The Confusion Behind Lee Harvey Oswald
The character of Lee Harvey Oswald as depicted in DeLillo's Libra can be explained as confounding, and throughout the course of the novel, DeLillo only further amplifies the confusion surrounding Oswald's character. One could argue that his confusing persona just reflects his idiotic personality, but as DeLillo narrates the actions of Oswald, the true intentions of his puzzling behavior might be the results of his longing of leaving a mark in history.
DeLillo depicts Lee as having a perplexing desire to draw unfavorable attention towards himself. An example is when Oswald joins the Marines. While in the Marines, Oswald talks of his desire to travel to the USSR and pretends to know an ample amount of information about a U2 plane captured by the Soviet Union. The other guys at the military make fun of Oswald, which seems to be the kind of attention that Oswald desires. In order to fulfill his need to be regarded as significant, Lee has an unsettling propensity to draw negative attention. His pursuit of this type of attention leaves the reader with a sense of uncertainty surrounding his intentions and mental state.
In the book, we learn about Lee's desire to defect to the USSR in order to gain attention by spilling secrets about the US military. After renouncing his US citizenship, Lee believes that he has now made himself significant and that "he was a man in history now" (pg. 149). After staying in the USSR for a while, the reader learns that Lee is seemingly disappointed that the Soviet Union did not fulfill his dreams and expectations, getting his passport back and returning to the United States. This sudden shift in Lee's interests raises suspicions about what his true intentions are to both the reader and the FBI, who end up keeping tabs on Lee after his return to the United States.
When Lee gets a job in Guy Banister's building, Banister presumes that he is attempting to infiltrate pro-Castro groups after his secretary finds pro-Castro articles in Lee's office. Oswald begins a committee called the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and the reader learns that Oswald is the only member of his committee and is seen multiple times handing out pro-Castro pamphlets. Lee had happened to join a anti-Castro group, but one of the members, Carlos, sees him handing out pro-Castro pamphlets on the street. Once again, Oswald confuses the leader with his stance on Cuba by playing both sides. Lee's true intentions are unclear when vacillating between opposing ideological stances against Castro and the Cuban government. His undecisive stance between pro and anti-Castro positions reveal his repeatedly changing motives and views. This paradox make Lee's motives more confusing and unclear, amplifying the uncertainty surrounding his character and leaving the reader to understand what his true intentions are.
Lee's intense want to be a prominent person in history and the ways in which he attempts to do so result in another maze of confusion surrounding his character. His multiple attempts to align himself with influential figures and groups can be seen as a reflection of his desire for importance. Lee's fixation with leaving a mark on history are revealed by his strong political ideals and his attempts to attract attention from influential people related to his political beliefs, such as his attempts to kill General Walker to prove himself to Castro and reveal US military secrets to the USSR. DeLillo also shows Lee's desire to impress Castro by describing him as the only member of his Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Lee doesn't seem to care that he is the only member; his true intentions are making an impression on Castro so that he can be invited to go to Cuba. In addition, DeLillo shows the reader the Oswald's inner thoughts, which reveal more about his desire to be a significant historical figure.
Throughout the course of Libra, Oswald's actions continuously amplify the surrounding confusion behind his character. An analysis of his character provides the potential explanation that Oswald's perplexing behavior could possibly stem from his aspiration for making himself a prominent historical figure. One can compare the confounding character of Lee Oswald to his subway expeditions: never knowing when to get off, where he wants to go, or who he wants to be.
Oswald is definitely a confusing character. I liked the comparison you made to his subway expeditions. One thing I think is also really strange and worth mentioning are all the inconsistencies in his history, especially the part where he was seen in multiple different locations when he was known to be elsewhere. It makes me believe Delillo's fiction a little more, knowing how unreliable the historical facts about Oswald already are.
ReplyDeleteHi Alina, great blog post. The facts about Lee himself are inconsistent both in history and in Libra. Mackey hints that there could be multiple fake Lee's hiding around to conceal the true Lee, while Ferrie poses the idea of a Libran to view Lee as a walking contradiction. Perhaps this ambiguity was intentional, to pull the focus away from Lee himself and towards Castro and Cuba, but I guess we'll never know.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that the historical Oswald is "confounding," and indeed in DeLillo's fictional portrayal, we often see others being "confounded" by Lee. The KGB doesn't know what to do with him ("not agent material"); Banister has no idea what game this guy is playing. Even the "conspirators" can't get a steady read on him. My favorite line, reflecting the ambivalence of Lee's character, is when Dupard sees him unexpectedly for the first time in years: "Recognition entered Dupard's face in a complicated way" (a paraphrase--I don't have my book handy). I love that phrase for describing a "complicated" recognition of an old buddy from the Marines--is he glad to see Lee, or not? It's hard to tell!
ReplyDeleteLee seems to want to be his own person throughout the book, but he is also easily influenced by the people around him. I think he oscillates between wanting to be extremely independent (like a lone gunman) and part of something bigger (cementing his name in history). Nice post!
ReplyDeleteSup Alina. Lee is a very confusing character, and the reader can never truly tell what he knows and what is lying about to garner attention, and I think at some places he doesn't know either. he goes through a lot of changes, and even his physical appearance is hard to follow. Good job!
ReplyDeleteAlina, great post. I think DeLillo making Lee a confusing character is perfect since Lee himself, based on the historical record, is extremely confusing. The whole Guy Banister anti-Castro stuff was very difficult for me to wrap my head around but I think DeLillo is trying to tell readers that the point of Lee is to confuses people.
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