In the final chapter of Libra, we find Lee's mother Marguerite heart-broken over her son's death as well as the entire situation leading to the event, such that she claims that Lee must have been manipulated by others to assassinate Kennedy. To Marguerite, as she explains to Chief Justice Warren, the idea that Lee was raised in a proper and loving home and is a good person at heart collides with the idea that he could have possibly chosen to commit an act as atrocious as shooting and killing the president. Therefore, the act does not fit with her world view and she refuses to accept the lone shooter idea, ergo believing in the conspiracy that Lee was manipulated and convinced to carry out his actions and was killed in an effort to erase evidence.
This theory seems to be much easier to understand and more comforting, that Lee was not alone when he acted, since the idea that someone such as Lee, a man living on the margins of society, could possibly gain access to shooting the president. If the CIA, mafia, or larger organization were to have employed a radical such as Lee and aided him by successfully putting him in a position to shoot the president while also destroying any of his links to them, it seems as something more credible to us. Also, as Delillo notes, many aspects of the plan were left to chance, an idea impossible to accept since we already see a conspiracy acting and many other coincidences not related to said plot occur altogether, we are pushed to accept a larger conspiracy occurring.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Overall Impressions of Libra
Don Delillo's novel Libra, an exploration of the possible catalyst and reasons behind the JFK assassination, presents the reader with a variety of conspiracy theories and allows for the overlap of such theories. For example, the theory of Lee Harvey Oswald being a lone shooter is also converged with CIA plots to assassinate Kennedy while the idea of Jack Ruby's patriotism being behind the shooting is also merged with the mafia's need to eliminate Oswald as a witness. Delillo allows readers to fully understand the vast array of information which will remain a mystery, and does not portray definite theories in arrogant ways as other authors or conspiracy theorists may.
Another interesting side of the theories is what Delillo considers "chance" and how much the assassination attempt is rested on the luck of the plotters. Although there is a sense that the people behind the plot have carefully planned to shot the president and have found Oswald to aid them, there is also the idea that any fail in the plot could cause the attempt to fail as Lee commonly obsesses about with his own plot throughout the novel. Perhaps this is why agents found Lee, who is an idealist and attempts to be a perfectionist in his plans, to shoot the president, so that it is possible that, after failing in so many aspects of his life and having only a single chance to enter history, that Lee will succeed.
Another interesting side of the theories is what Delillo considers "chance" and how much the assassination attempt is rested on the luck of the plotters. Although there is a sense that the people behind the plot have carefully planned to shot the president and have found Oswald to aid them, there is also the idea that any fail in the plot could cause the attempt to fail as Lee commonly obsesses about with his own plot throughout the novel. Perhaps this is why agents found Lee, who is an idealist and attempts to be a perfectionist in his plans, to shoot the president, so that it is possible that, after failing in so many aspects of his life and having only a single chance to enter history, that Lee will succeed.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
What Oswald represents: What We Can Understand About him and the Existing Mysteries Regarding Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald, a radical Marxist who expresses his anti-social behavior and angering ideas in cold war America, is, although initially despised by most readers, who see him a a crazed assassin, gradually becomes humanized through Delillo's subtle ways. Lee is compared to various characters and parallels are drawn between them, such that we can relate to Lee on various levels. Also, Lee is the essential idealist who seeks to impose his set of moral values, although vastly different from most people's, upon society fervently attempts to become part of history, ergo creating changes for what he believes is for the better.
The initial striking contrast and parallel I noticed began with Delillo's comparison of Lee and Fidel Castro, both of which are communist idealists attempting to change society to fit their needs and societal ideas. Castro is a natural and charismatic leader who can inspire idealism in his followers, while also great at socializing and convincing people of his cause. Lee is faced with a much different situation of being a marxist is a society opposed to communism in the cold war era, yet isolates himself by expressing his thoughts and acting as if he were of greater importance than his peers and most people he meets. Castro and Lee have exaggerated senses of self-importance, and feel that they will be the catalysts for change, both believing that they will be well known historically for what they consider "good" changes.
Win Everett also seeks changes in society and in a similar way to Lee, is an outsider who has never integrated socially, also having a sense of defeat and betrayal in the same way as Lee from the rest of society. Win has a "sense of cause", which although commonplace in most people, is over-exaggerated and over-expressed in the eyes of the others.
The initial striking contrast and parallel I noticed began with Delillo's comparison of Lee and Fidel Castro, both of which are communist idealists attempting to change society to fit their needs and societal ideas. Castro is a natural and charismatic leader who can inspire idealism in his followers, while also great at socializing and convincing people of his cause. Lee is faced with a much different situation of being a marxist is a society opposed to communism in the cold war era, yet isolates himself by expressing his thoughts and acting as if he were of greater importance than his peers and most people he meets. Castro and Lee have exaggerated senses of self-importance, and feel that they will be the catalysts for change, both believing that they will be well known historically for what they consider "good" changes.
Win Everett also seeks changes in society and in a similar way to Lee, is an outsider who has never integrated socially, also having a sense of defeat and betrayal in the same way as Lee from the rest of society. Win has a "sense of cause", which although commonplace in most people, is over-exaggerated and over-expressed in the eyes of the others.
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