Airborne Toxic Event
E345158
The Airborne Toxic Event is a catastrophic chemical cloud disaster in Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise" that forces the protagonist's family to confront their fears of death and modern technological hazards.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Airborne Toxic Event canonical | 1 |
| Airborne Toxic Event (fictional disaster in White Noise) | 1 |
Statements (44)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
chemical accident
ⓘ
fictional disaster ⓘ plot device ⓘ |
| appearsInWork | White Noise ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
chemical industry
ⓘ
modern technological hazards ⓘ toxic waste ⓘ |
| cause | industrial accident ⓘ |
| centralThemeRelation |
anxiety about technology
ⓘ
environmental catastrophe ⓘ fear of death ⓘ media saturation ⓘ risk society ⓘ |
| creator | Don DeLillo ⓘ |
| describedAs | catastrophic chemical cloud disaster ⓘ |
| effectOnCharacters |
exposure to toxic chemicals
ⓘ
family displacement ⓘ heightened fear of death ⓘ mass evacuation ⓘ |
| form | toxic chemical cloud ⓘ |
| genreContext | postmodern literature ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | late 20th century American fiction ⓘ |
| medium | novel ⓘ |
| narrativeFunction |
catalyst for plot escalation
ⓘ
exposes fragility of modern life ⓘ forces characters to confront mortality ⓘ |
| narrativeSectionName | The Airborne Toxic Event ⓘ |
| perceivedThrough |
emergency broadcasts
ⓘ
news reports ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
chemical spill
ⓘ
industrial pollution ⓘ technological disaster ⓘ |
| riskTo | local population ⓘ |
| riskType |
long-term health effects
ⓘ
toxic inhalation ⓘ |
| settingLocation | Blacksmith ⓘ |
| symbolizes |
collective fear of contamination
ⓘ
invisible threats in contemporary life ⓘ omnipresent environmental risk ⓘ uncontrollable modern technology ⓘ |
| threatens |
Babette Gladney
ⓘ
Gladney family ⓘ Jack Gladney ⓘ |
| timeInNarrative | midpoint of the novel ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Airborne Toxic Event (fictional disaster in White Noise)