Power Of The Doctors In Don Delillo's White Noise

In Don DeLillo’s novel, White Noise, the Gladney family believes that doctors have a higher authority because of their greater knowledge. In addition, the family is also very threatened by the doctors because they feel they are more intelligent and that they have some sort of control over them. For instance, Jack Gladney is especially affected by their power of the doctors after the “airborne toxic event” and when he is exposed to Nyodene Derivative. Out of everyone in the family, Jack demonstrates the he is the most afraid, particularly, because of the information that they hold. Because of their high authority, the doctors are able to make Jack to feel unintelligent and defenseless. Moreover, they make him feel as if his life is in their hands and he is unable to do anything about it.
In one scene in the novel, Wilder is continually crying and Jack and his wife, Babette, cannot figure out why. So, they decide to take their son to the doctor’s office to be able to get some answers. However, just
thinking about going to the doctor’s office makes Jack and Babette afraid. For example, in order to be ready to visit the doctor, they both, “tried to remember what he’d eaten in the last twenty-four hours, anticipated questions the doctor would ask and rehearsed our answers carefully” (DeLillo, 89). Furthermore, Jack even explains that, “It seemed vital to agree on the answers even if we weren’t sure they were correct. Doctors lose interest in people who contradict each other” (DeLillo, 89). In both of these quotes, Jack and Babette’s intimidation of the important authority and powerful knowledge of the doctor is clearly demonstrated. The couple is even willing to lie to the doctor and risk receiving a false diagnosis if it means that the doctor will see them as decent parents. It seems as if Jack and Babette are afraid of the fact that the doctor will probably reject Wilder from the office without the correct diagnosis unless Jack and Babette act appropriately and have rehearsed questions and answers beforehand. Furthermore, it also appears that they feel as though they have to put in effort and amaze the doctor with how prepared they are when it comes to their children and their health. It is also evident in the novel that the faith that Jack and Babette have in the power of medical doctor suppresses the trust that the rest of the family has for each other.
For instance, when their daughter, Denise, who reads many academic medical texts, recommends them to give Wilder some medication and send him to bed, Jack and Babette ignore her idea and take the boy to the doctor’s office anyway. In the end, the doctor tells the couple that their daughter was right and that a simple aspirin would calm the boy down. Furthermore, when the physician asks Babette why she ignored her own daughter’s advice, she answered with, “She’s a child, not a doctor- that’s why” (DeLillo, 90). Although, Denise’s advice was rational and Wilder’s problem was simply something minor, Jack and Babette still need to hear the advice from someone with more experience in medicine and, most importantly, someone with more authority before they are able to trust their daughter’s
judgment.
Because Jack and his family view medical doctors as having more authority than others, they see them as being something other than human. Because of this belief, Jack thinks that they should be available at all hours of the day and should have all of the answers to their patient’s questions. For instance, this is shown when Jack and Denise call Babette’s doctor at his home after ten o’clock at night. Clearly, this is inappropriate and something no one should ever do. However, Jack appears to think that someone as powerful as a doctor should be available everyday to be able to do his job and to be able to help patients with their problems. Moreover, Babette’s doctor feels as if Jack’s phone call is completely inappropriate and out of line, as most people would think in this type of situation. Nevertheless, Jack does not pay him any attention, insults him, and continues describing the drug “Dylar” as, “a small white tablet. Comes in an amber bottle” (DeLillo, 192). Then, the doctor replies with, “You would describe a tablet as small and white and expect a doctor to respond, at home, after ten at night. Why not tell me it is round? This is crucial to our case” (DeLillo, 192). From these quotes, it is evident that Jack sees doctors are authoritative figures. Additionally, the quotes also show his high expectation of what a doctor should know. He even expects him to know what the drug is from the very beginning and also after giving him a poor description of it.