White Noise Lesson Plan

How do Murray and Jack talk about Elvis and Hitler? What similarities and differences do you see between the two figures? Is it important to study these figures as larger-than-life icons? Are there dangers in elevating these people to icons?

Murray and Jack pour over the biographies of Elvis and Hitler as if each element carries great importance. They invite both identifications with the figures (talking about their mothers and their very human emotions) and deification, as the figures seem greater than humans. DeLillo's narration emphasizes the almost religious ecstasy that Jack and Murray experience during their conversations. While the novel does seem to allow that such...