The Nuns?

I have been trying to figure out the significance of the nuns at the end of the story, I want to know why they feel that what they represent is not real (the idea of life after death) but they do it anyways because they feel it is important that everyone else feels it is real. If they do not believe that the after life is real, why do they want everyone else to believe in it? The only possible solution I can come up with is the idea of failed plots and how this book is more or less one big failed plot.

Media Power and Mass Appeal

In reading Don Dellio's "White Noise" I've become aware of the greeat power media has in creating our perceptions of the world as we know it, also the role it has as a stimulus driving us into action as a result of conformed perceptions. In class we spoke of the connection between Hitler and the media and the significance of the statement "We couldn't have television without Hitler." We discussed how Hitler, like television, held mass appeal and could thus move a people to perform heinous acts as a result of a seemingly brainwashing effect. Hitler was able to manipulate people's perceptions, move them to perform unthinkable acts, and thereby create an uncanny level of power through mass appeal. If we think of television in the same light, as a medium holding mass appeal, creating a sense of unity among people's ideas, while possessing the power to create those very ideas, we recognize the necessity in challenging the messages we're fed by the media and not simply allowing them to become our own.

Code of Identity and the Media

I think that mass media is often regarded as a tool or device to transmit information unchanged from one person or group to another. I think that it does serve this function, but it also helps shape society. Because so many people can be exposed to one concept or idea through mass media, it reinforces the status quo. Individuals, especially Jack, change their outward appearances to conform to what is shown through the mass media. For example, Jack is advised to gain weight, grow a beard and become more ugly to appear smarter and more of an expert in his academic field. He also changed his name for the same reasons. Essentially becoming a false or different person to appear to the masses what they perceive as a certain intelligent identity. However alarming it is to see so many characters changing their outward appearances, there is a certain understanding amongt people. The fact that it is highly accepted may be the most alarming aspect. For example when Jack runs into Eric Massingale at the store (pg 82), Eric notes that Jack looks different than when he is on campus, but brushes it off, "I get it, " as to say he understands that everyone perhaps changes to project different appearances to conform to the status quo. Which of course on a broader level, is maintained through mass media's ability to reach so many people. I think this is a running theme especially throughout the first part of the book, Murray changes to appeal to women, Babette runs stairs to change her physical body, Jack learns German because he thinks others expect him to know it, ect....

Existentialism?

It may be a bit of a stretch, but it seems to me that in White Noise, one of Don Delillo's main ideas is that of existentialism. It has been a while since I studied this theory, but if I remember correctly it refers to the world being "absurd" and its people (us) being too satisfied with simply existing and conforming to popular trends. Philosophers such as Nietzsche who supported existentialism claimed that people as individuals had a choice do be different but often did not take advantage of that choice. Delillo seems to poke fun at how uneccesarily similiar people are in scenes such as the opening scene with all of the stationwagons. Jack and his family are Delillo's "rage against the machine" as they have some unusual traits such as Jack teaching Hitler studies

Internal conflict

In reading Don Delillo’s White noise, we find that Jack has a fascination for death and social conformity. Keeping this in mind, I would like to suggest connection, which I found interesting. On pages 133 – 134 there is scene in which Heinrich draws a crowd in awe with his knowledge of the toxic event and its properties. Jack and Babette have a conversation away from Heinrich discussing how Heinrich is “coming out of his shell” and that Jack should go stand in the crowd to listen to his son because his presence as a father would mean a lot to Heinrich. Jack refuses this request made by Babette. Why do you think Jack refuses Babette’s suggestion? Does this scene conflict with Jack’s character? Does this scene correlate to the theme of conformity of the masses?

The gun as the ultimate device

After DeLillo referred to the gun as the “ultimate device for determining one’s competence in the world.” (254) I believe that DeLillo included the gun because (as we discussed in lecture) Hitler had control over death. Hitler could determine who lived and who didn’t. Now that Jack has a gun, he has the same control over one of his biggest fears: death. I also was under the impression that the gun Jack received from Babette’s father, Vern, could be foreshadowing a suicide just as Hitler had done. Jack seems to be more anxious about death, especially by searching for the Dylar in Denise’s room. Several times throughout the novel Jack implies that all plots lead toward death which still leads me to believe that the gun is foreshadowing an important event that will take place throughout the last chapters of the book.

Since the character of Murray has been introduced, he has bothered me. He gives an uneasy feeling in most scenes he's in. A sudden thought entered my mind after reading the part about Babette and the experiment. Murray is Mr. Gray. From the first instance of Murray meeting Babette, he appears to have this obsession with her (pg. 19). It seems as though Murray asks about Babette a lot when talking with Jack. This might be a totally wrong thought, but Murray is capable of many things because of his understanding of the human mind. I think that the gun Jack got from Vern will be used to kill Murray and possibly himself.