"White Noise" and "American Beauty"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "White Noise" by Don DeLillo and "American Beauty" directed by Sam Mendes are excellent examples of why we no longer believe in the American Dream. It examines how they skillfully shatter the myth that surrounds it and prove that it is indeed an elusive entity, which has only left us feeling incomplete, unloved, worthless, and simply, failures, despite our apparent successes. It also looks at how the women in these works are depicted as victims of media-propagated images of beauty, happiness, satisfaction, and American life on the whole. They are victims of what they see on television and in magazines and are, thus, unable to enjoy their present lives and achievements.

From the Paper:

"In the White Noise by DeLillo, readers come across similar unhappy and dissatisfied characters. Babette, wife of Jack Gladney, is suffering from the same problem of dissatisfaction with life and American way of living as her counterparts in American Beauty. But she exhibits this dissatisfaction in a slightly different manner. Apart from Babette, there are several other female characters in the novel. However they are not properly developed or are too insignificant to comment upon. Steffie, the young daughter of Babette appears to be as immensely affected by media as her mother. She lives in constant fear and sympathizes with people on screen. She is also a victim of what comes on television as she "becomes upset when something shameful or humiliating seems about to happen to someone on the screen'."

More papers on "White Noise" and "American Beauty":

• Book Review # 126980 : "'White Noise' and Consumerism"
• Analytical Essay # 35313 : "White Noise" and Technology"
• Analytical Essay # 123288 : "'White Noise' and 'Jasmine'"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: