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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Denise say causes cancer in lab animals?

2. What fabric does Murray customarily dress in?

3. Who comes over to watch TV with some of the Gladney children?

4. What color does Jack use to describe the moon when he and Babette walk home from the Church?

5. Who is the narrator of this novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the chair of the department of American environments (the pop-culture department) opposed to Murray's establishment of Elvis studies?

2. What kind of exercise does Babette do? Does Jack join in?

3. Describe Jack's German teacher. What does he look like?

4. Why did Babette want to see "station-wagon" day?

5. Describe the scene that opens the novel, in terms of setting, action and narration.

6. What is the conflict between Babette and Denise, vis-a-vis sugarless gum?

7. Why is Bob Pardee passing through town?

8. What is Jack's position at the college?

9. Why did Jack name Heinrich Heinrich?

10. Describe the family lunch the Gladneys eat, in terms of who attended, what they ate and what the mood was.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To these characters, experiences are validated by external recognition, especially media recognition. While this fixation on television and radio is tied to pop-culture consumerism, it is also a thematic fixation of this novel. Discuss why DeLillo called this book "White Noise". Be sure to include your interpretation of this phrase literally and symbolically, as well as any examples of its use in the text itself. How does it relate to the themes of the text? Is it a good title?

Essay Topic 2

These characters are preoccupied, and maybe even obsessed, with their own deaths. Compare and contrast Jack's obsession with his mortality and Babette's obsession with hers. Write an essay that details the ways their fear of death are similar and how they are different. Be sure to describe specific instances in the novel and how the reader comes to understand each.

Essay Topic 3

While Jack is obsessed with a mass-murderer, he is afraid of his own death. Babette seems to think that Jack's biology and jealousy make him predestined to be homicidal. Interrogate her claims, based on evidence from the text. Why does Jack resort to violence? What does it have to do with his academic obsession with Hitler and maybe even his J.A.K. persona? How does DeLillo use German and associations with Germany to explore Jack's fear?

(see the answer keys)

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