Abstract This paper explains that while not itself a pornographic novel, "Running Dog" objectifies women, thereby exemplifying the essence of pornography-- escape into fantasy through the subjugation of women. The author describes how DeLillo both masterfully juxtaposes and intermingles Nazi propaganda with the lures of pornography by subtly exposing the propagandic aspects of woman as object in pornography.
The author believes that, ultimately, DeLillo reduces pornography and its connoisseurs to the comic.
From the Paper "From Moll Robbins and Grace Delaney to Tran Le Mudger and Nadine Rademacher, female characters lack power against the men with whom they come into contact. Simply, they are objects, not people. Grace presents the relationship between men and women best: "I was married to the same man for eleven years. I did his bidding. Not fully realizing. His silent bidding. Somehow, mysteriously, unspokenly. It's built into the air between us. It's carried on radio waves from galaxy to galaxy". Sadly, hers is not a speech of liberation empowering her coworkers, as Moll fails to comprehend the depth of Grace's words, and the secretary Bess Harris only drinks in silence."
Abstract This paper discusses that Don DeLillo, in his novel "White Noise", makes the most of post-modern suggestions that is it the children who may speak and that their lack of experience in the complexities of the world tends to work to their benefit. The author explains that this complex novel is the story of its narrator, Jack Gladney, who has become a Hitler expert because it gives him the opportunity to provide just the right sound bite to get his own name known in an era in which celebrity is based more on glibness than on anything else. The paper concludes that, even when DeLillo intends for us to see in the children a sophistication about the world that should be beyond their years, we cannot quite help hearing the irony in these scenes because his characters are, to some extent, not characters at all, but simply vehicles for his beliefs.
From the Paper "Gladney has become a Hitler expert because it gives him the opportunity to provide just the right sound bite to get his own name known in an era in which celebrity is based more on glibness than on anything else, and indeed the similarity of his name to the words "glib" as well as "glad-handing" might well be intentional. Gladney has essentially created a product out of a mass murderer in the same way that a new car or odor-suppressing body product would be created and then marketed. He will do anything to make himself famous, and of course the first step in this process is to rid himself of any possible remnants of authenticity. He is who he thinks other people want him to be. Which is not to say that he is in some essential way false to himself, for he is not? He has so thoroughly disconnected himself from whatever it means to be a moral actor that there is no there to be false to. He is his image. He has gone beyond the possibility of being authentic. He is the antithesis of the person who is guided by a deep sense of spirituality."
Abstract This paper reviews the novel 'White Noise' by don DeLillo. The paper discusses death as a theme prevalent in the book and in the life of the main character, Jack. The main question the paper is asks is whether Jack himself is a "killer" or not when it comes to the subject of death.
From the Paper "'White Noise' by Don DeLillo is a masterful, somewhat satirical work of literature that illustrates the dysfunctional lives of Jack Gladney a professor of Hitler Studies, his wife Babette, and their many children, living in a small college town in rural New York. Over the course of the book, Jack endures a "toxic event", Babette's drug problems and lies, an overwhelming fear of death, and a horde of kids that, at some points, seem smarter than their parents. The book reads not so much as a suspense thriller, but more of a chronology of bizarre events, and the effect that they have on the life of Jack. The most climactic of these events being the aptly named "airborne toxic event" which is the obvious turning point in the book. The event not only severely alters the life of Jack, but also nearly drives him to the point of murder. The book has several themes worth explicating, but the most obvious and most important to the landscape of the novel is death. Jack has an unhealthy fear of death that is channeled through his obsession with Hitler. This fear forces himself and the reader to ask the question: is Jack a killer or dier?'
Abstract This paper examines postmodernism in the novel "White Noise" by Don DeLillo and the non-fiction book "America" by Jean Baudrillard. It explains that even though "White Noise" and "America" deal with reality and the undercurrents of postmodern life, both books are essentially different in their ultimate outlooks. The writer discusses Baudrillard's caustic view of American society and life in his book "America" and contrasts this with the perspective in "White Noise", which is more hopeful for America and its future, despite the dehumanization of postmodern living and the "white noise" it brings with it.
Outlook:
Introduction
White Noise & America
Conclusion
From the Paper ""White Noise" by Don DeLillo and Jean Baudrillard's "America" are, by technical definition, two very different books, the former being a novel and the second a non-fiction musing of a man's travels across the United States. However, both are very similar in that they offer an intense look into postmodern America, with its social relations being affected by society's preferred mediums - television, advertising, radio, and the process of simulacra - that is, the simulacrum that is vanity, a society which places value of false realities over real ones, where a hypperreality has replaced a real existence for human beings. Though both books tackle a reality which may not seem to exist, DeLillo's book at least has some hope for human beings and laughs at life's little hypocrisies, whereas Baudrillard offers little in the way of humor or hope."
Abstract This paper explains that the SIMUVAC (Simulated Evacuation) episode in Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise" serves as a pivotal turning point in the narrative. The writer then points out that much of the rest of the narrative is haunted by the main protagonist's (Jack) obsession with his own impending mortality. The paper also investigates the concepts of reality and simulation in real life and concludes that the ultimate significance of the SIMUVAC episode in "White Noise" is that it effects the transformation of death from an abstract sphere to something that is very real in Jack's perceptive field.
From the Paper "This episode confirms Baudrillard's characterization of the mass media's deceptive role. While the media generates a strong desire in the masses for knowing the absolute truth, of attaining total objectivity in relation to information, it is actually the "truer than true which counts or, in other words, the fact of being there without being there. Or, to put it yet another way, the fantasy." The tabloid media can be thought of as an extreme representation of this desire for a truth that goes beyond truth, until it ultimately satisfies our hidden desire for escape from reality - i.e. fantasy."
Abstract This paper explores the various meanings of both postmodernism and postmodernity, specifically in reference to Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise", which is in many ways emblematic of both phenomena. Thus, while the paper begins with a delineation between postmodernism and postmodernity, it also shows how the two concepts unite within the course of "White Noise", a postmodernist novel encompassing the postmodern condition.
From the Paper "What is more, postmodernism also seeks to erase the boundaries that have traditionally separated high culture from popular culture. This came to the forefront most notably in the Pop Art of Andy Warhol. Many other writers and artists incorporate elements of popular culture into their work, whereas Modernists would have merely quoted elements of popular culture. By integrating these seemingly antagonistic qualities into their art work, the postmodern artists and writers effectively make it difficult to tell which "category" their work is meant to fit into."
Tags: pastiche, popular culture, nietzschean, mysterious toxic cloud, hitler
Abstract This paper looks at the main character in the book "White Noise" by Don DeLillo. It raises complex issues such as freedom of speech, exploitation, racial hatred and even compares Marxist theories to contents in the novel.
From the paper:
"This is the most important question posed by Don DeLillo's novel White Noise. But the answer that he gives to this question may not please many of us, for he suggests that it is impossible to speak the truth. Not because human beings are inclined to lie ? although this is certainly true of the characters in his books ? but because there are so many possible truths that the idea of any one truth as having sufficient primacy to be considered The Truth and thus worthy of being given special consideration. As such, given his equal privileging of so many different narrative and "factual" viewpoints and given his tendency to construct a narrative through various patchwork devices, DeLillo's work must certainly be considered to be postmodern."
Abstract This paper reviews the novel "White Noise" by Don Delillo, the story of Jack Gladney and his family who are located somewhere in middle America and are victims as well as willing participants in American society's love affair with consumerism. It examines how DeLillo creates exaggerated characters and stereotypes that surround Jack to emphasize his main message with regard to the reality of death and how "White Noise" is laced with the themes of consumerism within the scope of denying death. It shows how DeLillo is extremely clear in his point that consumerism is a huge part of our popular culture and perhaps the main avenue people choose to travel upon as they avoid death and deathly discussion. This point is made to underscore the idea that life is full of moments and situations that are out of your control. The biggest of those moments is death and the final reality of its equalizing affect on society.
From the Paper "Jack's visit from his father in law, Vernon Dickey, is notable for two reasons. One being the gun Vernon gives to Jack that will be discussed later and the other is Vernon's speech to his daughter and Jack upon his departure. Vernon lists off his ailments, bad habits, and poor judgments and tells the younger couple not to be worried. He doesn?t want them to worry about his failing eyesight, his smoking habit, his limp or his experiences with women. Vernon tells them not to worry about the mind, because the mind goes way before the body."
Abstract In this article the writer looks at various journals by different authors that examine Don DeLillo's work 'White Noise'. The different writings studied are Thomas Peyser's "Globalization in America: The Case of Don DeLillo's White Noise"; Arthur M. Saltzman's writing in Modern Fiction Studies "The Figure in the Static: White Noise"; Mark Conroy's "From Tombstone to Tabloid: Authority Figured in White Noise"; critic Noel King's writing in Critical Quarterly "Reading White Noise: Floating Remarks" and critic Lou F. Caton's writing in English Language Notes "Romanticism and the Postmodern Novel: Three Scenes from Don DeLillo's White Noise".
From the Paper "As hard as it might be to imagine a man who is a professor of "Hitler Studies" at a midwestern college serving as the believable and substantive narrator of a novel, with author Don DeLillo anything seems possible, and there is always a message to his madness for those readers who are truly "listening" as they read. Is DeLillo suggesting that America is on the road to fascism? Is the media leading American down the road to all people seeing and hearing the same repetitive propaganda, like barns that are famous because they are said to be famous? That is clearly one of the author's intents."
Abstract A book review which explains how the Gladney family, in Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise" is an extreme portrayal of the "typical American family." It discusses how DeLillo's portrait takes typical features of the American family - such as their lack of communication and their obsession with materialism - and then, through hyperbole and irony, distorts them to sometimes barely recognizable extremes.
From the Paper "The bewildered and lost American family the author depicts is a part of a bewildered society which has lost its way. It is a family lost in a world of confusion and "white noise," and, especially, in the material things of modern consumerism. God and all spiritual hope have disappeared for all intents and purposes, replaced by a faith in the products of the consumerist culture."
Abstract This paper summarizes and analyzes the novel "End Zone" by Don DeLillo, examining how DeLillo, using wit and sarcasm, explains what nuclear war and college football have in common.
From the Paper "Harkness, the narrator of this morality tale, played football because he was expected to become the sports hero his father could not be. Like he tells the reader, his failed father had ambitions for him, just to prove that the seed was not impoverished. Harkness, himself, was a transfer from the University of Miami, and we immediately notice something odd about him. He enjoyed reading about nuclear war and the deaths of millions. There was something he himself could not understand, even as he went to the library to get more books on the subject of nuclear war. When he left Miami and went home, his Father persuaded an influential Michigan State alumnus to get him into that University. The point was, then, to escape the draft. But, when he convinced the MSU people he could follow orders, he was accepted, played football, and was involved in a vicious tackle that killed an opposing player."
Abstract Analysis of Don DeLillo's novel as an extreme portrayal of a typical American family. Theme of corruption of the American family and the American Dream. Disappearance of spiritual hope & and pre-eminence of the material things of modern consumerism. How the Gladney family depicted in the novel differs from sitcom families.
From the Paper "The Gladney family, in Don DeLillo's novel White Noise is an extreme portrayal of the "typical American family." DeLillo's portrait takes typical features of the American family--such as their lack of communication and their obsession with materialism--and then, through hyperbole and irony, distorts them to sometimes barely recognizable extremes. DeLillo is not after a straightforward picture of the American family, but the radical portrait he offers rather wants to draw attention not only to the degree the purity of the family has been corrupted but also to the extent of the general corruption of the American Dream.
The bewildered and lost American family the author depicts is a part of a bewildered society which has lost its way. It is a family lost in a world of confusion and "white noise," and, especially, in the material things of modern consumerism. God and..."
This paper discusses the use of language in Don DeLillo's "End Zone", leading to the monadanom, or the time when the meaning behind language deteriorates.
Abstract According to the writer, the characters in "End Zone" no longer use words to symbolize their physical surroundings. The paper show that the novel is a modern representation of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. However, the writer uses examples from the book to illustrate the deviation from the allegory. Within the paper we see how the novel works in creating a cycle, from the beginning and returning to the beginning.
From the Paper "Despite Gary's lackluster attitude, Myna goes on to relate Nemkhu's novel to him. Nemkhu' s work appears to be set in a primordial world. An atmosphere of "thick hard foam" surrounds the planet. The only existing land is a perfectly triangular mountain, which has yet to erode. The only life forms are the nautiloids, who live in a giant ocean under conditions similar to the prisoners' condition in Plato's cave allegory. The prisoners are chained facing the back wall of a dark cave; thus, their position is several times removed from the sunlight's presence, or Plato's idea of "true" knowledge. On the nautiloids' planet, the hard, thick atmosphere blocks any potential light from reaching the sea creatures. Even if light could penetrate through the atmosphere, the nautiloids, in their oceanic existence, would lack an absolute perception of it. The water would dim and alter the light before it could reach them. The nautiloids' communication system also alludes to their distanced perception. Although they have the power of ESP, they do not use it to convey direct thoughts from one to the other. Instead, they have constructed an elaborate numerical system to symbolize their thought patterns."
Abstract 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'."
This paper discusses the problems of American television in the 1980s, television's cultural history, the postmodern television consumer culture as explored in DeLillo's "White Noise" and Wallace's ?Girl with Curious Hair", and television sports.
Abstract This paper explains that the decade of the 1980s is seen as the explosion of television culture in terms of the proliferation of networks and the availability of programming through the cable. The author points out that Wallace and DeLillo are both concerned with postmodern characters that are absent internal selves, or rather, characters that seem to be informed of behavior primarily through the use of television. The author believes that sports on television now seems to be as dysfunctional as the nuclear family: a series of different schedules with a lot of hype, dreams or delusions of grandeur, with no meaningful connection to the simple love of the game.
Table of Contents
Cultural History of American Television
The Postmodern Television Consumer Culture: "White Noise" and "Girl with Curious Hair"
Television's Impact on Sports
From the Paper "The FCC continued to be the regulating body that determined what would be permissible for the American public to view. However, the Reagan administration that preached supply-side economics, believed that deregulation was the best method of growing the economy given the many slow-downs that dominated the 1970?s. "For FCC chairman (Reagan appointee) [Mark] Fowler, the only kind of regulation that was legitimate came from the market itself, and he made this clear to gleeful industry executives from his earliest days in office" (Steyer 137). Fowler also acknowledged that such regulation should be at the hands of media and broadcasting executives because they had first hand knowledge of what Americans really wanted to see. Ironically, it seemed that the Reagan administration passively promoted a liberal media that looked for alternative methods of programming even though the business executives would assess its effectiveness and its decency."
