Numbers run our daily lives. It has become a fact in our society. In the case of White Noise by Don DeLillo this is shown to be true. Jack Gladney's fear of death has hidden itself within everyday life. Within the book Jack builds a life full of tangibility while acquiring little factual knowledge. He hopes that throwing himself into his Hitler Studies will give him a contented understanding of his existence. The two important revelations of the discovery of Dylar and the knowledge that his death is truly eminent have an impact so deep that he responds with drastic measures.

Throughout the story one can find that the human need for tangible belongings, something to prove their existence. The first true showing of need for tangible grasping is when Jack is taking German lessons from Howard Dunlop, one of Murray Siskind's neighbors. As the conversation between Jack and Howard continues we find that among other things Howard teaches meteorology. He found comfort in this subject after his mother's death. He states, "I realized weather was something I'd been looking for all my life. It brought me a sense of peace and security I'd never experience (55)." The weather is

Some people see all too well that they are just numbers. Murray says to Babette that, "Men shout as they die, to be noticed, remembered for a second or two." That's why the convict that Heinrich is playing chess with killed six people. The TV told him to do it. He did it to be remembered. "Time was running out on him," as Heinrich said.

Jack relies on the numbers, just as most of us do in everyday lives. You can't open a bank account without an ID with your social security number on it. You go through college as a number. We all rely on numbers. As Jack relies on his numbers he is first happy that the system of numbers were in agreement on page 46 as he checks his bank balance. As the paragraph goes, "I sensed that something of deep personal value, but not money, not at all, had been authenticated and confirmed." He values his numbered order, as we all might. Later, the numbers start getting out of "harmony." With the SIMUVAC technician (140), his own doctor (260) and with a specialist (279) he is told that they are getting bracketed numbers with stars of some type. His world starts to collapse as the numbers start getting out of harmony.

It's so much easier to have one's life run by numbers. Jack describes his daughter's friends as "a race of people with a seven-bit analog consciousness (41)." The characters themselves know that they are just numbers. On page 49 Babette says there is a difference between her husband's age of fifty and fifty-one. "One is even, one is odd." As jack reads the obituary section of the newspaper (99) he notes the age of the people. "Four years to go. Nine more years. Two years and I'm dead." The characters are run by one complete system. If you are not a number, then you don't exist.

Sometimes we see that the best way to be remembered is to buy a lot of belongings. That's why shopping sprees (like the one Jack took) makes us feel better. It gives some proo

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Approximate Word count = 1301
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)