Themes in White Noise by Don DeLillo Essay -- White Noise Don DeLillo

White NoiseThe worldis crowded, non necessarily with occupants and not at all with memorable experiences, but with happenings it is a ceaseless flow of seductive trivialities which invoke neither reflection, nor choice but instant participation. (Oakeshott) The idea of the lacking of veritableness is one of the major themes carried prohibited throughout the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo, especially through the device of the television. For most people there are solitary(prenominal) two places in the world. Where they live and their TV set. If a thing happens on television, we have all right to find it fascinating, whatever it is. (DeLillo 66) The television in the novel White Noise is portrayed almost as a character and plays a significant role in the lives of the individuals in the story. The TV set is al substances on in the house and emits a eonian flow of words, sounds, and images into the home. McCarthy depicts the TV set itself as both(prenominal) a section of furniture in a room and a window to an imaged elsewhere, both a commodity and a way of looking at commodities. (1) In other words, not single is the television an the Statesn commodity, it also gives full to hundreds upon thousands of other must-haves. There is hardly a home in America lacking at least one television set, giving this temper of communication enormous influence ability. The world has but one language, before long learned the language of appetite. (Oakeshott 41) In order to feed this appetite Americans especially, gum tree their eyes to the TV to see what overbold ways of living and new products are out there to make their lives better. The character, Jack Gladney shows this modern-day way of thinking when he goes shopping at the mall. After looking at the mass and variety of hi... ... nothing since there is no media in bid City. (DeLillo 92) To the characters as well as to most of society, only the amount of coverage of the incident by the media b rings the event into existence. It wouldnt matter how umpteen casualties how many lives ruined if the occurrences werent captured on film and plastered over every news station. For most people, events are not news unless they appear on television. (Johnson 212) erst again this is seen when the refugees from the toxic cloud are upset that they only got fifty-two words on television, and not even on earnings news. Are they telling us that it was insignificant? Do they think this is meet television? ... Dont they know its real? (DeLillo 162) Once again this concept that remains throughout the entire novel of distinguishing real from not real is brought up, and once again, is misunderstood.