How Does Don Delillo Create Tension In White Noise

Death Conquers All

The novel White Noise by Don DeLillo is an extraordinary book for Our Time. It explores many themes such as the fear of death and the tension between reality and artifice, both of these themes the main character Jack experiences throughout the novel. DeLillo also attempts to establish a connection through the reader and the novel by creating these themes that are relatable and that can be complex, yet easily understood. Many of the events that take place in the novel may not happen to us but the way the characters respond to them is what makes them easily relatable. There are passages in the text that clearly represents these themes and the relationship that Jack possesses with them. In the passage studied on page 91, it

In this particular scene the plane’s crew is altering the passenger’s perception of reality in order to help them stay calm in the crisis. They do this by simply altering a word, “Certain elements in the crew had decided to pretend that it was not a crash but a crash landing that was seconds away.” (DeLillo 91). Jack is speaking about the plane crash and how the crew is “pretending” that it is not a crash but a crash landing. They decide to use the idea of crash landing instead of a deliberate crash because it is supposed to give comfort to people and to help maintain a calm environment. We also tend to try and minimize issues in contemporary society to help remain calm, which seems to be our primary and most efficient coping mechanism. I argue that these two themes correlate directly. We create these pretend environments because of our fear of death. It helps us to live our lives every day without being constantly reminded and overwhelmed with a fear that is out of our control and cannot be easily solved. The tension between reality and artifice exists in the novel because it is used as a coping mechanism against the fear of death that is instilled in the

I argue that this theme is very effective because it allows the readers to have a relationship with the characters and the text. They gain a deeper understanding and are able to engage with the novel even more. Jack is terrified of death and throughout the novel he constantly is bringing it up. His relationship with his wife Babette is also formed around the question of “Who will die first?”. They are constantly forming conversations over this question and it is clear that they are obsessed with it. This obsession that the characters have, is used as a way for readers to relate and connect with DeLillo’s writing. I believe that he does this intentionally, most people are also fearful of dying although they may not be as severely obsessed with it as Jack and Babette are. This relationship is something which is something all authors need to create between their work and the reader in order to create an well written, effective text. In this scene, they are attempting to calm their fear during the plane crash that they are in. “The basic difference between a crash and a crash landing seemed to be that you could sensibly prepare for a crash landing, which is exactly what they were trying to do.” (DeLillo 91). This quote from the passage is explaining that during the scene of the plane crash, people are scared and for a rational reasoning. They are terrified of falling to their inevitable death and they