Background noise unbearable!

where did you see it ???

Yes, a lot of it,and particularly two points where they maintained a high-pitched whining sound that was driving me crazy ... and the phones going off. It all served to highlight the insanity of these people, and their children.

Yes, deliberate technique i guess. When he is reading about Gettysburg and the other two are talking, I believe what we're hearing in the background is what he's reading to himself. It's as if they want us to experience what he's experiencing as people talk while he tries to read, and how maddening that can be.