are fluid truths, truths which the individual cannot rely upon in the same way that individuals in earlier times believed they could rely upon the "truth" of those times.
Both DeLillo and Garcia Marquez are deeply critical of the worlds they describe, and much of that critical attitude is based on their view that the social, political, religious and other conventional truths presented to us by our institutions are profoundly deceptive, corrupted and corrupting.
In White Noise, DeLillo provides a fictional, critical analysis of the superficial, materialistic, and bewildering nature of American culture in the late twentieth century. Although there are moments in which the author seems to be suggesting that there is some element of humanity worth respect and/or salvation, in general DeLillo presents a human race utterly lost in a world full of madness, rage, confusion, and, especially, in the things of modern consumerism. In other words, there is no objective "truth" to be found.
The "white noise" of the title of DeLillo's novel is essentially a mass of sensory input which leaves the individual completely confused and miserable. American consumerism in the novel has become a religion of sorts, but a religion which gives no consolation or salvation. The American Dream, in theory, may consist of living in a paradise of consumer options, but DeLillo pictures it as a nightmare akin to a low-key hell in which human beings are inundated and profoundly burdened by their attachment to things. The novel begins with the protagonist, Jack Gladney, watching students arriving at the college where he teaches a class in Nazism:
The . . . station wagons were loaded down with . . . suitcases . . . ; with bicycles, skis, rucksacks, English and Western saddles, inflated rafts . . . ; stereo sets, radios, personal computers; small refrigerators and table ranges; . . . records and cassettes; the hairdryers and styling irons; the tennis rackets . ...