76 pages • 2 hours read
White Noise
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
White Noise is a 1985 novel by American author Don DeLillo. A significant entry in the canon of postmodern literature, White Noise tells the story of a small-town college professor whose suburban routine is shattered when a train crash results in a massive chemical spill. As the characters struggle to accept their own mortality, the book explores a range of contemporary issues including consumerism, mass media, and conspiracy theories. In 2005 Time Magazine included White Noise on its list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Plot Summary
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, “Waves and Radiation,” starts at the beginning of the school year and ends shortly after winter break. Narrator Jack Gladney lives with his family in the fictional New England town of Blacksmith. A pioneer in the field of Hitler studies, Jack is a highly respected professor at College-on-the-Hill, where he works with Murray Jay Suskind, his closest friend. Jack and his wife Babette have seven children between them, all from previous marriages, but only four of them live at their house. Jack’s children are 14-year-old Heinrich and nine-year-old Steffie. Babette’s children are 11-year-old Denise and two-year-old Wilder.
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By Don DeLillo
