WHITE NOISE BY DON DELILLO - FREE ONLINE STUDY GUIDE

KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING

The setting of this novel is Blacksmith, a small, liberal arts college town in Middle America. The college is aptly named College-on-the-Hill.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Major Characters

Jack Gladney

The founder and professor of Hitler Studies at College-on-the-Hill.

Babette

The current wife of Jack; mother of Denise, Wilder, and Eugene.

Heinrich

The son of Jack and Janet Savory; pseudo-philosopher and media fanatic.

Denise

The daughter of Babette and Bob Pardee; works hardest to solve the problems of her mother.

Steffie (Stephanie Rose)

The daughter of Jack and Dana Breedlove.

Wilder

The youngest of the children; son of Babette and Jack; never says anything but frequently is missing.

Murray Jay Siskind
A professor interested in car crashes and Elvis; is seen most often in the grocery store.

Minor Characters

Howard Dunlop

JackÂ’s German instructor.

Dana Breedlove

JackÂ’s first and fourth wife and part-time spy.

Mary Alice

JackÂ’s oldest child; she is the product of his first marriage to Dana and works in Hawaii with whales.

Janet Savory

JackÂ’s second wife, foreign currency analyst, and ashram member.

Tweedy Browner

JackÂ’s third wife and the mother of Bee.

Bee

Daughter of Tweedy and Jack.

Willie Minks (Mr. Gray)

Dylar doctor who conducts the affair with Babette.

Vernon Dickey

BabetteÂ’s father who Jack mistakes as Death one morning.

Eric Massingale

A computer science professor.

Alphonse Stompanato

A popular culture professor.

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