We have quite a bit of time in the last few days of class discussing Lee’s characterization in the book. He is a really interesting character with some odd tendencies. His action often contradict each other in a way that makes you question them. For example, why would he join the US Marines if he was convinced that Marxism was the correct government for the world to operate under? His circumstances and situation are so unusual that he throws any conventional narrative out the window. There isn’t a clear agenda or plan behind everything he does in this time period, and he seems to just be making decisions in the moment. It doesn't help that he seems to have a hard time making friends and doesn’t really seem to fit in with any community. He seems out of place in New York, but later on when he moves to New Orleans, he still feels ostracized. This leads him to turn towards Russia and communism, but even there, while he doesn’t fit with the Marines, he doesn’t quite fit in with the Russian side either. He seems to be caught in the middle without a clear place in society.
Clearly, he is a character who does things that are sometimes inexplicable, and he is a perfect candidate to be the face for the assassination. It would be believable to the public that someone like Lee could attempt an assassination given his history and personality. He almost seems built for the role, as he seems to enjoy the fact that he is a staunch communist living in America. It gives him a sense of satisfaction to go against the public opinion and break convention just because he can. We see this side of Lee all the time as he seems to constantly needle people and instigate them. No matter where he goes, it seems like he takes pleasure in angering others with his comments. This characteristic in particular leads to a character who seems lost in the world, and it makes him a perfect target for the conspirators.
There is no doubt that his character is a very unique one so far in the book. He isn't easily explainable, we don't feel sympathy for him, and yet he doesn't seem like an inherently bad person. He has the tendency to get into arguments and fights and takes pleasure in it. Some of his actions just don't seem to make sense, he does things regardless of the consequences and without thinking about if he really wants to do them just in order to create arguments. It's almost like he started reading communist ideology in order to stand out from the everyday American. He seems like he lacks an identity, and that he desires an identity, no matter what he is known for. So far, Lee seems like a person who wants to be remembered, whatever it takes.
You really nail the core of Lee's enigmatic character here: it seems suited to support both the "lone gunman" *and* the "patsy" storylines, as well as (perhaps) the version where he is knowingly in on a plot. These contradictions and ambiguities really do make him the perfect figure to linger at the center of all these speculative narratives--and yet, he makes it so that no single narrative seems to be obviously the truth.
ReplyDeleteLee is definitely admirable in the sense that he seems to believe strongly in his convictions of communism, etc... Although at the same time he's like the snotty kid at the playground that goes around taunting people, and eventually ends up getting punched in the face. Lee can be sympathetic at times, but at the same time readers can hate him. The book clearly sets him up as the man who will eventually shoot JFK. I can see why Oswald was picked up by the CIA as their scapegoat.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I honestly wouldn't say he's entirely unsympathetic. Of course, there are plenty of things to dislike about him, but I really do have pity for him, especially in the angsty-teenage parts. Like I mentioned in class, this sort of misfit-longer-outcast has a lot of stereotypical negative connotations, but I do have a lot of positive sentimental associations with characters like this (I was reminded of Harold from Harold and Maude, or the main character from Joy Williams' short story "Dimmer"). Then again, maybe it just makes me sound like an angsty teenager too, but I can definitely relate to a character like Lee, a person struggling to find some kind of niche in the world.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Elissa, Lee seems to me to be, on the whole, fairly sympathetic. Just seeing him being tossed around from place to place, country to country, wanting to be accepted and yet cared for by almost no one is sad to see. You mentioned this, but I think Lee's sole goal to be respected, to be remembered ("to be loved," as we phrased it in class). When young Lee tries to accomplish this goal by fervently reading "Das Kapital," it's admirable, but ultimately, he won't get respect from simply having Marxist ideas. Through DeLillo's story, the reader slowly comes to accept that, perhaps for a character such as Lee who so craves attention, in order to feel important, he will have to do something terrible.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Lee does come across as this person who's just all over the place and doesn't really know what he's doing. However, as we get closer to the end of the novel, and we've uncovered the fact that his main motivation is that he wants to be remembered and someone who accomplished something (whether it's positively received or not), his contradictions definitely make more sense. Like you already mentioned, he needs to be a confusing person, and a confused person--who else would actually be capable of pulling off an assassination? It makes me think of his iconic half-smile; something about Lee that either says "I know exactly what I'm doing," or "I have no idea what I'm doing, but you won't know that."
ReplyDeleteAnd in this sense, is Lee not a success?
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