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White Noise Delillo

Decent Essays

In the book, White Noise by Don DeLillo, Jack Gladney is a small town college professor of Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill. Throughout the book, Jack obsesses over the fear of death that makes him contemplate his life and the elements that come with it. The element that he continues to question is technology. Technology is a large aspect of humans and how we function. DeLillo shows his audience how technology is a major element in this book. The author highlights this when Jack is told by the computer that the airborne toxin has infected his bloodstream. Also, the daughters of Jack and Babette feel the symptoms of the airborne toxin consecutively after the radio informs them of the effects the aura of authority has towards technology. …show more content…

The Airborne Toxic Event caused by the train detachment enabled the toxic chemical, Nyodene Derivative, to spread into the atmosphere. Scientists perform tests on this chemical with new technology, but can never completely tell what the symptoms are if exposed to the chemical. This initiated such a problem and it elicits the fear of how new technology, in a catastrophic event like this, could potentially go horribly wrong. The fear of these new technology advancements are seen in all the characters, but specifically Babette and Jack. Babette states, “I feel they’re working on the superstitious part of my nature. Every advance is worse than the one before because it makes me more scared”. Jack says, “The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear” (DeLillo 161). Jack and Babette strongly show how they are feeling about technology and DeLillo shows his audience how mistrust of technology is a problem. Also, another example of mistrust is when Jack is checked for radiation of the chemical in his bloodstream. Jack questions the “simulated evacuation” technician and the technology he is using. “What about the computers? Is that real data you’re running through the system or is it just practice stuff” (DeLillo 139). The SIMUVAC technician tests Jack by plugging details into a computer that tell him that his death is imminent. Jack trusts what the computer says, rather than trusting himself, and Jack becomes completely dependent on the computer. DeLillo demonstrates how mistrust is being used by Jack and compares it to society and how technology has become so mistrusted and depended on. After Jack is told by the computer he is going to die, DeLillo continues to emphasize the trust issues. “I think I felt as I would if a doctor had held a

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