Themes in White Noise by Don DeLillo

2251 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media influence on the public

White Noise

“The world…is crowded, not necessarily with occupants and not at all with memorable experiences, but with happenings; it is a ceaseless flow of seductive trivialities which invoke neither reflection, nor choice but instant participation.” (Oakeshott) The idea of the lacking of realness is one of the major themes carried out throughout the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo, especially through the device of the television.

“For most people there are only two places in the world. Where they live and their TV set. If a thing happens on television, we have every right to find it fascinating, whatever it is.” (DeLillo 66) The television in the novel White Noise is portrayed almost as a character and plays a significant role in the lives of the individuals in the story. The TV set is always on in the house and emits a constant flow of words, sounds, and images into the home. McCarthy depicts the TV set itself as “both a piece of furniture in a room and a window to an imaged elsewhere, both a commodity and a way of looking at commodities.” (1) In other words, not only is the television an American commodity, it also gives rise to hundreds upon thousands of other “must-haves”. There is hardly a home in America lacking at least one television set, giving this mode of communication enormous influence ability.

“The world has but one language, soon learned: the language of appetite.” (Oakeshott 41) In order to feed this appetite Americans especially, glue their eyes to the TV to see what new ways of living and new products are out there to make their lives better. The character, Jack Gladney shows this modern-day way of thinking when he goes shopping at the mall. After looking at the “mass and variety” of hi...

... middle of paper ...

... nothing" since "there is no media in Iron City." (DeLillo 92) To the characters as well as to most of society, only the amount of coverage of the incident by the media brings the event into existence. It wouldn’t matter how many casualties how many lives ruined if the occurrences weren’t captured on film and plastered over every news station. “For most people, events are not ‘news’ unless they appear on television.” (Johnson 212) Once again this is seen when the refugees from the toxic cloud are upset that they only got fifty-two words on television, and not even on network news. “Are they telling us that it was insignificant…? Do they think this is just television? ... Don’t they know it’s real?” (DeLillo 162) Once again this concept that remains throughout the entire novel of distinguishing real from not real is brought up, and once again, is misunderstood.

Show More
Related

  • Sensationalism In Blue Noise By Paul Rojo's Gray Noise

    2114 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wang’s studies have shown that news industries are now tabloidizing news because it elicits the attention of their viewers. Now the only thing considered as “entertainment” in the news is “crimes, accidents, and disasters”. Wangs writes “News that bleeds seem to still lead the primary broadcasts” (Wang 722). People nowaday only tune in when a disaster has occurred and anything other that is not “interesting”. Unfortunately, people would rather watch Isis in action then heard about Obama releasing innocent victims from prison. The reporter in “Gray Noise” proves Wang’s words true when he records on his lens about a mother who had just lost her

    Read More

  • Social Issues in America in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the mid-1900s, the Unites States was rapidly changing from the introduction of a new standard of technology. The television had become the dominant form of entertainment. This seemingly simple thing quickly impacted the average American’s lifestyle and culture by creating new standards for the average household. New, intimidating concepts came about, and they began embedding themselves into American culture. It became clear to some people that some of these ideas could give rise to new social problems, which it did. Sixty- five years ago, in a library basement, a man named Ray Bradbury wrote a book called Fahrenheit 451, which was able to accurately predict social problems that would occur because he saw that Americans are addicted to gaining quick rewards and new technology, and also obsessed with wanting to feel content with their lives.

    Read More

  • A Nation Of Vidiot Analysis

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jeffrey D. Sachs’s essay “ A Nation of Vidiot” focuses on his views about the American relationship with televisions. In his essay explaining why people should avoid watching TV too much. And the author also gives readers a reason to believe in the articles that he wrote. He explained the problem to television advertising used to sell the product and the country's politics. There are fine examples why developing countries the consequences that have ever television were created. And he has to convince his readers when he criticized some of the problems seen too much television can cause people watch television as reduced memory, and body weakness. However, for the children, the TV screens the main tool of the children. The authors also offer TV how difficult and dangerous for television viewers. Overall it’s a pretty interesting read, but one thing is sure: the essay is a

    Read More

  • Edward R Murrow Wires And Lights In A Box Analysis

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Wires and Lights in a Box,” the author, Edward R. Murrow, is delivering a speech on October 15, 1958, to attendees of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. In his speech, Murrow addresses how it is his desire and duty to tell his audience what is happening to radio and television. Murrow talks about how television insulates people from the realities in the world, how the television industry is focused on profits rather than delivering the news to the public, and how television and radio can teach, illuminate, and inspire.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Television In The 1950's And 1960s

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of the television in the late 1950’s and 1960’s played a significant role in American households. In fact, never before had a media captivated audiences since the inception of the radio. While the earliest televisions were black and white, households that could afford this luxury were mostly, white, middle class. Towards the mid 1950’s the first color television broadcast aired by CBS. Moreover, the television dramatically influenced the social, political, and economical landscape of American households in this era.

    Read More

  • The 1950's: A Deacde of Progress and Change in America

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many of the technological advancements in entertainment helped people live a much happier and exciting life. The television was wanted by almost every average American family in this decade and overwhelmed millions of baby-boomer children who’s relationship with TV has influenced the United States’ culture and politics. Television

    Read More

  • General Overview of Chapter 11: The Huxleyan Warning

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    The many evils that exist within television’s culture were not foreseen back when televisions were first put onto the market. Yet, Postman discovers this very unforgiveable that the world did not prepare itself to deal with the ways that television inherently changes our ways of communication. For example, people who lived during the year 1905, could not really predict that the invention of a car would not make it seem like only a luxurious invention, but also that the invention of the car would strongly affect the way we make decisions.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's 1984 and Today

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens.

    Read More

  • Television and Media - Effect of TV In The Age of Missing Information

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the book, McKibben compares the two experiences, contrasting the amount of useful information he received from nature, as opposed to the amount of useless, hollow information the television provided. He goes on in the book to make several very important observations about how the television has fundamentally changed our culture and lifestyle, from the local to the global level. Locally, McKibben argues, television has a detrimental effect on communities.

    Read More

  • Television Language of White Noise

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Frow, in his criticism of White Noise, rightfully focuses on television as the defining medium of the Simulacra in DeLillo's America. Television, of course, by definition is a copy; it is a broadcast of something that has been filmed; it is viewed in millions of homes worldwide, each television flickering the same image into the sub-conscious eye. Frow presents a close reading of a speech Murray gives to his students:

    Read More

  • The American Dream Essay

    1932 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...’s bleak words to Jack represent the human condition he face. In the postmodern American Dream, consumerism serves as “white noise” to forget our death.

    Read More

  • In The Final Chapter Of Don Delillo's White Noise

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • American Consumerism: Don Delilo’s White Noise

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Death And Death In Don Delillo's White Noise

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is there such a thing as free will, what is the relationship between mind and body, and the true difference between right and wrong are a few questions about human existence that have plagued philosophers and average men alike since the days of Socrates and Aristotle. While not everyone may pay these questions much attention, there is one philosophical thought that has probably crossed the mind of every human at some point in time, and that is the concept of death and what happens after. There are widespread thoughts about what happens postmortem which range from the idea of immortality during the days of the ancient Greeks to the belief in reincarnation that is associated with many Eastern religions. These beliefs, along with others similar to them, provide some with a sort of safety net because they know that their essence (soul, spirit, etc.) will continue to exist after they pass. That being said, not everyone shares these opinions and for some the idea of death can be frightening. Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise examines this fear through Jack Gladney and several other characters. While the novel does not offer any answers, it does stimulate thought regarding death in modern society and how it should be handled. Although many of the characters try to do things such as ignore or embrace their fear in order to get it off their minds, Jack cannot shake his angst, all of which mirroring the various reactions people in today’s society have regarding death.

    Read More

  • White Noise

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are plenty of commerce techniques, which lead customers to make a certain selection, to convince them to buy a product. Sometimes those techniques are so forceful that may radically change our opinion. One of the very first scenes shows us a picture of the family eating lunch. DeLillo focuses our attention on how packaged is the food on the table: “open cartons, crumpled tinfoil, shiny bags of potato chips, bowls of past substances covered with plastic wrap, flip-top rings and twist ties”(7). There are a lot of things, but I would say: lack of food. From Babette, current Jack’s wife, who prepared the meal, we hear, that the matter of fact, she wanted them to eat something totally different. Farther she is critiqued by her teenager daughters: Denise and Steffie for her bad taste: ”She keeps buying that [food]. But she never eats it” (7). How is it, that Babette, who picks the food, makes so horrific purchases? She is the brightest example of someone, who stopped to think independently, and got attracted to shiny packa...

    Read More

More about Themes in White Noise by Don DeLillo

Open Document