Lee's Situation

     Libra is obviously a postmodernist novel, and includes many facets from both history and fiction. And this manifests into Lee Harvey Oswald's two characterizations of motivation; Oswald is either depicted as a self acting solo assassin, or as part of a conspiracy group plotting to kill the president. In Libra Lee is even depicted as being aware that there are two different parts of him performing the assassination. DeLillo kind of exposes Oswald's thoughts and makes us think about what led him to think the way he thinks based off of his life experiences.

    DeLillo points to how Oswald grew up as a reason that he may have turned out the way he did. Near the beginning of the novel the author writes, "a turbulence running through him, the accepted fact of a fatherless boy". DeLillo describes a lingering affect Lee's childhood has had on him. DeLillo further describes his state, "the product of a sweeping history (…) locked into a process, a system of money and property that diminished human worth every day, as if by scientific law". DeLillo's description makes you really for sorry for Lee sometimes.

    Although it may seem like Lee was dragged into the situation regarding the president's assassination, there are many other things that show that he may not be so innocent after all. For example, when he abused his wife physically, but also mentally. Oswald has no excuse for this behavior. Even if somebody grows up in poor conditions they will know that causing harm like that to other people is not acceptable. In a way this shows that even though part of his situation may not be his fault, he also clearly seems to not be the most morally sound character.

    We can never know what Oswald was really like though, and what his motivations were on that day in Dallas. This is why Libra is a great book to think about how he may have been. It includes aspects of thought in what Lee may be like, but it also includes historical fact to help back up those thoughts. 

Comments

  1. SAhmad DastMay 27, 2022 at 10:08 PM

    I think it's an interesting discussion to have, whether or not Oswald was a victim of his circumstances or if he had a sinister nature to himself from the beginning. One could make a good argument in favor of either side. For example, like you said, even DeLillo describes his childhood as being far less than ideal and molding him into who he becomes. But other instances like the domestic abuse seem to imply otherwise. Overall, great blog post.

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  2. JanakiMay 31, 2022 at 11:04 AM

    Hi, I do feel a lot of sympathy for Lee, especially given the circumstances that he grew up in and how that shaped him. However, he's also a murdered and abused his wife, decisions that he had at least some bit of control over making. I think Lee's upbringing and position in society is really important for understand his obsession with having a place in history and feeling important (which relates in some part to him killing Kennedy, although he did that mostly to get to Cuba). However, I don't think we can justify all the other awful decisions where he harmed people by using his upbringing. Libra is fascinating though and really showed me that everyone has a backstory that can help explain the decisions they make later on in life. Great job!

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