Dialogue
The dialogue in White Noise helps to reveal the relationships between the characters in a casual setting. Indeed, the emotional intensity of the dialogues within the story is always apparent as the dialogues are often between characters that know each other on a personal level (i.e. family, friends, or enemies; as opposed to random strangers).
Ex. 1 - Pages 80-81, Family Matters
Family scenes by the Gladneys in White Noise are oftentimes disconnected and argument-like in structure. These types of scenes are always plentiful and most times abnormal as the subject matters tend to stray from normal family matters. Dialogue plays a huge role in family scenes because of chaos left in the wake of Delillo's decision of not leaving character markers after each line despite the fact that there are six members in the family.
"What do you know about Dylar?"
"Is that the black girl who's staying with the Stovers?"
"That's Dakar," Steffie said.
"Dakar isn't her name, it's where she's from," Denise said. "It's a country on the ivory coast of Africa."
"The capital is Lagos," Babette said. "I know that because of a surfer movie I saw once where they travel all over the world."
"The Perfect Wave," Heinrich said. "I saw it on TV."
"But what's the girl's name?" Steffie said.
"I don't know," Babette said, "but the movie wasn't called The Perfect Wave. The perfect wave is what they were looking for."
"They go to Hawaii," Denise told Steffie, "and wait for these tidal waves to come from Japan. They're called origamis."
"And the movie was called The Long Hot Summer," her mother said.
"The Long Hot Summer," Heinrich said, "happens to be a play by Tennessee Ernie Williams."
"It doesn't matter," Babette said, "because you can't copyright titles anyway."
"If she's an African," Steffie said, "I wonder if she ever rode a camel."
"Try an Audi Turbo."
"Try a Toyota Supra."
"What is it camels store in their humps?" Babette said. "Food or water? I could never get that straight."
"There are one-hump camels and two-hump camels," Heinrich told her. "So it depends which kind you're talking about."
"Are you telling me a two-hump camel stores food in one hump and water in the other?"
"The important thing about camels," he said, "is that camel meat is considered a delicacy."
"I thought that was alligator meat," Denise said.
"Who introduced the camel to America?" Babette said. "They had them out west for a while to carry supplies to coolies who were building the great railroads that met at Ogden, Utah. I remember my history exams."
"Are you sure you're not talking about llamas?" Heinrich said.
"The llamas stayed in Peru," Denise said. "Peru has the lama, the vicuña and one other animal. Bolivia has tin. Chile has copper and iron."
"I'll give anyone in this car five dollars," Heinrich said, "if they can name the population of Bolivia."
"Bolivians," my daughter said.
The family is the cradle of the world's misinformation. There must be something in family life that generates factual error.
"Is that the black girl who's staying with the Stovers?"
"That's Dakar," Steffie said.
"Dakar isn't her name, it's where she's from," Denise said. "It's a country on the ivory coast of Africa."
"The capital is Lagos," Babette said. "I know that because of a surfer movie I saw once where they travel all over the world."
"The Perfect Wave," Heinrich said. "I saw it on TV."
"But what's the girl's name?" Steffie said.
"I don't know," Babette said, "but the movie wasn't called The Perfect Wave. The perfect wave is what they were looking for."
"They go to Hawaii," Denise told Steffie, "and wait for these tidal waves to come from Japan. They're called origamis."
"And the movie was called The Long Hot Summer," her mother said.
"The Long Hot Summer," Heinrich said, "happens to be a play by Tennessee Ernie Williams."
"It doesn't matter," Babette said, "because you can't copyright titles anyway."
"If she's an African," Steffie said, "I wonder if she ever rode a camel."
"Try an Audi Turbo."
"Try a Toyota Supra."
"What is it camels store in their humps?" Babette said. "Food or water? I could never get that straight."
"There are one-hump camels and two-hump camels," Heinrich told her. "So it depends which kind you're talking about."
"Are you telling me a two-hump camel stores food in one hump and water in the other?"
"The important thing about camels," he said, "is that camel meat is considered a delicacy."
"I thought that was alligator meat," Denise said.
"Who introduced the camel to America?" Babette said. "They had them out west for a while to carry supplies to coolies who were building the great railroads that met at Ogden, Utah. I remember my history exams."
"Are you sure you're not talking about llamas?" Heinrich said.
"The llamas stayed in Peru," Denise said. "Peru has the lama, the vicuña and one other animal. Bolivia has tin. Chile has copper and iron."
"I'll give anyone in this car five dollars," Heinrich said, "if they can name the population of Bolivia."
"Bolivians," my daughter said.
The family is the cradle of the world's misinformation. There must be something in family life that generates factual error.
This scene directly supports Jack's belief that "the family is the cradle of the world's misinformation", where a movie like The Perfect Wave exist when it does not and the movie/play The Long, Hot Summer was by Tennessee Williams when it actually was not. Not all information given by the people in the family are accurate at all, but they all seem to be believed as facts. The Gladney family is another example of a source of white noise, with constant influence over Jack. The chaotic nature of the Gladney family's dialogue does not only show their erratic nature but also the fact that the family itself is close enough to be able to argue and bicker with each other constantly. The sudden lack of character markers within some lines reveal the idea that the Gladney family should be considered somewhat of a single entity, one where who said what doesn't matter but rather what was said matters.
Additionally, the references to the "Audi Turbo" and the "Toyota Supra" reveal the consumerist ties that the family has. DeLillo's decision to not mark the person who said these lines leaves ambiguity to the reader as to whether the family actually said the lines or the T.V. they were watching blurted it out. Nevertheless, this small reference still shows the place that consumer culture has within the Gladney family, as the line does not seem out of place within the family's random bickering.
Ex. 2: Babette tells Jack about her fear of death - Page 188
"I wake up sweating. I break out in killer sweats."
"I chew gum because my throat constricts." "I have no body. I'm only a mind or self, alone in a vast space." "I seize up," she said. "I'm too weak to move. I lack all sense of resolve,determination." "I thought about my mother dying. Then she died." "I think about everyone dying. Not just myself. I lapse into terrible reveries." "I felt so guilty. I thought about her death was connected to my thinking about it. I feel the same way about my own death. The more I think about it, the sooner it will happen." |
Here the placement of the dialogue is used to better show Babette's nervousness regarding death. The lines are placed in a way that seems as if two people or more people are talking but the "I"s at the start of each sentence show otherwise. The dialogue highlights Babette's uncertainty regarding herself and shows the ultimate symptom of one's fear of death, living a life disconnected from one's own self. Not only does the dialogue show certain two-faced or capricious within Babette, the fact that this situation is seen through Jack's eyes helps to bring further depth to their relationship. Indeed, this uncertainty that Jack has eventually plays a significant role within the novel as the revelations about Babette's drug use and affair comes into play.
Additionally, the juxtaposition of Jack's dialogue with his thoughts in the novel help to exacerbate his fears and his focuses, or therefore lack of.
Ex. 3: Jack talking to Vernon regarding the gift of a gun - Page 241
"Take it, Jack."
"What is it?"
"Heft it around. Get the feel. It's loaded."
He passed it to me. Stupidly I said again, "What is it?" There was something unreal about the experience of holding a gun. I kept staring at it, wondering what Vernon's motive might be. Was he Death's dark messenger after all? A loaded weapon. How quickly it worked a change in me, numbing my hand even as I sasst starying at the thing, not wishing to give it a name. Did Vernon mean to provoke thought, provide my life with a fresh design, a scheme, a shapeliness? I wanted to give it back.
"It's a little bitty thing but it shoots real bullets, which is all a man in your position can rgihtly ask of a firearm. Don't worry, Jack. It can't be traced."
"Why would anyone want to trace it?"
Here Jack takes the gun and eventually accepts it later on, showing a certainess on his part on the encounter as a whole. However, his real apprehension in accepting the gun is shown within his inner confusion regarding the concept of a gun and Vernon's connection to it. Jack noted that "there was something unreal about the experience" and had to wonder what ulterior motives Vernon might have had in giving him the gun, showing a clear contrast between Jack's fear and uncertainty regarding the gun with his real life decisions of keeping the gun and eventually using it to try and kill someone.
"What is it?"
"Heft it around. Get the feel. It's loaded."
He passed it to me. Stupidly I said again, "What is it?" There was something unreal about the experience of holding a gun. I kept staring at it, wondering what Vernon's motive might be. Was he Death's dark messenger after all? A loaded weapon. How quickly it worked a change in me, numbing my hand even as I sasst starying at the thing, not wishing to give it a name. Did Vernon mean to provoke thought, provide my life with a fresh design, a scheme, a shapeliness? I wanted to give it back.
"It's a little bitty thing but it shoots real bullets, which is all a man in your position can rgihtly ask of a firearm. Don't worry, Jack. It can't be traced."
"Why would anyone want to trace it?"
Here Jack takes the gun and eventually accepts it later on, showing a certainess on his part on the encounter as a whole. However, his real apprehension in accepting the gun is shown within his inner confusion regarding the concept of a gun and Vernon's connection to it. Jack noted that "there was something unreal about the experience" and had to wonder what ulterior motives Vernon might have had in giving him the gun, showing a clear contrast between Jack's fear and uncertainty regarding the gun with his real life decisions of keeping the gun and eventually using it to try and kill someone.