Don DeLillo's _White Noise_ is a novel about many things, not least of all the white noise if the technological era. As the protagonist Jack Gladney notes, it surrounds us to the point that we are seemingly oblivious to it most of the time. Certainly I am addicted to technology, which is why I was intrigued by DeLillo's insight into the ways in which technology affects us, consciously and subconsciously.
We depend on technology for everything, expecting it to have all the answers. When Jack talks about what he happened to see about snakes on television, his son's friend Orest remarks, "'Everything was on television last night'" (268). Data, entertainment, news, opinions--we turn to not only television but to all technology for all of these, and moreover we find them.
The readiness with which we can access all this information comes with a consequence, DeLillo warns. As Jack tells Denise, she "'heard on the radio that the billowing cloud caused sweaty palms...[so her] palms got sweaty'" (251). The media, via technology, has a way of getting in people's heads. In the case of the airborne toxic event, DeLillo demonstrates just how strong the power of suggestion is by having the girls show symptoms after only hearing them in passing and processing them without even realizing it.
Further evidence of the power of suggestion of technology is given during Jack's visit to the doctor's office for an extensive battery of testing. As he comments to his doctor, "'All [the] gleaming devices are a little unsettling. [He] could easily imagine a perfectly healthy person being made ill just taking [such] tests'" (277). DeLillo seems to be making the point that technology can be just as harmful as it is helpful. The machines may diagnose Jack, but they cannot cure him of his nebulous mass. Instead of giving him peace of mind, they confirm his deepest fears.
Still, DeLillo is not solely critical of technology. Like Jack, the text suggests he cannot help but be appreciative of it and sees it as unavoidable. After all, white noise surrounds us.
So to extend this topic further - try to be more specific regarding the novel's assessment of technology. What aspects of our relationship to technology does it criticize? What aspects does it appreciate? What kind of relationship to technology would be most beneficial? Or can it be beneficial?
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