Themes from American Literature

The American Dream and Heroes
A major theme in Don Delillo’s writing on a whole is the effects of technology on the American identity. This novel most specifically explores the idea of the fading of the real world and its replacement with artifices and façades. The American Dream in the roots of American literature represented a world of unbridled possibilities and potential that could be unlocked by one qualification, hard work. Technology has fundamentally changed that system. Manual labor and street smarts are no longer ingredients for success. Anyone with an intimate knowledge of computers can be a millionaire but long-toiling Americans receive almost no reward for their work. In the novel, Jack is the embodiment of the anti-American dream. He has been married four times and has children from various marriages. His family is dysfunctional and nowhere near the ideal American image. Jack is also a professor in Hitler studies. By today’s standards, Hitler studies are not a traditional American value. He does not work exceptionally hard and has little merit in any way. He is a generally unhappy man. By embodying the opposite of the American Dream, Jack becomes an anti-hero. Like Willy Loman in The Death of a Salesman, Jack is anything but a traditional American hero. These characters show a shift in American literature and a shift in the American social climate. Both Miller and Delillo recognize that the American dream is crumbling (due to economic depression or the undue influence of technology).

The Significance of Names

College-on-the-Hill
America was founded by the Puritans as a so-called “city on a hill.” Matthew 5:14 says “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden.”This phrase has been used historically as rationalization for American exceptionalism, Manifest Destiny, the American dream, and the “white man’s burden.” These grand concepts define the idealized nation that the Puritans set out to form. The school that Jack is a professor (in Hitler studies) at is entitled the College-On-The-Hill. The concept of being prominent in the public eye and an example to all others is a familiar one. In this case, however, the college has seemingly meaningless departments focusing on Pop Culture and  Hitler studies. In the first chapter, Delillo describes students returning from vacation as a procession of sameness. Each station wagon is exactly the same as the one behind it. The anonymity and monotony of life in a supposed example for the world demonstrates Delillo’s belief that American exceptionalism is impractical and ridiculous in modern society.

Heinrich
Jack’s greatest desire is to appear knowledgeable and authoritative to his colleagues. In Chapter 14, Denise questions Jack as to how he decided on his son, Heinrich’s, name. He answers, “I thought it had an authority that might cling to him. I thought it was forceful and impressive and I still do. I wanted to shield him, make him unafraid. (63)” Jack demonstrates even in the naming of his son his need to impress and gain an advantage over his competition.

Blacksmith
Blacksmiths are generally seen as uneducated, simple, and hard-working. According to this definition, they are connected to the foundations of American society. Naming the town in which Jack and his family reside Blacksmith creates a feel of small-town simplicity. Murray portrays the town positively in relation to the city, saying it is less corrupted by sexual influence. However, the town is overrun by a sense of monotony. The dual nature of safety and security is demonstrated.

Image Study Part One: The Most Photographed Barn in America and Appearances

When you take a picture of a tourist attraction, what are you really photographing?

One of the most discussed scenes from the novel is a short passage at the end of the third chapter. In the scene, Murray and Jack drive out into the country to see a tourist attraction known as the most photographed barn in America. They see multiple signs for the attraction and a large crowd is gathered near it, taking photos. After a long silence, Murray has an unusual revelation. He states that “No one sees the barn. (12)” What he means by this cryptic phrase is that the tourists are not photographing the barn because it is especially beautiful, antique, or exceptional in any way. They are photographing it for the sole reason that others have photographed it. He states that the tourism is a religious experience, an aura that once inside, one cannot escape. The book is, as a whole, a collection of anecdotes which are related in meaning but do not follow a logical plot path. This fact makes it clear that Delillo did not include such a striking passage by accident.

The passage is directly preceded by Murray’s description of his desire to study Elvis in the way that Jack has studied Hitler. Murray is able to recognize the irony of the tourists photographing the barn but he is not able to recognize the same concept in his own life. The entirety of Elvis’ career was based on a persona. Many people enjoyed his music but simply being a talented musician does not make an artist a phenomenon. The fascination Elvis held for the American population parallels the obsession with photographing the barn. Once a person is aware of the stigma of Elvis, there is no way to escape the aura of his fame.

Another parallel to the barn within the novel is Jack’s job as a professor at the College-on-the-hill. At the school, department heads wear academic robes. As Jack puts it, they are not “sweeping full-length affairs but sleeveless tunics puckered at the shoulders. (9)” These robes represent Jack’s career and personality. He desires the appearance of grandeur but doesn’t desire the actual responsibility. He is the head of Hitler Studies and the originator of the topic but he does not know German. In Chapter 8, he begins taking German lessons. He does not want to learn the language to do better perform his job, he wants to avoid embarrassment in front of his colleagues.

The importance of perception over reality becomes a common theme as the plot progresses. Delillo strives to reveal the artificiality of Americans in the present era and how consumerism and appearances have overtaken the value of the truth.