I Didn't Like Lee Harvey Oswald and Other Random Observations from Libra

     Don Delillo's "Libra" did not mention any musical pieces (that I can remember), so with my preferred topic choice unusable, I'll give some of my general observations. Starting with how dislikable Lee Harvey Oswald was right from the beginning. 

    The interesting part is, he had all the capabilities and circumstance to make him likable. He's underprivileged, bullied, and generally downtrodden. We open on a scene of him being berated for his accent by a cliche gang of teenage boys; the perfect set up from which a likeable and sympathetic protagonist can be born. Yet, his sheer arrogance and revelry in the victim position in the coming chapter quickly quells any building compassion for the young future-assassin. 

    Das Kapital is just the tip of the iceberg. In itself not problematic at least to me, it's the broader superiority complex that was so worrying. What sticks out most is the constant thoughts he has about being one of the great men in history. The self-assurance that he's on the right track to be just like them. "They were all in jail- it's all part of the plan". Of course, he did end up being well known, though not in his ideal way I'm sure. He deeply wants to be a revolutionary and that's the life he's trying so desperately to build for himself (which I also don't think makes him inherently dislikable), but it's the twisted and snotty way he goes about "proving" his superiority to others that raises multiple red flags. 

    I think his perverse power play mindset is even further displayed in the fact that he's abusive to his wife. His lack of empathy to her situation shows displays a rotten and narcissistic core personality and a need to dominate everyone in his life, even those who are meant to be closest to him. As we got further and further in the novel, the bullied and sort of eccentric kid fades further and further into the background, and we're left with a manipulated, weak-willed shadow of a revolutionary, that I and I'm sure many of my classmates, deeply dislike. 

    Now for my other thoughts: 

    1. I thought the postmodernist blend of history and fiction was remarkably well done here. I liked the framing of a real event and the fill-in-the-blanks approach. 

    2. The choice to include the Nicholas Branch scenes was interesting and unexpected. When we would get them from time to time I found I had sort of forgotten that was a way this whole narrative was being framed. I don't actually have very much to say on it, I just don't think we've seen something quite like it so far. 

    3. The whole assassination plot with Mackley and all them was very confusing to me and I found all their names, personas, and histories rather difficult to keep track of. 

Comments

  1. Lukas PerdekampMay 27, 2022 at 11:50 AM

    Great post! I agree that Lee is not likeable in this book. You did a good job explaining why this is the case and used evidence well to support your argument. I also agree that the postmodernist aspect of the book was executed well. It is weird, but also thought provoking when you don't know what is real and what isn't.

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  2. SAhmad DastMay 27, 2022 at 8:55 PM

    Great blog post. I agree with you on Oswald being an unlikable character. An example I believe helps illustrate the negative aspects of his obsession with going down in history is his attempted assassination of General Walker. While Dupard seems to have legitimate reasons to actually attempt to kill him, we see that Oswald seems to have a far less robust conviction - especially for an act of this magnitude. Honestly, his lack of guilt given his weak conviction is another red flag that makes him unsympathetic.

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  3. TeoJune 2, 2022 at 12:29 AM

    I agree with the Nicholas Branch point. I think the novel was so captivating that it was just kind of awkward when we are brought back to the "current time" even though we completely forgot that that was even happening. Nice post!

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