White Noise

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1, CHAPTERS 1-8

Reading Check

1. What academic department did Jack Gladney “invent”?

2. What frequently photographed structure do Jack and Murray visit?

3. What does Babette insist on doing as a family once a week?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do Heinrich and Jack argue about in the car, and what emotions does it provoke from Jack?

2. What fear does Jack experience so intensely that it keeps him awake at night, and what is Babette’s attitude toward this fear?

3. What type of lessons does Jack visit Howard Dunlop for, and why does Jack feel a “vast shame” to need these lessons?

Paired Resource

“Immortality and the Fear of Death”

• This brief article by Jack Sherefkin of the New York Public Library examines our mortality through various philosophical lenses and points out that life without death might not be that great an idea after all.  
• This article connects to the theme of Fear of Death.
• How does Jack’s fear of death affect his behavior in the novel? Which of the philosophical explanations of death might give him some reassurance?