Don Delillo s White Noise - 841 Words

Don DeLillo’s White Noise demonstrates the fictitiousness of capitalist ideology, thereby implying the ignorance of the public towards their oppression under the corporate aristocracy. Consequently, DeLillo displays the self-propagation of the mercantile system as the ultimate form of material freedom, and accentuates the use of marketing to create false needs for commodities, which appear according to Karl Marx’s definition in his A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Three aspects of his writing appear accordingly: the creation of false satiation to complement the nonexistent needs, the ignorance of the public, and ultimately, the confusion of the difference between material value and the Aristotelian sublime. The consumerism present in White Noise manifests through the constant interjections of branded products’ names throughout the work. For instance, DeLillo presents the necessities of â€Å"Waffelos and Kabooms†¦ Dum-Dum pops†¦ [An d] Mystic mints† (DeLillo, 1). Meanwhile, synthetically produced foods with destructive effects do not have any uses, whether necessary or practical. Consequently, the products become the ultimate form of commodity, each truly â€Å"[A]n object of human wants† (Marx, 19). These desires clearly act detrimentally to the consumer, not only through the unhealthy aspects of such foods, but also as addiction to brands causes the public’s ignorance to the true aspects of the capitalist system, in particular the rise of the corporateShow MoreRelatedDon Delillo s White Noise1239 Words   |  5 PagesDon Delillo’s White Noise is a novel set in twentieth century Middle America. The story follows the life and journey of Jack Gladney, a teacher of Hitler Studies at a liberal arts college, and his family through their lives, which are invaded by white noise, the constant murmur of American consumerism. The narrative follows these characters as they struggle to survive, distracting them from their sense of reality. White Noise explores a host of characters’ deep underlying fears and uncertaintiesRead MoreDon Delillo s White Noise1892 Words   |  8 Pagesnaming things so hard for humans to do? Why does it matter? What difference does a name make? These are all questions raised in Don DeLillo’s White Noise. This novel teaches how to deal with these uncertainties in many different ways. This postmodern take on the human race and their reality of the world discusses why the naming of things has such a high impact. DeLillo suggests this matters because it all comes back to simulacrum, perspective, and questions the reality of these things due to allRead MoreAnalysis Of Don Delillo s White Noise1664 Words   |  7 PagesDon DeLillo is an American writer born in 1936. DeLillo is a postmodernist and has written eleven books receiving various awards for his work. The title of DeLillo’s eighth novel White Noise brings forth many assumptions towards the overall meaning of the book. If one was to generally interpret the meaning, â€Å"white noise† is produced when sound waves are joined together creating a constant buzz. This buzz can produce a relaxing or an overwhelming feeling, depending, if it refers to a repetitive noiseRead MorePsychological Comfort in Don Delillo ´s White Noise Essay911 Words   |  4 Pageshas brought human to a bright new age that people are more likely to value the materiality. Then more problems are raised from the technological development and further implicated with human emotions and basic desires. For example, in Don Delillos novel White noise, the fear of death is emphasized and given a new definition that fits into this lopsided modern society, which is overwhelmed by all kinds of information from mass media. People unconsciously dedicate more onto the stories that mediaRead MoreAnalysis Of White Noise By Don Delillo Uses Babette s Moral Ambiguity817 Words   |  4 PagesFox News Equals Media Equals Fear of Death Equals Adultery Malcolm X once said â€Å"The media s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.† The media reaches out to all places and affects everyone. It changes how we think and what we do. In the novel White Noise, Don Delillo uses Babette’s moral ambiguity, conveyed through her decisions and actions, to reveal the influenceRead More The Power of the Family in White Noise Essay examples1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe Power of the Family in White Noise    Don Dellilos protagonist in his novel White Noise, Jack Gladney, has a nuclear family that is, ostensibly, a prime example of the disjointed nature way of the family of the 80s and 90s -- what with Jacks multiple past marriages and the fact that his children arent all related. Its basically the antipodal image of the 1950s nuclear family. Despite this surface-level disjointedness, it is his family and the extrasensory rapport thatRead More The Failure of Technology in White Noise by Don Delillo Essay1055 Words   |  5 PagesThe Failure of Technology in White Noise by Don Delillo One particularly unfortunate trait of modern society is our futile attempt to use technology to immunize ourselves against the fear of death. The failure of technology in this regard is the general subject of Don Delillos book White Noise. Throughout this novel, technology is depicted as the ominous messenger of our common fate, an increasing sense of dread over loss of control of our lives and the approach of inevitable death in spiteRead MoreAnalysis Of White Noise By Don Delillo765 Words   |  4 PagesIn White Noise by Don DeLillo, postmodern anxiety is expressed throughout the story in the way we, as readers, interpret the text. There are several examples of postmodern anxiety being presented and felt in the story. Feeling of anxiety can also be felt throughout the story from following Jack on his journey to adapt to the uncertainty of his death. There are many elements of postmodern anxiety being in this story mainly because of the author Don DeLillo. Don DeLillo was part of t he ParanoidRead MoreWhite Noise1154 Words   |  5 PagesDeath is probably the most feared word in the English language. Its undesired uncertainty threatens societys desire to believe that life never ends. Don DeLillos novel White Noise tells the bizarre story of how Jack Gladney and his family illustrate the postmodern ideas of religion, death, and popular culture. The theme of deaths influence over the character mentality, consumer lifestyle, and media manipulation is used often throughout DeLillos story. Perhaps, the character most responsiveRead MoreEssay on The Death of Identity in DeLillos White Noise2934 Words   |  12 PagesThe Death of Identity in DeLillos White Noise In addition to addressing the premonitory electricity of death, the title of Don DeLillos White Noise alludes to another, subtler, sort of white noise - the muted death of suburban white identity. College-on-the-Hill is not only an elite academic promontory, but also a bastion for white flight in which Jack Gladneys family has taken refuge. Instead of John Winthrops clear City-on-a-Hill morality, DeLillo presents us with J.A.K. Gladneys