Humor
The humor in White Noise is often times random, unwarranted, and unconventional. DeLillo often uses humor as a device to lighten up otherwise serious situations in the novel. Additionally, humor is used in order to create unreal situations that actually bring attention to the supposedly mundane, but actually serious, events that are happening within the world of White Noise.
Ex. 1: Jack and Babette in bed - Pages 28-29
"What do you want to do?" she said.
"Whatever you want to do."
"I want to do whatever's best for you."
"What's best for me is to please you," I said.
"I want to make you happy, Jack."
"I'm happy when I'm pleasing you."
"I just want to do what you want to do."
"I want to do whatever's best for you."
"but you please me by letting me please you," she said.
"As the male partner I think it's my responsibility to please."
"I'm not sure whether that's a sensitive caring statement or a sexist remark."
Later on, the following discussion occurs:
"But I don't want you to choose anything that has men inside women, quote-quote, or men entering women. 'I entered her.' 'He entered me.' We're no lobbies or elevators. 'I wanted him inside me,' as if he could crawl completely in, sign the register, sleep, eat,so forth. Can we agree on that? I don't care what these people do as long as they don't enter or get entered."
"Agreed."
"'I entered her and began to thrust.'"
"I'm in total agreement," I said.
"Whatever you want to do."
"I want to do whatever's best for you."
"What's best for me is to please you," I said.
"I want to make you happy, Jack."
"I'm happy when I'm pleasing you."
"I just want to do what you want to do."
"I want to do whatever's best for you."
"but you please me by letting me please you," she said.
"As the male partner I think it's my responsibility to please."
"I'm not sure whether that's a sensitive caring statement or a sexist remark."
Later on, the following discussion occurs:
"But I don't want you to choose anything that has men inside women, quote-quote, or men entering women. 'I entered her.' 'He entered me.' We're no lobbies or elevators. 'I wanted him inside me,' as if he could crawl completely in, sign the register, sleep, eat,so forth. Can we agree on that? I don't care what these people do as long as they don't enter or get entered."
"Agreed."
"'I entered her and began to thrust.'"
"I'm in total agreement," I said.
This humorous and playful situation between Jack and Babette helps to support the reader's understanding of Babette and Jack's close relationship. In the next paragraph after this situation Jack follows up this fact by noting that "[he and Babette] tell each other everything" and that they "have turned [their] lives for each other's thoughtful regard" (29). DeLillo's inclusion of humor in the lives of Jack and Babette create "the space reserved for irony, sympathy and fond amusement" (30) through which developments such as Babette's Dylar addiction and Babette's affair shine all the much more. Indeed, the closeness indicated by this playful banter raises the inevitable question that pervades throughout the book: "Who will die first?"(30). Only in such a close and trusting relationship could something as serious as Death be conversed about casually. Death, such a dark and heavy issue, is seemingly lightened by the constant humorous actions between the two.
Ex. 2: The Elvis/Hitler Debate - Page 71
"Elvis confided in Gladys. He brought his girlfriends around to meet her."
"Hitler wrote a poem to his mother. His mother and his niece were the women with the greatest hold on his mind." "When Elvis went into the army, Gladys became ill and depressed. She sensed something, maybe as much about herself as about him. Her psychic apparatus was flashing all the wrong signals. Foreboding and gloom." "There's not much doubt that Hitler was what we call a mama's boy." |
The humor in this situation is the child-like manner in which Murray and Jack argue as well as what they are arguing about. Most people would not consider Hitler or Elvis mama's boys due to the fact that they are more known for their famous actions. The focus on the minuitae of the lives of Hitler and Elvis reveal the obsessed-fan-boy mannerisms of both professors, which comes off as humorous to those who are not as versed in Hitler/Elvis studies.Furthermore, DeLillo's usage of humor in this situation masks the fact that the whole argument is an actual power struggle between Murray and Jack, in which Murray is trying to show off his skills in Elvis and Jack is trying to maintain his position as the number one iconic figure idolater.
Ex. 3: Playful Banter - Page 81
"I'll give anyone in this car five dollars," Heinrich said, "if they can name the population of Bolivia."
"Bolivians," my daughter said.
"Bolivians," my daughter said.
This quote occurs during a family "argument" between the Gladneys. Within the whole of the argument no one really takes sides, rather, there are barrages of questions, answers and factoids spewed back and forth. A humorous quote like this interspersed within the family scene of chaos shows the playful banter that reveals the familial closeness between family members despite most of them being from different backgrounds and marriages (e.g. Steffie and Wilder have different mothers). Even when everyone is scared and stressed out about the ominous Airborne Toxic Event, the family still enjoys each other's company and is able to joke around. This demonstrates that despite the huge deviations from a traditional society, Being at the end of the argument this line also provides the reader with a kind reward for having to read through the cacophonous scene.
Ex. 4 - Teaching Life's Necessities - Page 163
"How was class?" Denise said.
"It's going so well they want me to teach another course." "In what?" "Jack won't believe this." "In what?" I said. "Eating and drinking. It's called Eating and Drinking, Basic Paramenters. Which, I admit, is a little more stupid than it absolutely has to be." "What could you teach?" Denise said. "That's just it. It's practically inexhaustible. Eat light foods in warm weather. Drink plenty of liquids." "But everyone knows that." |
In this situation, Denise and Babette are riding in the car while Jack is driving. Babette has just been recently picked up from a class that she teaches at the local Congregational church. Babette's class "Eat and Drinking, Basic Parameters" conveys a feeling of humor because eating and drinking are considered essential skills that people need to live and thus are already supposed to know how to do them properly. It is humorous to think that people who have been eating and drinking all their lives have to be taught how to eat and drink, but it is also this humor that exacerbates the seriousness of the situation in Blacksmith. Since the eating and drinking class is so silly, the fact that there is a problem with the eating and drinking in Blacksmith shows that Blacksmith has degraded to the point that even the essentials, such as eating and drinking, have to be reinforced.