Denial of Death

DENIAL OF DEATH One of the major focuses of Don DeLillio’s White Noise is death. In this novel DeLillio over emphasizes the concept of death and the fear mankind has of it. He plays on our fear of death and the reality and certainty we have of our own demise. Through two of his main characters, Jack and Babette, DeLillio demonstrates this fear irrationally. Their phobia of death causes both characters to develop plots …

…from a dier to a killer. He can exact his revenge and satisfy his hunger to control his fear. “To plot is to live.” (p 291) With this sentence DeLillio tries to destroy our irrational fears of death. The over exaggeration of death and the fear of it through out the novel serves to demonstrate how irrational this fear is. The personifications that we build to shield ours selves will only prevent us from really living.