Abstract:Don Delillo is a famous American writer and he has won various awards at home and abroad. White Noise is considered as his best work and establishes the status of the author in the history of literature. The novel mainly depicts that the Gladneys suffer from the toxic event on their way to the safe place and they generate a sense of fear of death. Many scholars have carried on researches about the novel from many different aspects. This thesis will analyze it from the aspect of spiritual ecology, exploring how the author uses the theory to highlight the theme of the novel.

The thesis is made up of five chapters. Chapter one introduces Don Delillo and White Noise and the previous studies about the novel. Chapter two gives a specific explanation of the spiritual ecology. Chapter three explores the human spiritual crises conveyed in the novel. Chapter four introduces the influence of mass media and technology on people’s life and points out that they lead to the spiritual crisis. Chapter five is the conclusion, summarizing the main points of the whole thesis.

Keywords: Don Delillo  White Noise  Spiritual Ecology

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Don Delillo-1

1.2 Introduction to White Noise-1

1.3 Literature Review-2

Chapter Two Spiritual Ecology-4

2.1 Theory of Spiritual Ecology-4

2.2 Don Delillo’s Awareness of Spiritual Ecology-4

Chapter Three Spiritual Ecological Problems Conveyed in the Novel-6

3.1 Human Spiritual Crisis-6

3.1.1Fear of Death-6

3.1.2 Loss of Identity-7

3.1.3 Loss of Belief-7

3.2 Pursuit of Materialism-8

3.2.1 Babette’s Craze for Shopping-8

3.2.2 Jack’s Retail Therapy-9

Chapter Four Causes of Spiritual Crisis-11

4.1 Mass Media-11

4.2 Development of Technology-11

Chapter Five Conclusion-13

References-14