Essay 2: White Noise

Requirements:

1) Minimum 1000 words.

2) Submitted before class on May 4, 2009.

Prompt:

Our reading of White Noise was constructed around four primary themes: consumption, white noise/death, simulacra, and race. The novel provides a variety of different perspectives on these themes and issues a commentary on their impact on postmodern culture.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it (and plan on passing the course), is to select one of the four themes and formulate an interpretive argument based on that theme. This argument should offer a specific and sophisticated critical perspective on the novel which explains how White Noise critiques and represents the aspect of culture you are focusing on.

For example: Throughout the novel, many different characters, such as Willie Mink and Oreste Mercator, are perceived as having ambiguous ethnic identifications. This, however, is not an issue for the Gladneys and other white people. White Noise demonstrates that in a postmodern society some racial categories are eroding and blending while whiteness remains consistent.

Guidelines:

1) Use MLA Format and a clear Works Cited page with the correct citation format.

2) Include the following elements in your essay:

• Provide a thesis statement.
• Offer a theoretical framework for your analysis. For example, if you are discussing whiteness explain what whiteness is and draw from various theorists to make your claims. Define your terms!
• Close readings of passages throughout the novel. Do not simply describe or summarize events, provide interpretations of those events that relies on semiotic analysis. Formulate SIGN SYSTEMS. This is the key section of your paper―the evidence for your claims.
• Cite at least two secondary academic sources including one we did not cover in class. White Noise does not count as one of these sources!

3) Be sure to turn in the following items the day you submit your essay:

• Rough draft
• Peer review worksheets

4) Turn in a digital version in .rtf or .doc format through safe assignment (ilearn.ucr.edu) before class.