast in perception of death between children and adults. Wilder’s name already hints at his different nature as compared to the rest of the family. The name suggests something wild, free, savage, nothing that should be associated with society. Wilder demonstrates a lack of development and thus avoids the mentality of knowing an end exists. As Wilder goes on a nearly suicidal ride, Jack describes his misadventure as a mystical tale despite its simplicity: “Wilder, meanwhile, ignoring their cries or not hearing them in the serial whoosh of dashing hatchbacks and vans, began to pedal across the
The ideas used to interpret this play are not classically Freudian, but rather a more contemporary understanding of psychodynamics as influenced by modern existential theory. The ideas of Ernest Becker, one of the more influential figures in the new psychoanalysis, are used throughout this psychological examination.
In Don Delilo’s, White Noise different themes are displayed throughout the novel. Some themes are the fear of death, loss of identity, technology as the enemy, and American consumerism. The society represented in the novel views people as objects and emotionally detached from many things. Death is always in the air and trapped in peoples mind. The culture that’s represented in the novel adds to the loss of individualism, but also adds to the figurative death of the characters introduced in the novel.
With death being an omnipresent threat people gravitate towards signs of enlightenment. The realization of inevitable death reiterates human insignificance creating the reliance on religious beliefs to cope with predestination. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road describes a religious debate during a cathartic journey. The young boy in the novel struggles to grasp the concept of death. The idea of death parallels that of addressing the afterlife, this part of the boy’s brain wants to accept the concept of religion and higher powers.
Spengler published volume one of The Decline of the West in 1919 when German lost the World War One. He did not care for academics and lingered around in the margin of German cultures. For ten years he become a high school teacher and gradually shaped this idea and then quit to write this book. Similar with Nietzsche, he suffered migraine in his head and he never married. He lives up until 50 years old and died from heart attack. His childhood is tormented with nightmares and at the same time an ...
Countless religions discuss the idea of reincarnation, and rebirth. And the idea of rebirth plays a major role in defining whether our lives are governed by circumstance, or action.... ... middle of paper ... ... Frobisher composes a masterpiece, and decides that it is time to leave Ayres’. However, Ayres’ does not appreciate this and warns him that if he doesn’t stay that he will not allow him to become anything.
Jack Gladney and his family are no ordinary group of people. Jack, the protagonist of White Noise by Don Delillo, and his wife Babette live crippled by the fear of death. The couple only recently married and all of their kids that live with them come from different marriages. Wilder is the youngest, followed by Steffie, Denise, and then Heinrich. All of the children have experienced different upbringings from different parents and as a result, each of Jack and Babette’s children have unique personalities that make them distinct from each other and even their parents.
Views on death varies from person to person due to differing belief systems scattered across the world. While some fear death, others may welcome it, perhaps hoping to be reunited with deceased loved ones. The perception that death is final contributes to people’s distress over death, but Emily Dickinson argues otherwise in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death” (1890). Dickinson, whose Puritan beliefs influenced her poetry, helps shift society’s views on death, from a fearful stance to embracing death as a steppingstone to eternity. Furthermore, the negative stereotype surrounding ghosts does not aid in alleviating people’s fear of death and what follows.
Death will always be universal and is continuously seen or heard of everyday. The fear and death its self affects everyone, but it’s important to feel accustomed and comfortable about it. Sure it will be sorrow or and painful when the day comes for you or a loved one, but that’s the world. We must feel comfortable and learn to accept this topic. Finding motivation or something to distract you from this is a good way to motivate your life and build up a positive lifestyle. Death will always induce fear, but it’s just another chapter in life. Even though death has been studied for many years, it will forever be one of the most debated topics, including the fear of