Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - Judit Ágnes Kádár: 'Kleenex-View' and Cultural Devaluation: Merchandise as Ontology in Don DeLillo's White Noise (1985)

live in the same way and let your mind get full of junk data (e.g. the supermarket and the TV) and false dreams; open your eyes and see you live on the surface and are getting alienated from the hardcore of life.' Probably this intention moves the writer away from the traditional novel-concept where the characters and contents are deprived of their everyday nature. Actually DeLillo's writing seems to be the opposite of that trend in fiction. I think that the notion 'we fict' gets overwhelming emphasis in the latter through the preoccupation with philosophical ideas in the form of the novel. DeLillo's textual reality and its philosophical, social and psychological dimensions are presented directly in the content and characters like Murray or Heinrich. They speak out their views sometimes in an extremely strict and explanatory, 'philosophizing' way, for instance in Murray's talk to Babette in the supermarket (Chapter 9); the dialogue between Jack and Heinrich about 'truth' (Chapter 10) or in the case of Jack's interest in the culture of death (e.g. his Hitler Studies) throughout the book and in the course of these three chapters in the death of culture, inflation and disarray of values. Murray plays a special role, his presence reminded me of the Lucifer figure in a famous Hungarian drama: The Tragedy of Man (1861) by Imre Madách. Jack (Ádám) and Babette (Éva) experience different things while Murray (Lucifer) keeps on explaining the evil nature of mankind with irony and sometimes sarcasm, for instance: " 'The more you talk, the sneakier you look, as if you're trying to put something over on us' [says Jack. Murray's reply is:] 'The best talk is seductive' (WN 51)." A panoramic view of their existence is presented here, providing a philosophical perspective that makes them reevaluate themselves and their approach to reality. Another interesting parallel is also noticeable here: Babette's figure seems to follow the path that other American writers, like Edward Albee, established with female characters such as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? and some other female characters of the less well-known plays entitled "The American Dream" or "The Sandbox". The social concern and the writer's approach to the society in which he lives show similarities, too, in many stances. The institution of marriage, for instance, is treated as a satire of conformism here, though its 1980s' concept lacks the outsider's superior view and 190