Killer Or Dier?

Throughout the book White Noise by Don DeLillo, there is a constant question about death. Jack and Babette, the parents in the story, are both terrified of it and neither one of them want to live alone. There is a constant battle within them to over come death. By having this fear, they don't live their lives to the fullest. The fear of death and the desire to come it are throughout the book. It interferes with their lives and even leads Babette to take an experimental drug called Dylar.

The second chapter of the book starts with Jack explaining to Babette that she missed the first day at the being of the school year at the College-on-the-Hill. She says to him then, "Ð''You know I need reminding, Jack'" (5). At this time no one questioned the fact that she needed reminding. Jack has a conversation with Steffie, one of their daughters about Denise's Physicians Desk Reference. Steffie tells Jack that Denise is look for something that Babette is taking. Jack questions Babette about this one night when they are on their way home from dinner. He makes the statement that she is taking something more than just the chewing gum; she asks where he got such an idea,

"Ð''I got it second hand from Steffie.'"

"Ð''Who did Steffie get it from?'"

"Ð''Denise.'" (52)

She was not sure what exactly he was talking about, but says, "Ð''To the best of my knowledge, Jack, I'm not taking anything that could account for my memory lapses. On the other hand I'm not old, I haven't suffered an injury to the head and there's nothing in my family background except tipped uteruses'" (52-53). One night while Jack is studying his German, Denise comes in and asks him if he has spoken to Babette about what she is talking. He questions her knowledge of this unknown drug:

"Ð''How do you know that she's taking something?'"

"Ð''I saw the bottle buried in the trash under the kitchen sink. A prescription bottle. It had her name and the name of the medication.'"

"Ð''What is the name of the medication?'"

"Ð''Dylar. One every three days. Which should like it's dangerous or habit-forming or whatever.'"

Upon not being able to find the source of this drug, what it does, or how it is made, it was put on the back burner for a little while. One day after the radiator in the bathroom started making noise, he lifted up the cover and discovered a pill bottle taped to the top of it. He confiscates one of the pills and takes it to another department head, Winnie Richards, at the college for analysis. After a couple of weeks, Jack catches up with Winnie Richards and asks what she had found out about the drug. She is uncertain of the chemical compounds and what is does, but she says, "Jack, all I can tell you for certain is that the substance contained in Dylar is some kind of psychopharmaceutical. It's probably designed to interact with a distant part of the human cortex [Ð'...]" (176).

While in bed one night, Jack tells Babette that they have to have a "major dialogue" (181). He tells her that he knows there is something wrong with her and she has been hiding something from him. He is not used to this behavior from her since they typically share everything. She goes on to tell him that she has been taking Dylar, an experimental drug administered