Lee Harvey Os-WHAT?
Throughout Libra, Lee Harvey Oswald left me with certain questions about who he truly was. In his novel, DeLillo is trying to highlight the mystery surrounding Oswald and Kennedy's assassination.
When attempting to understand Oswald and the murder, it is easy to lose sense of what is coherent in the timeline of events. Both Lee Oswald and Kennedy's assassination are surrounded by ambiguity and confusion, that are keeping historians and writers from reaching a solid conclusion about what unfolded on November 22, 1963. In Libra, DeLillo includes many factors that could influence Oswald's decision. His marriage, his ties to the Soviet Union and Cuba, organized crime, the list goes on. DeLillo does not pave a straight path from Lee to Lee Harvey Oswald.
It's known that Lee wasn't always Lee Harvey Oswald, as is shown by his decision to go by different names for different affiliations. The general public did not know about Oswald until the murder, and many did not want to "know" him just because of the act he committed. However, it's hard to say that anyone ever truly knew Lee Oswald. Throughout his life, he had so many different attachments to various groups, countries, ideas, individuals, etc. It was hard to pin him down as one person because he had conflicting thoughts and opinions with himself. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for the public, they were never granted the chance to deeply connect with the person labeled "Lee Harvey Oswald" because he was killed shortly after Kennedy's death.
His untimely death left those of us who are still trying to understand Oswald incredibly puzzled, even decades later. Some, like author Gerald Posner, argue that Oswald was not significant or profound enough to commit an act as horrific as he was accused of. In response, some might say that what Oswald did throughout his lifetime was significant enough to compel him to murder a president. He was a man who, some might say, lived multiple lives and became multiple people. Oswald was a man who joined the U.S. Marines, an incredibly patriotic thing to do, only to defect to the Soviet Union, one of the United States' largest rivals. He was a man who grew up in Louisiana surrounded by strip joints and pimps, yet found seemingly real love later in life. A man who raised a small family and loved his daughter. In reality, there is no clear way to explain Oswald or what he did. There are only pieces and speculation. We may never know why or if it was even he who fired the third and final shot. But does it matter? Is it even worth still attempting to grapple with the topic? Is it time to finally lay the story of Lee Harvey Oswald to rest?
Great blog Luca! I think Oswald's mysterious character is one of the most fascinating things about Libra. I had heard of Oswald as a goofy guy who killed the president with a rifle, and his experience in the Marines, his wife and children, and other parts of his character shown in the book complicated my view of him. I think that your last questions are very intriguing, especially "is it even worth still attempting to grapple with the topic?" I think the answer is no. Realistically, we probably won't ever find the actual answer defininatevely, and I think that newer conspiracies are more worth examining, such as the ever important gay frogs. Seriously though, even if we find clear proof of Oswald doing it himself, the CIA doing it themselves, another government or a combination, why would that help us? I think it would be much cooler to bust a current politician or government organization for messed up conspiracies. Both would be very cool, but I think more modern conspiracies matter more.
ReplyDelete