The Triumph of Death

by Andy Chu ~ October 29th, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized.

In the prologue before DeLillo’s Underworld, chaos ensues when “the Giants win the pennant” similar to the chaos in Pieter Bruegel’s painting The Triumph of Death. The Giants won and although there are fans that are ecstatic, the Dodgers and their fans are not. As Russ Hodges is shouting through his mic with excitement, Edgar sits quietly with his knowledge of the successful Russian atomic bomb testing. Then there is Cotter who desperately, and successfully, retrieves the baseball, only to be chased by the initially good natured, Bill. Everything is juxtaposed.

The New York Times headlines that was mentioned in class is a perfect visual of the juxtaposition present throughout the story.

The “Triumph of Death” painting itself is also very interesting. When I look at it, it seems as though there was a very lively, jovial party going on and the dead (skeletons) crashed the party. Anyone have any thoughts on what connections all of these things have? And why DeLillo decided to change the prologue’s original title of “Pafko at the Wall” to “The Triumph of Death” instead?

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2 Responses to The Triumph of Death

  1. Sabrina
    October 31st, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    I actually dislike the original title and much rather prefer “The Triumph of Death” but that may be because I’m a huge fan of allusions and ekphrasis. I think a simple explanation may be because it makes more sense and sounds better.

    As for the juxtaposition, I think like everything when described in an oversimplified form is a version of good v evil, plain black and white; these two events show the extremes of the world in versions of life and death. The ball game presents a lively group of people, cheerful and excited, thrilled to the core and braced for anything. The atomic bomb testing presents the frailty, fatality and finality of that world. It’s like a reminder that all good things must come to an end, that “nothing gold can stay.”

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