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Libra: Lee and his Mother

Libra was an interesting book to say the least, blending the world of history and fiction. De Lillo plays on the fact that there is still so much we don't know about Lee and the Kennedy Assassination. I think one of the most striking things was to watch the footage and news reporting after reading the book. It gives you a whole different perspective because we had some sort of inner thoughts on Lee's part and everyone else involved. In the beginning of his story, Lee is just a kid living under unfortunate circumstances getting into some small trouble. We then see him grow into the fate he endured through the book and in real life.

 But one interesting aspect is the parallel from the beginning to the end of the book that we see with Lee's mom. One things for sure, Lee's mother isn't a constant in the book. Her presence and words throughout the court cases and in the book may annoy people at times, but her story is interesting. In the beginning of the book, she is defending Lee in court saying what a good little boy he is. She talks of how much she loves and cares for him even though life is hard. All she wants is for them not to take away her little boy. At the very end of the book, we see the same thing occurring. Lee's mother is speaking on the stand of all the memories she had of him as a child up to the present. She tells them what a good little boy he was and again how he grew up in unfortunate circumstances. Only this time, her little boy was taken away from her. Perhaps, in part because of what he did, but also because he was shot and killed. 

The most striking thing about Lee's mother at the end are the questions she raises as a result of her grief and rambling. She does not hesitate to ask the tough questions. The question if Lee was being controlled by somebody, what happened in Russia, because Lee has changed she says. Her inquiries were put aside in the final ruling of the case, in the context of the book he was, but in real life he was deemed not to. But one can't help but think was Lee Oswald part of something bigger? 

Comments

  1. ZainabMay 28, 2022 at 3:11 PM

    DeLilo's incorporation of additional details that fit the footage and images we've seen in class regarding Lee Harvey Oswald was really fascinating. In that regard, his writing was really similar to that of E.L. Doctorow's. Lee's mother in court in both the beginning and ending depicts change Lee undergoes from child to adult, while also highlighting her feelings that he was always her innocent boy. She strives to clear his name and even creates theories about what truly happened, perhaps popularizing the conspiracies surrounding this case.

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  2. JanakiMay 31, 2022 at 12:27 PM

    Lee's mother fascinates me as well, mostly because it feels like while everyone, especially Lee, changed over the course of the novel, she stayed constant but the way people perceived her changed. I feel like Lee starts dismissing her as he grows up as a shrill, nosy woman but Marguerite too has her own philosophy and outlook on life, part of why she decides to write her own book. This is postmodernist of her as well, because she has her own theories about Lee, something that generations to come would do about her son as well. Nice post!

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