Consumerism

The book White Noise, by Don DeLillo, is set in the United States in the 1980s. One of the most prime times for the influx in consumerism; people were captivated by televisions, cars, clothing, etc. DeLillo makes this theme of consumerism evident by the very beginning of the novel as he describes every possession that kids bring to the college where the main character, Jack, works as a professor in Hitler Studies. DeLillo also notes in depth the physical appearance and style of Jack’s wife, Babette, adding to the consumerism cloud that is held over the first part of the novel. DeLillo wrote White Noise as a satire and wrote in length about the elements of consumerism. As for the characters, Jack does not take a step back to see how engrossed he is in the materialistic world until he has a run-in with death after a toxic cloud composed of biohazard waste ascends onto his town and he is exposed the matter. Scientists and professionals give Jack a life expectancy of around 30 years to live; so, now Jack almost has a timer going on his life that finally brings him to realize there are things to experience in life outside of the materialistic world.