White Noise, by Don DeLillo

In his comic novel White Noise, Don DeLillo critiques the superficial, materialistic, and bewildering culture of the United States in the late twentieth century. Although in some moments the author seems to be suggesting an 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, the things of modern consumerism. Prevailing over and under all of this is the "white noise" of the title, what amounts to a stew of sensory input which leaves the individual hypnotized and utterly discontent. 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 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 . . . ; the junk food (3).

Jack is certainly not transported to consumer bliss watching the s

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a higher calling than Jack can handle: The chancellor had advised me . . . to do something about my name and appearance if I wanted to be taken seriously as a Hitler innovator. Jack Gladney would not do, he said. . . . The chancellor warned against . . . my tendency to make a feeble presentation of self. He strongly suggested I gain weight. He wanted me to "grow out" into Hitler. . . . I . . . badly needed bulk. . . So Hitler gave me something to grow into and develop toward (16-17). Just as Jack intermittently sees through the false and dark promise of consumerism and technology, so does he occasionally see through his own artificial image in this artificial world where few things are what they seem to be: "I am the false character that follows the name around" (17). This reference is to himself as a falsified academic who is pretending to be of a greater "massiveness" (17) than he actually is in order to qualify to teach about the most evil mass murderer in the history of the world. In other words, the subject of Hitler, or the subject of the image of Hitler is a powerful one which calls for a teacher with a powerful image of his own. Hitler, in essence, is an authority figure. He may be evil, but he is the best at being evi

Category: Literature - W