Tragedy and the Late 20th Century Novel

The books we have discussed an analyzed in this class in many different ways have explored the themes of man-made tragedy in American Society that have scaled from the Cold War to the most recent and still very much sensitive 9/11 tragedies. Although focusing on very different aspects of American history and American society, the protagonists of Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Jonathan Safran Foer’s ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ have many differences but share a common ground: the fear of death through extreme tragedy out of their control.

                “The airborne toxic event” that occurs in ‘White Noise’ soon turns into “the black billowing cloud” the use of language within this passage highlights the increase of fear amongst the general public in an event that they have no control in that is manipulated by the media in order to create a reaction. Throughout the passage the media produce symptoms of illness that are allegedly caused by the “black billowing cloud” is this real or is this simply the media creating a placebo effect?  Within this chapter Jack loses his sense of control, he believes that disaster does not happen to people like him, he desperately desires his dark gown and glasses that infuse his masculinity and make him feel protective, nor do things happen in places such as Blacksmith; his small college town. DeLillo’s ‘White Noise’ conveys this idea of ‘the modern death’ the idea that as technology advances, so does our chances for different forms of mortality, for instant toxic pollution and terrorist attacks, however that also means there is are new ways to prolong life.

However, Oskar portrays a very different outlook towards tragedy and death, due to the loss of his father in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center he has developed many different coping mechanisms that in many ways hold him back from living his life, these including the rules. Rules such as not going into a large building past the ninth floor and also the idea of being able to tell if a loved one is in ambulance and if so how serious the incident is, the fear of tragedy repeating in ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ haunts Oskar and his life for the majority of the book.  It is through his coping mechanisms such as his book “Stuff That’s Happened To Me” and his engagement with The Blacks that helps him overcome these fears of immediate tragedy and the fear of losing another significant other and that allows him to communicate his emotions that bring him closer to his mother and grandmother.

Overall, both authors comment upon how our society now lives in a culture of fear due to the events and tragedies of the 20^th and 21^st century.