The End: Final Reflections on Libra

Just a few days ago in class, Mr. Mitchell showed us the Zapruder Film, a silent, color home-movie shot by Abraham Zapruder depicting the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Back when we watched the documentary on the assassination in history class, I went on a brief spree, looking up some information regarding the assassination, and of course I stumbled upon the Zapruder Film. I didn’t know that’s what it was called at the time, I actually watched a slightly edited version that was panoramic, stabilized, and was pieced together using multiple videos of the assassination, ultimately giving the viewer a better understanding of the surroundings at the time of the shootings (Here’s the link if you’re wondering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqk3sdfXFkc). Despite my previous viewing of the assassination, it was still quite a bit jarring how violent the video was. Anyways, after watching both the video and reading 22 November, the chapter that aligns with the events depicted in the video, I appreciate more how DeLillo manages to craft the story. He plays with the timing of the shots, which shots hit and which missed, and he even builds upon the supposed fact that the third shot was louder by suggesting that the reason behind it is that the “third shot” was actually two shots being fired near simultaneously. The whole scene was set up very well and I could see everything from the video being played out in my mind.

Angela mentioned in her post that she thought the book to be more emotionally provoking than the video, and while I agree with that to some degree, the book also shows Lee to be very mechanical. The video is a silent, short film; very little can be taken from it emotionally. I mean you can see Jackie’s shock after the fatal shot as she crawls onto the back of the car but besides that, it’s rather emotionless. On the other hand, the book does introduce multiple character’s thoughts on the events unfolding, and I think that alone brings upon more emotion than a simple video like the Zapruder Film can. However, the book also shows Lee in a very robotic state prior to shooting; he is very focused and “soldier” like. At this stage, his mental state seems to be cleared, however that changes quickly as he realizes he is not the lone gunman.

Libra, the last english book of my last english class at Uni has come to an end. Overall it was an enjoyable read, although quite long and complex, especially compared to Kindred. However, the complexity of the narrative made it all the more intriguing to me. Personally, I think Libra is an incredibly well developed conspiracy plot and the web of character connections and use of parallel narratives make it seem very real.

The Kennedy Assasination and First Impressions of Libra

I’d never known too much about the Kennedy Assassination before watching the documentary “JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America” in history class. I was quite intrigued by the documentary and it prompted me to look further into the details surrounding the assassination, which in turn led me to the wide array of conspiracy theories people have come up with over the years. I enjoy conspiracy theories quite a bit and I think part of the reason I, and many people, are attracted to conspiracies is the feeling of being a part of a select group that knows more than the rest. However, as with all conspiracies, there must be some reason it is recognized as a theory rather than the truth. This is usually the result of a lack of cold, hard facts.

I am really enjoying Libra so far. Libra, while not being purely factual, does an excellent job of tying in many small details to the narrative to give it a sense of realism. For example, DeLillo subtly ties the name “Hidell” into the story which is known to be the the name under which Oswald ordered the rifle that he used to assassinate Kennedy. There are many more situations where DeLillo manages to incorporate obscure facts into the story and while the reader may not know that by simply looking through, if you take a step back and look up the details that DeLillo mentions, it makes the story and theory all the more compelling. Furthermore, the depth at which DeLillo presents his characters provides an additional level of outlandish reality that a reader may interpret as too specific to be fake. In addition to this, DeLillo introduces an interesting perspective on the story with a dual narrative approach, one focused on the Oswald himself, and the other focused on the greater development of the ruse by government officials. Of course, the narrative must involve Oswald as he was the one that actually did the killing, but by utilizing the second narrative to give greater context to the assassination, DeLillo makes it seem more reasonable; a planned out act rather than some lunatic lone gunman that somehow assassinated the President of the United States.

All together, I think that DeLillo has provided a compelling start to the narrative of the conspiracy theory. However, we have only just began to delve into Libra and as conspiracy theories unravel, it is oftentimes the case that the holes in the story become ever more common and evident as the lack of factual backing to the narrative shows itself. I am looking forward to seeing whether or not DeLillo's narrative style continues to provide a compelling story.

Dana and Rufus

So far, Kindred has been an enjoyable read and one of the easier books this semester in terms of narrative and writing style. The plot is driven by the time travel of Dana and it’s interesting how this plot dynamic effects Rufus’ character development and his relationship with Dana. One important point that was mentioned during class discussion is the fact that the time Dana spends with Rufus is really quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things. She hops in and out of Rufus’ life, staying in the time period for a short duration, then leaving, returning years later. While she does seem like some sort of fairy godmother or protective angel watching over him and popping in to save his life, her attempts to shape Rufus into a person who respects slaves is extremely difficult given the time period he was born and raised in. While Dana is away, it is clear that Tom Weylin has a great influence on Rufus’ development. As he is his father, it would be expected that Rufus looks up to him. In “The Fight”, Rufus expresses that he believes his father to be a fair man and, surprisingly, Dana actually agrees to a certain degree as she says that Tom Weylin was ”Just an ordinary man who sometimes did the monstrous things his society said were legal and proper”. Given that even Dana considers Tom Weylin to be somewhat fair, it can be assumed that Rufus may face even worse influences outside of the Weylin estate. When considering this fact, it is not hard to believe that Rufus might slip towards the white-supremacist mentality while Dana is gone.

Now, the question is, was Dana naive in trusting her relationship with Rufus? I think she was. One thing to note here is Dana’s perspective when traveling in time. While she may only spend a number of days in the present before returning to Rufus, a much larger amount of time has passed in Rufus’ world. I feel as if Dana does not properly recognize this discrepancy in passing of time and thus, in her mind, she thinks of the time she has had with Rufus with greater significance than Rufus may have.

While it is clear that both Rufus and Dana care for each other to some degree, their views of their relationship clearly are not mutual. Dana appears to have developed maternal feelings for Rufus while to Rufus, Dana is still a black skinned girl and as a white man, he thinks he has to the right to say that she literally cannot leave him at gunpoint. In the end, I do not blame Rufus for how he has acted. It’s impossible to imagine how growing up in white-supremacist environment would shape you and I believe that he is simply a product of his environment.

Free Will and Fate in Slaughterhouse Five

In Slaughterhouse Five, the theme of free will, or rather lack thereof, is commonly brought up. Vonnegut jumps upon this idea very quickly as he speaks of the inevitability of death in Chapter 1.

In his conversation with Harrison Starr, it is said:

“Is it an anti-war book?”

            “Yes,” I said. “I guess.”

            “You know what I say to people when I hear they’re writing anti-war books?”

            “No. What do you say, Harrison Starr?”

            “I say, ‘Why don’t you write an anti-glacier book instead?’ ” (4)

In the conversation, Harrison Starr compares war to a glacier, a huge body of dense ice, constantly inching forward under it’s own weight. He suggests that war is inevitable and unstoppable and that despite the supposed notion of free will, there is nothing anyone can do in preventing wars from taking place. Vonnegut goes on to say, “And even if wars didn’t keep coming like glaciers, there would still be plain old death,”(4) building upon his point that war, or rather the most important consequence of war, death, is ever present.

Later in the novel, Vonnegut further explores the concept of fate through Billy’s experiences with the Tralfamadorians. These little green men see time a little differently than we humans. While we think of time as linear, the Tralfamadorians ability to see the fourth dimension allows them to view different moments of an object at the same time. Billy explains that, “When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that same person is just fine in plenty of other moments." (34). This description suggests time is not linear but rather it is cyclic; every moment has happened, is happening, and will happen. Billy affirms this by saying, “All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist.” (34). The idea that the future has already happened suggest the notion of fate, and the inability to change our destiny. In support of this, Vonnegut states, “Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future.” (77). Furthermore, the Tralfamadorians also say:

“If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings, I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by ‘free will.’ I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will.” (109)

Now the question is, is time is really as the Tralfamadorians describe it? In reality there is no way to tell. One might argue that as a human, we have the conscientious mind to decide what we will do at a given moment; we can even change what we do whenever we choose to. However, it can be argued that a mere human's feeble attempt at playing fate may have been predestined in the first place. Can’t it be possible that you were destined at that moment to attempt to play fate, by “consciously” changing your mind. Exactly, there’s no way for us to tell whether or not we truly have free will and it’s a little bit scary thinking of it. There’s literally nothing you can do to change your life, what was, is, and always will be. 

Time Controlling Aliens (First Impressions of Slaughterhouse Five)

The structure of the first chapter can be categorized under the title of a “frame narrative”. A frame narrative can be described as “a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story”. Vonnegut employs this technique by writing in a first person, although he refers to himself as Yon Yonson, and walks the reader through the process of writing the secondary story which is the focus of the novel (chapter 2 onwards).  This dynamic is made evident at the end of chapter 1 where Vonnegut writes:

“I’ve finished my war book now . . . It begins like this:

             Listen:

                        Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time. “

On the next page, Vonnegut begins chapter 2 with the same lines, indicating that the rest of the novel is the war book that he was referring to initially.

While chapter 1 may not be a part of the core storyline, it does emphasize the theme of time that that may suggest possible foreshadowing by Vonnegut. When the narrator and the two girls cross the Delaware River, the dynamic of reflecting on the passing of time is introduced. Vonnegut states:

“We went to the New York World's Fair, saw with the past had been like, according to the Ford Motor Car Company and Walt Disney, saw what the future would be like, according to General Motors.

And I asked myself about the president: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep. “

Not only does the narrator recognize the past and future, it is suggested that time itself may be a physical concept, one that has width, and depth, one that can be manipulated. Manipulation of time is further explored as the narrator is stuck in a hotel. It is described:

“The time would not pass. Somebody was playing with the clocks, and not only with the electric clocks, but the wind-up kind too. The second hand on my watch what which ones, and the year would pass, and then we switch again. There's nothing I could do about it. As an earthling, I had to believe whatever clocks said — and calendars.

The narrator suggests a lack of control here as he says, “There’s nothing I could do about it”. It’s also stated that somebody was messing with all of the clocks indicating a possible entity that’s responsible for manipulation of time. This is further supported as he refers to himself as an “earthling” implying there are non-earthlings (time controlling aliens?).  With the end of chapter 1 and beginning of chapter 2, Vonnegut once again refers to time as he says “Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time”. While it is not clear how time will affect the plot of the novel (time controlling aliens might be a bit of a reach), it can be inferred from the first chapter that the manipulation of time will be a greater theme in the development of the book.

First impressions of Mumbo Jumbo

When I first started reading Mumbo Jumbo I immediately thought “What the hell is going on”. The novel starts out rather jarringly with strange, made up words, common grammatical errors, and seemingly random illustrations that don’t relate to the text in which it is placed next to. All this combines to confuse the reader upon first laying eyes on the text.

In addition, Ishmael Reed introduces a rare (in the context of novels) but not unfairly structure in the “opening scene” by placing the title page, publishing information, etc. in between the first and second chapters. We discussed this in class and it gives the book an almost cinematic feel yet there seems to be a few distinct differences that make it more appropriate in films than in books. For one, while watching a film in a theatre setting, the viewer is forced to sit through the credits regardless and if one were to watch it in a home with access to fast forward, the initial scene may catch the viewer's attention enough to start watching at which point the viewer may be too cozy to be bothered to reach for the remote in order to skip the couple minutes of credits. Meanwhile, who reads the title page in a book? No one. And even with the structure of Mumbo Jumbo I’d assume readers would simply skip past it as usual. In fact, it is so uncommon for chapter one to be before the title page that it may lead the reader to not realize the existence of chapter one all together. It was brought up that part of the reason the title page, etc. are always placed before the start of the book is because it is the way things have been done forever. It’s true that traditionally this has been the case but it appears to me that this placement/order occurred due to increased intuitiveness for the reader.

While recovering from my initial shock, I, as a result of discussions, started to notice a deeper meaning apart from the seemingly nonsensical narrative on the surface. It was brought up that Jes Grew, a made up “anti-plague”, sounds very similar to “just grew” and may refer to the spread of jazz (also supported by the fact that Jes Grew originated from New Orleans) which some may have viewed in a similar way one would view a plague. The book even references an earlier occurrence of Jes Grew which happens to occur in the same era as that of ragtime, leading to further evidence that Jes Grew is hinting at the spread of genres of music with origins in African-American culture. While on the surface the book seemed ridiculous, as I read through more of it and got past the initial shock, it’s starting to make more sense to me. Poking around online, I found that Harold Bloom, a literary critic and professor at Yale University, stated that the novel was one of the 500 most important books in the Western canon (“The Western canon is the body of books and, more broadly, music and art that Western scholars generally accept as the most important and influential in shaping Western culture”). I think it’ll be interesting to see why Bloom puts Mumbo Jumbo up on a pedestal.

Impressions of Ragtime

As the first book in History as Fiction, Ragtime has been an enjoyable read. One aspect of Doctorow’s writing that I found particularly interesting is his seemingly complete control over the story. One theme that pops up time and time again in Ragtime is that of complete coincidence. Doctorow presents these remarkable concurrence of events in such a matter-of-fact way that, as a reader, we’ve almost become desensitized to it.

Doctorow shows his control early in the story when the little boy has a surprise encounter with Harry Houdini. Doctorow begins by explaining the little boy’s interest in Houdini, followed by a description of the types of shenanigans Houdini gets himself into. As I was reading this part I felt as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It’s quite normal for a young boy to be interested in Houdini’s seemingly magical escapes. However, what happened next was quite a surprise. Of course, just as the little boy was thinking about Houdini Doctorow manages to bring him into the story. For some reason Houdini’s car is coming up the same street that the little boy is on and by some supernatural force, the car swerves and crashes right next to the house. As the boy describes the car, he says “It had brass head-lamps in front of the radiator and brass side lamps over the fenders. It had tufted upholstery and double side entrances. It did not appear to be damaged.” By some miracle, the car is aesthetically flawless but unable to continue, thus Houdini must stop at the house and interact with the little boy and his family. At the end of the chapter, as Houdini is leaving, the boy yells something seemingly nonsensical: “Warn the Duke, the little boy said. Then he ran off.” As I read the story, I felt suspicious that the boy’s words would relate to something later in the story and of course, Houdini meets the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in chapter 13.

Doctorow seems to have a playful approach in blending history and fiction. He takes historical figures such as Houdini and the Archduke and puts them in ridiculous and sometimes coincidental, yet still possible, situations. It’s completely possible for Houdini to have been driving through Westchester looking to buy property, and it’s just as possible that he meets the Archduke. Despite this, you can’t help but think it’s fake and yet it’s quite hard to disprove. He breaks no obvious rules of the world. As we discussed in class history does not cover everything that has ever happened in the world and Doctorow seems to play on this by presenting small details that history glances over.