One thing that we touched on in class but didn't go into depth on was the title and the small section of the book that it refers to. I can think of many different titles that would fit very well to this novel, but Delillo specifically chose "Libra." For a while I was confused as to why Delillo would pick such a seemingly unrelated title and then we came to the section "In New Orleans" where David Ferrie is talking to Lee about being a "Libran."
"Libra. A Libran"
"The Scales," Ferrie said.
"The Balance," Shaw said.
It seemed to tell them everything they had to know.
(...)
He said, "We have the positive Libran, who has achieved self mastery. He is well balanced, levelheaded and a sensible fellow respected by all. We have the negative Libran, who is, let's say, somewhat unsteady and impulsive. Easily, easily influenced. Poised to make the dangerous leap. Either way balance is key."
At first, this seems like it's just David Ferrie trying to convince Lee to take a "dangerous leap," to go along with the plans of the plot. But if you step back a bit, this can be seen as a metaphor that fits the entire narrative. The Scales. The Balance.
Lee is a Libran. He has the positive Libran who just wants to be a part of history and be relevant. He is a harmless communist who couldn't even shoot himself correctly. He has the negative Libran who had a childhood in a broken home and is bitter at the West and at capitalism. As readers we can sympathize with Positive Libran Lee while still hating the Negative Libran.
Jack Ruby is a Libran. Positive Jack just wants to make an honest living working his club. He is a patriot and cares for his country and for standing up for what is right. Negative Jack takes this to extremes, he throws guys down stairs and beats them in the street.
Even Kennedy can be seen as a Libran. Positive Kennedy has the best interests of the American people front and foremost in his mind. Negative Kennedy abandoned the Cuban expatriates to die on the shores of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs debacle.
In the end everything seems to be a balance. Events can tip the scales in either direction, but it's never truly clear what motivates the decisions and acts of the Librans in the novel.
I never thought of Kennedy as a libran but it makes sense to do so to compare him to his "partner" Lee. Sympathizing for Lee is still a confusing concept for me even after finishing the novel, culminating in the fact that he claimed totally the jfk assassination--he didn't really kill Kennedy, but in a way he did...
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that although we don't hear much about Kennedy, DeLillo does include a point of view that shows Kennedy's faults. I think DeLillo included these to promote more sympathy for Lee--that he is comparable to the memorable JFK. (Since it is generally seen that Oswald is the "evil" assassin of the "good" JFK.)
The similarities between Ruby, Oswald and Kennedy are strewn throughout the novel, which for sure backs up your argument. Noice. But maybe hating Lee, the way he has gone down in history, is the balance the plot needed. Furthermore, Kennedy's death can be viewed as a time when America's balance was completely thrown off, leading to Vietnam, hippies, Civil Rights and other progressive chances. The racist balance of the sixities died with Kennedy, I think
ReplyDeleteAfter completing the book and analyzing it in this light, it all seems to come together. We see it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and somehow Lee fits into all three of these categories at different points in his life. His fluctuations in personality are not the only driving factor of this novel, as you pointed out, since it takes more than one person to shoot the president, especially considering you need a president. Everything had a positive and negative, not only reflecting the main characters, but the general culture surrounding the conspiracy.
ReplyDeleteHere come dat boi
ReplyDeleteo shit waddup
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