Libra - History or Fiction?
Libra by Don Delillo explores the line between history and fiction in a unique way. By filling in the gaps of what is known about the Kennedy assassination, Delillo takes creative liberties, but also exemplifies a process many historians take. After all, history is simply collecting facts and drawing conclusions about them, which is not far off from what Delillo does.
First, it’s important to acknowledge the truly divisive nature of the events depicted in Libra. Not only does it involve the murder of multiple people, but also the justification of it, and the involvement of the U.S. government. President John F. Kennedy’s assassination is one of the more controversial events of U.S. history. It’s the origin of great distrust in the government, leading many people to no longer take government statements at face value. The implications of this are huge - large scale investigations, conspiracies, politics, and more. The fact that one explanation hasn’t been settled on to this day is still uncomfortable to many Americans.
Delillo really takes this mystery and runs with it, but I would argue that what he does isn’t all that crazy. When reading Libra, it’s easy to forget that the story being presented to you isn’t the decided truth, and even that some of the characters are entirely a product of Delillo’s mind. However, this isn’t all that different from what historians do. Analyzing the childhood of Oswald to see what may have led him to his actions is something a historian would definitely do. Filling in the gaps with people and plans that align with the evidence given is sometimes the best a historian can do when there isn’t solid evidence pointing to one answer or another. When you think about it, there’s not that much that separates Delillo from a history book author. If we weren’t aware of the conspiracies surrounding JFK’s death, we might just take his explanation as the truth ourselves.
Overall, Libra shows how truly blurry the line between history and fiction can be. We can never be sure of what exactly happened in the past, and everyone will have a different story and perspective. However, trying to draw conclusions from a variety of these points of view can make for a very interesting analysis of history.
Hi Violet, you did a really good job of arguing that Libra is about as valid as any "real history" of JFK's assassination. Because there is no official narrative behind the assassination (aside from the Warren Commission's findings, which we can't say is the "real" history), why would this not be just as valid, except for a few made-up characters and events? The core plot of this book is plausible, and essentially this is an example of postmodernism, as even though the book itself presents it's own theory behind the assassination, things like Alpha 66 and the chaos of the plot suggest that there are still countless possibilities as to the details of the assassination. Overall, nice post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that Libra brilliantly blurs the lines between history and fiction. Do you think if we could have had a decided story, the public would be more at ease? Even if it was some major conspiracy, or even if the lone gunman argument became somehow proven now, do you think trust would be restored?
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, the pervasive and likely permanent uncertainty surrounding the JFK assassination is partly what makes it so appealing to so many history buffs and conspiracy hobbyists: one some level, I think we WANT to embrace this paranoid picture of American government, or to see ourselves as something other than "dupes of history" by being attuned to the "real story" under the surface. There's something oddly "disappointing" about the idea of Oswald as a lone gunman, just a meaningless act by a lonely and confused individual looking for attention. We don't want an event like this to come down to something so stupid and pointless, and on some level we want to believe there's so much more to the picture.
ReplyDeleteHi Violet!! I really like how you compared Delillo to a historian, because it really shows how faint the line is between history and fiction. The way he structured the book, with photographs and real quotes from Oswald, also adds to that comparison. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHello Violet!!!!!! I agree that Delillo is sort of like a historian. He does an amazing job at blurring the lines between History and Fiction, so much so that you forget what actually happened. The real quotes really tie in the mystery of what is reality and what is fiction.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Violet!!!!!
Hello! This is interesting how it blurs history and fiction which again hows how the uncertaintly in interpreting the assassination and how it fills the hollow spaces that where we don’t really know what happened. This was really interesting to read!
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