Death in Don DeLillo's 'White Noise'

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5, University of Freiburg (Englisches Seminar), course: Proseminar 'Postmodern American Fiction after 1975', language: English, abstract: In the following pages I will discuss the role of Death in Don DeLillo's 'White Noise' and I will show that the protagonist, Jack Gladney, is not only obsessed with death, but that fear and obsession are the main driving forces in his life. Further it is the aim of this paper to show that Jack Gladney goes through a change, which results in him being able to cope with his fear and that DeLillo holds technology responsible for Jack's obsessive fear. In order to support the thesis of this paper I will analyze the role that death plays in Jack's life in regard to his family, his job, consumption and technology. To support the thesis of Jack going through a change I will discuss Jack's relationship to death before and after the exposure to the chemical spillage and, most important, before and after Jack's being 'nearer to death', when attempting to kill Willie Mink. Concluding, I will look at the novel's link between death and technology. Jack Gladney lives with his wife Babette and their children from previous marriages in a house at the end of a quiet street in the quiet town of Blacksmith. He is head of the department of Hilter Studies at the College-on-the-Hill. Jack has specialized on Hitler and built a whole department around this single figure of history. In academic circles he is widely known as the leading expert on Hitler and his articles are printed in the appropriate journals. But Jack neither reads nor speaks the German language, a fact he desperately tries to keep a secret. He hides behind his dark glasses and academic robe. [...]