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.