Fear Of Death In White Noise

There is a fear of death in all humans, its degree varies between individuals but everyone feels its impending nature. We deal with it in different ways. Some healthy, some not. Humans are instinctively curious, the fear exists because of the unknown, and we don't know what happens, which instills fear in us. We create ways to get on with our lives, to move past the fear. In White Noise, Don DeLillo states how humans try to protect themselves from the fear of death by building protective walls between them and their fear, which can keep them from living their honest life.
People join a crowd to feel safe. A form of herd mentality. They flock together and follow whoever is leading because it’s easier. It’s easier to be a part of something then
The gain titles and a way of living that differs from the usual victims of disasters that we hear, and they start to think ‘nothing bad can happen to me’ just as Jack had thought when he was talking to Murray “I’m not just a college professor. I’m the head of a department. I don’t see myself fleeing an airborne toxic event. That’s for people who live in mobile homes out in the scrubby parts of the county, where the fish hatcheries are.” (DeLillo pg. 117) He’s created this identity for himself, that he and society have never seen having to escape a natural disaster, so why would he have to. But that just gives a false sense of security. Jack tries to hide behind his identity but in the end he finds out that it won't protect him, that ignoring the problem won't make it go away. Heinrich has also cultivated an identity, he hides behind logic and facts, concrete ideas he’s learned about. It gives him a sense of security as well. In order to deal with his fear of death he studies the dangers of the toxic cloud, it eliminate the unknown which is connected to death. “Our senses? Our senses are wrong a lot more often than they're right. This has been proven in the laboratory." (DeLillo pg. 23) Heinrich had based his life on what science has told him because he trusts facts. He’s concerned with the honest facts of life. He turns to them for help when a disaster is about to occur. His identity is enveloped in knowledge when he doesn't understand something he learns about it to take away the mystery of the unknown so it just turns into a simple problem that he will have a greater chance of dealing with. He’s one of the most sensible characters in White