Players Response Paper

“Everyday things represent the most overlooked forms of knowledge”

- Don DeLillo, Underworld (1997)

One way to analyze texts is to focus on the thoughts, words, and actions of the characters. For most of us, this is the default method. However, much can be learned about a text’s meaning through a close look at the things in the text—where they appear, how they are used, what their significance is outside of the text, and what their significance is inside the text. 

In the case of Don DeLillo's Players, packages, boxes, bags, bottles, envelopes, and containers of all kinds appear with surprising frequency. For this assignment I want you to review the entire novel and look for one or two appearances of containers or packages (literal or metaphorical) which seem suggestive to you.

Begin your response by identifying the object(s) and considering its/their history, design, and function within the everyday world, outside the world of the novel. 

Then, describe the way the object(s) appear in the novel. What is the context? How does the way it is used in the novel relate to the way it is used in the “real world”? In other words, what is the relationship between the real world artifact and its fictional (and perhaps metaphorical) counterpart?

Finally--and this should be the heart of your response--offer some interpretation and analysis about the significance of this particular container or package in Players. How does it play into some of the overall themes of the novel?

Your response should be 2-3 pages long, well-written, and ready to hand in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, March 29.