Title: Social and Psychological Significance of Modern Supermarkets in White Noise

Abstract: White Noise, written by Don DeLillo, shows various problems in a postmodern society, especially contemporary Americans’ anxiety in the business settings. The novel’s abundant depictions of shopping scenes reflect the impact of supermarket on Americans’ daily life. This paper attempts to explore the social and psychological significance of modern supermarkets in the novel from four perspectives, namely, shopping behavior, purchasing power, packaging and advertisement, and placement of goods. People in the story are establishing their identities through shopping and displaying their values through purchasing power; while cultivating consumers’ purchasing desire, packaging and advertisement have manipulated and even enslaved their thoughts, and the way goods are placed in the supermarket represents order and rules in modern life, thus giving shoppers a keen sense of security.

Keywords: Don DeLillo, White Noise, consumer culture, supermarket, identity

Author: Feng Li, Professor, Institute of Jewish Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.