Toxic Society In White Noise

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The Toxic Society of White Noise In his novel, White Noise (1985), Don DeLillo delivers the story of Jack Gladney. Though Jack’s life and narration may be the central focus of the story, the novel is also saturated with a number of underlying themes. DeLillo does a phenomenal job of illustrating not only the fallout of an airborne toxic event, and its effect on the characters, but the toxic nature of an American society obsessed with media, appearances, and shallow gender roles. Media is a continuous presence in the lives of the characters within White Noise. It is always there; even if it is not the main focus of their attention, it still appears in the background. Many different forms of media are constantly being thrown at the reader. They are bombarded with brand names and marketing slogans, as well as television and radio programs. The American culture portrayed in White Noise displays an oppressing reliance on these different forms of media and technology. The possession of such outlets created a sense of entitlement in the members of society. We see this especially during the airborne toxic event, when the man carrying the small TV complains that they haven’t been bothered by the news media. …show more content…

DeLillo details society’s blatant need to keep up appearances through many of his characters, though it is most apparent with Jack. Jack finds appearance to be especially important. When he created the department of Hilter studies, he also created a fake persona to accompany it. He changed his name to J.A.K. Gladney, simply because ‘Jack’ did not seem prestigious enough to be the creator of this unique department. Whenever he is on campus, he wears long academic robes and heavy framed glasses. He puts on this façade to appear more important and dignified to both his students and colleagues. He doesn’t deny it either, stating “I am the false character that follows the name around”

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