White Noise

What role does Babette play in Jack’s happiness and well-being? Why does Jack consider her a more suitable life-partner than his ex-wives? How does his perspective on Babette change throughout the novel?

Why is Jack attracted to Hitler as a scholarly pursuit? What does Hitler mean to Jack both personally and professionally?

At various points in the novel, both Jack and Murray refer to “waves and radiation.” This is also the title of Part 1. What do the characters mean by “waves and radiation,” and why are they important to the novel’s themes?

What is the importance of “The Most Photographed Barn in America”? How does it relate to the novel’s themes of truth and artifice?

Why is the supermarket an important physical and spiritual space in the novel? What does it mean to the various characters? How do these meanings shift throughout the novel?

Why is the relationship between Jack and Heinrich so fraught and confrontational? How do their views differ with respect to the book’s major themes?

There are many forms of “white noise” in the novel, some of them explicitly named, others merely alluded to. What are some of the different types of white noise, and how are they related to one another?

While Jack repeatedly says that all plots move toward death, Murray argues that to plot is to live. With the book’s climax in mind, what is the evidence supporting each argument? Is one of them proven wrong?