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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 35, what is Babette wearing "almost all the time"?

2. Who was Jack's first wife?

3. What kind of storm is predicted to hit?

4. Which family in the neighborhood has a new dog?

5. What distinguishes Babette from Jack's other wives?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom does Jack give the sample of Dylar to, and why?

2. When Murray and Jack discuss the weird feelings they have about Howard, what are some of the things they mention that just do not feel right?

3. Murray says that there are two kinds of people, killers and diers. Which one does Jack say he is and why?

4. What happened to Cotsakis, Murray's rival in Elvis studies?

5. What is Orest Mercator trying to do?

6. When the family does not want to cook, where do they go and what do they eat?

7. Where does Jack drive Willie Mink and why?

8. Why is Denise concerned about Babette going running, and what does she do about it?

9. As Jack is going faithfully to his German lessons, what is he is practicing?

10. When Jack asks Babette for Mr. Gray's real name, why does she refuse to tell him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While Jack is obsessed with a mass-murderer, he is afraid of his own death. Babette seems to think that Jack's biology and jealousy make him predestined to be homicidal. Interrogate her claims, based on evidence from the text. Why does Jack resort to violence? What does it have to do with his academic obsession with Hitler and maybe even his J.A.K. persona? How does DeLillo use German and associations with Germany to explore Jack's fear?

Essay Topic 2

To these characters, experiences are validated by external recognition, especially media recognition. While this fixation on television and radio is tied to pop-culture consumerism, it is also a thematic fixation of this novel. Discuss why DeLillo called this book "White Noise". Be sure to include your interpretation of this phrase literally and symbolically, as well as any examples of its use in the text itself. How does it relate to the themes of the text? Is it a good title?

Essay Topic 3

Wilder, Jack and Babette's youngest child, is non-verbal in a family of fast-talking, bright and pretty evasive/elliptical conversationalists. Write an analytical essay that explains Wilder's function in the narrative. Be sure to offer an explanation of how Wilder affects the plot, characterization, mood, etc.

(see the answer keys)

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