Summary and Response to Critical Essays

 In John N. Duvall’s critical essay of White Noise by Don DeLillo (White Noise was written in 1984 and first published in 1985, Duvall’s critical essay of this work was printed in the Autumn of 1994), Duvall goes in depth into the writing and unusual way DeLillo presents certain parts of the book as well as the representation of certain characters and breaks down the satire and unusual aspects of the story. In breaking down certain parts of the story and reducing them to the easiest meaning, Duvall allows anyone to understand the story (to an extent) and gives the reader another way to view the story and its meaning.

One of the first things that Duvall cites is Jacks obliviousness to the totalitarianism of his modern society given the fact that he is a professor in Hitler studies, the ultimate example of totalitarianism. In doing this Duvall shows the reader that no matter how smart a person is, they can be blinded to what is in front of them. By then going into Murray’s acts and choices in the supermarket compared to the Gladney’s, Duvall points out how heavily the average family relies on the aesthetic way consumer items are displayed. Duvall’s explanation of the “TV man’s” speech cites that Americans rely heavily on modern media and find their validation within it.

Duvall’s critique of Don DeLillo’s White Noise made it possible for me to understand certain aspects of the book that were, until reading the essay, completely confusing to me. Duvall made it possible for me to comprehend the more unusual aspects of the story and understand the reason for the seemingly unneeded and confusing text in part I. Duvall’s article shed light on the unusual acts of Murray in the supermarket, why the TV man made such a big deal out of the chemical spill not being covered in the media and many other things that I could not comprehend.

This article would be good for my essay #3 because it explains so much of what I did not understand and gives a wholly different perspective to the story. After reading this article I am going to re-read the book and I think that many things will start to make sense and that I might even enjoy reading it this time.

Duvall, John N. "The (Super) Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." White Noise: Critical Essays. n. page. Print.