Post by group1 on Jun 10, 2008 16:01:57 GMT -5
Reality versus Simulation in Delillo's White Noise
Don Delillo's White Noise satirizes the ideals and customs of postmodern America - consumerism, technology and the media. These customs are based off of the material standards most Americans have come to embrace. In the novel Delillo displays the negative aspects of the commercial side of society. America has come to value simulations over reality because it provides a more instantaneous experience, however shortlived. Postmodernism is based on the fact that hyper reality has replaced reality. The characters of White Noise bypass reality for the instant gratification that the simulation of postmodern America provides. The characters of White Noise bypass reality for the instant gratification that the simulation of postmodern America provides.
Throughout White Noise, reality is replaced by simulation. Gladney uses his occupation as a Hitler studies profesor to create a persona of himself. He wears dark glasses qround campus and calls himself J. A. K. Gladney in order to appear more reputable. This persona is in no way Gladney's true self. Jack himself states, "I am the false character that follows the name around"(17). Throughout the novel reality succumbs to simulation. When a company called SIMUVAC simulates an evacuation, the simulation is given precedence over reality. The man in charge instructs the volunteers, “If reality intrudes in the form of a car crash or a victim falling off a stretcher, it is important to remember that we are not here to mend broken bones or put out real fires. We are here to simulate” (196). It is ironic that during an evacuation meant to simulate a disaster, real injuries are not given precedence.
Society represses reality, and instead attempts to find meaning through simulation, because it provides instant gratification. Gladney admires his toddler son Wilder, to whom “the world was a series of fleeting and instant gratifications. He took what he could, then immediately forgot it in the rush of a subsequent pleasure” (162). In many ways, society mirrors Wilder, and has digressed into a childlike state. Consumerism, technology and the media, all forms of simulation, provide for a continuous bombardment of instant pleasure within society that reality can not compete with.
In White Noise, society is drawn to simulation because they fear the reality of the disorderly and chaotic postmodern America. Gladney and his wife, Babette’s, most pressing fear throughout the novel is death. They attempt to conquer this fear through simulation in the form of a drug called Dylar, which’s stated purpose is to eliminate the fear of death. Gladney knows that the drug does not work, but this does not stop him from rummaging through his compacted garbage in order to find it. Babette and Gladney’s fear of death is understandable, as it is an innately human fear, but their means of conquering it are extremely unnatural. However, society has changed what is considered natural and unnatural. Murray states that “pain, death, reality, these are unnatural. We can’t bear these things as they are…So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise” (276). If reality is unnatural, then simulation has become natural in today’s consumer society. This is in keeping with postmodernism, which’s, according to John Lye, beginning coincided with the growth of consumer capitalism and technology (Lye 1). Mary Klages says that postmodernity is the idea that there is no grand narrative or order to things. It dismisses religion and science and anything that offers one solution (Klages 4). Because of this the characters in White Noise have nowhere to turn to, except for simulation. Instead reality has become disorder and chaos.
White Noise exposes the flaws of postmodern American society and the need for instant gratification and escape from society. Though the novel takes place in 1985, little has changed. Technology and virtual reality have taken precedence over true experience, and people have become “the sum total of [their] data” (DeLillo 136). Our lives are monotonous because we live thorugh technology and the experiences of others in a world of disillusionment and white noise.
Works Cited
Klages, Mary. “Postmodernism.” English 2010: Modern Critical Thought. 21 Apr. 2003. U of Colorado, Boulder. 10 June 2008 <http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages/pomo.html>.
Lye, John. “Some Attributes of Post-Modernist Literature.” Department of English Language and Literature. 30 Apr. 2008. 10 June 2008 <http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/post-mod-attrib.php>.
Don Delillo's White Noise satirizes the ideals and customs of postmodern America - consumerism, technology and the media. These customs are based off of the material standards most Americans have come to embrace. In the novel Delillo displays the negative aspects of the commercial side of society. America has come to value simulations over reality because it provides a more instantaneous experience, however shortlived. Postmodernism is based on the fact that hyper reality has replaced reality. The characters of White Noise bypass reality for the instant gratification that the simulation of postmodern America provides. The characters of White Noise bypass reality for the instant gratification that the simulation of postmodern America provides.
Throughout White Noise, reality is replaced by simulation. Gladney uses his occupation as a Hitler studies profesor to create a persona of himself. He wears dark glasses qround campus and calls himself J. A. K. Gladney in order to appear more reputable. This persona is in no way Gladney's true self. Jack himself states, "I am the false character that follows the name around"(17). Throughout the novel reality succumbs to simulation. When a company called SIMUVAC simulates an evacuation, the simulation is given precedence over reality. The man in charge instructs the volunteers, “If reality intrudes in the form of a car crash or a victim falling off a stretcher, it is important to remember that we are not here to mend broken bones or put out real fires. We are here to simulate” (196). It is ironic that during an evacuation meant to simulate a disaster, real injuries are not given precedence.
Society represses reality, and instead attempts to find meaning through simulation, because it provides instant gratification. Gladney admires his toddler son Wilder, to whom “the world was a series of fleeting and instant gratifications. He took what he could, then immediately forgot it in the rush of a subsequent pleasure” (162). In many ways, society mirrors Wilder, and has digressed into a childlike state. Consumerism, technology and the media, all forms of simulation, provide for a continuous bombardment of instant pleasure within society that reality can not compete with.
In White Noise, society is drawn to simulation because they fear the reality of the disorderly and chaotic postmodern America. Gladney and his wife, Babette’s, most pressing fear throughout the novel is death. They attempt to conquer this fear through simulation in the form of a drug called Dylar, which’s stated purpose is to eliminate the fear of death. Gladney knows that the drug does not work, but this does not stop him from rummaging through his compacted garbage in order to find it. Babette and Gladney’s fear of death is understandable, as it is an innately human fear, but their means of conquering it are extremely unnatural. However, society has changed what is considered natural and unnatural. Murray states that “pain, death, reality, these are unnatural. We can’t bear these things as they are…So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise” (276). If reality is unnatural, then simulation has become natural in today’s consumer society. This is in keeping with postmodernism, which’s, according to John Lye, beginning coincided with the growth of consumer capitalism and technology (Lye 1). Mary Klages says that postmodernity is the idea that there is no grand narrative or order to things. It dismisses religion and science and anything that offers one solution (Klages 4). Because of this the characters in White Noise have nowhere to turn to, except for simulation. Instead reality has become disorder and chaos.
White Noise exposes the flaws of postmodern American society and the need for instant gratification and escape from society. Though the novel takes place in 1985, little has changed. Technology and virtual reality have taken precedence over true experience, and people have become “the sum total of [their] data” (DeLillo 136). Our lives are monotonous because we live thorugh technology and the experiences of others in a world of disillusionment and white noise.
Works Cited
Klages, Mary. “Postmodernism.” English 2010: Modern Critical Thought. 21 Apr. 2003. U of Colorado, Boulder. 10 June 2008 <http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages/pomo.html>.
Lye, John. “Some Attributes of Post-Modernist Literature.” Department of English Language and Literature. 30 Apr. 2008. 10 June 2008 <http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/post-mod-attrib.php>.