White Noise: Analysis of Major Characters
"White Noise: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate lives of the characters in Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise," which delves into themes of consumerism, mortality, and the human condition. Central to the narrative is Jack A. K. Gladney, the narrator and a middle-aged academic who leads a Hitler studies department. Jack's existential dread, exacerbated by a toxic disaster, drives him to seek a cure for his fear of death, leading to violent consequences. His wife, Babette, grapples with her own fear of mortality, engaging in an affair to access a medication that ultimately fails her.
Supporting characters like Murray J. Siskind, a former sportswriter, and Heinrich, Jack's scientifically curious son, highlight the generational and philosophical tensions regarding knowledge and consumer culture. Other family members, including Denise and Steffie, provide perspectives on Babette's struggles, while the innocent presence of young Wilder offers a poignant contrast to the pervasive anxiety surrounding death. The narrative is enriched by figures such as Howard Dunlop, Jack's German teacher, and Mr. Gray, the enigmatic inventor of Dylar. Together, these characters illustrate the complex interplay between fear, identity, and the search for meaning in a technologically saturated world.
White Noise: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Don DeLillo
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: Blacksmith, a fictional American college town
Plot: Philosophical realism
Time: The 1980's
Jack A. K. Gladney, the narrator. Fifty years old, Jack enjoys his academic success as founder and chair of the unique Hitler studies department at the College on the Hill in Blacksmith, a pastoral Midwestern town. Not a German speaker, he takes German lessons so that he will not make a fool of himself at a planned international conference on Hitler studies. Jack appears happy with his fifth wife, Babette, and his children and stepchildren, but he suffers an unease in his materialist and consumerist world of shopping malls, supermarkets, and television, all products of technology. In particular, he finds in them no solace for his great fear of death. Jack's obsession with death intensifies when he suffers from a technological disaster that exposes him to Nyodene D., a toxic agent. Jack's concern about death causes him to throw out many of his possessions and search out the inventor of Dylar, a medication that might cure his fear of death. Denied the medication and told that it is a failure, Jack shoots its inventor, Mr. Gray, but also shoots himself. Neither dies.
Babette Gladney, Jack's current wife, the mother by her earlier marriages of Denise and Steffie. In addition to her family roles, Babette is a jogger, reads tabloids to the blind Old Man Treadwell, and lectures adults on good posture. Babette is very forgetful but denies to Jack and Denise that she is taking any medication that causes this. Because of her great fear of death, she commits adultery with Mr. Gray, the inventor of Dylar, so that she take the drug. The drug, however, fails her.
Murray J. Siskind, a former New York sportswriter. Appointed visiting lecturer on living icons at the College on the Hill in the popular culture department, he befriends Jack. Siskind then enlists Jack in his dream of establishing an Elvis studies department, and in their discussions they discover similarities between Hitler and Elvis. Siskind seems to find meaning in consumerism and enjoys teaching a seminar on car crashes in films. He and Jack take long walks and have long discussions, frequently about death.
Heinrich Gerhardt Gladney, Jack's fourteen-year-old son from his first marriage. Heinrich, named when Jack was beginning his Hitler studies department, is a student of science who talks mostly about environmental hazards. He challenges any statement of certainty and any possibility of knowing any truth.
Denise Gladney, Babette's eleven-year-old daughter from an earlier marriage. Denise is generally critical of her mother's behavior. She confronts Babette about her forgetfulness and conspires with Jack to find out what medication Babette is hiding from them.
Steffie Gladney, Babette's younger daughter from an earlier marriage. When Babette chews gum in place of the cigarettes she has given up, Steffie lectures her on the health dangers of chewing gum. She is obsessed with health.
Wilder, a preschool-age child from Jack's fourth marriage. Wilder's innocence comforts his mother and stepfather. He is large-headed and small of body. He disturbs them with a long crying spell for which they can find no cause. At the book's end, Wilder rides his plastic tricycle safely across a major highway in a miraculous escape from death.
Howard Dunlop, Jack's German teacher. As he gives lessons in his boardinghouse room, his behavior becomes increasingly odd. When he becomes a reminder of death, Jack discontinues his lessons.
Old Man Treadwell, an elderly blind man who lives alone but enjoys being read to from tabloids. He and his sister, Gladys, disappear and are found in the shopping mall, where they have been lost for four days.
Winnie Richards, a secretive young researcher at the College on the Hill. She has a reputation of moving around the campus without being seen on the walkways or in her office. She helps Jack when he is trying to find out what Dylar is.
Mr. Gray, also called Willie Mink, a mysterious project manager of Dylar experimentation who seduces Jack's wife before giving her the medication. His office is in the Roadway Motel, in the Germantown area of Iron City, where Jack shoots him.
Vernon Dickey, Babette's father. Dickey, a white-haired man, appears sitting in the yard and seems to Jack to be a figure of death. He gives Jack the German-made gun with which Jack later shoots Mr. Gray.
Bob Pardee, Babette's former husband and Denise's father. He raises funds for the Nuclear Accident Readiness Foundation.
Orest Mercator, Heinrich's snake-handling friend. He trains to set a record sitting with dangerous snakes but fails the test.