Authority In White Noise, By Don Delillo

Introduction:
In a most societies having power is everything. People often work so hard for authority because with power and authority individuals can control others, get most of the things they desire, and obtain respect and admiration. People struggle their entire lives to get ahead, and they seem to want authority and power over everything else. People want power, whether it be presented in the amount of money they have, the cars they drive, the jobs they have, the clothes they own, the picture- perfect family they might have, or even their looks. For instance, in White Noise by Don Delillo, the characters who have dominance over others acquire their power by obtaining enough knowledge about topics that others are uneducated on, which allows

In fact, in White Noise, the characters are often caught listening and believing information that has no veracity. The character listens to individuals who have no substance, but present themselves as a powerful and erudite individual. For example, Jack Gladney, one of the main characters in the book, believes that in order to achieve respect in his position at work he has to “grow out” (16) into an individual that looks the part of a man with power. In his eyes, he only possesses a few substantial advantages that would benefit him. For Jack “becoming more ugly [...] seems [as if] it would help [his] career enormously”(17). He even changes his name. Jack himself even says that he is the “false character that follows the name around” (17). Jack’s claims clearly illustrates that he does not believe that the man he has developed into is sufficient to fulfill his desires in his career, and that he understands that he has changed himself in order to gain power and respect. Moreover, Heinrich Gladey, one of Jack and Babette’s children, is a fourteen year old child that will challenge any statement of fact, no matter how much or little he actually knows about the topic. As most teenagers this age, Heinrich is going through a phase where he wants independence, a separate identity, and to test his authority. Jack’s states that he “feels a need to take him under [his] coat, and crush him to [his] chest, [and] keep him there, [to] protect him”(25). Jack’s statement shows that Heinrich is struggling at this age. Heinrich takes the smallest amount of knowledge he has and uses what he knows to challenge anything anyone else says in order to prove that he is someone that deserves respect and authority. He is aware that he does not find joy in the same things as other children his age, and his interests