One of the main things I've taken from Libra is that there is a legitimate reason for those that are obsessed to be obsessed with the assassination of JFK. The shooting presents a legitimate conspiracy that I had not known much about prior to reading the book. All I'd ever heard of was that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK and that was it. I felt pretty naive when just about everyone knew there was something missing to the case. I liked the idea of writing about the conspiracy from what DeLillo envisioned led to Lee shooting JFK. Conspiracy is always a popular topic to discuss (the one I find most interesting is the Illuminati) and the assassination of JFK provides much discussion. After reading Libra and listening to all of the discussion about the shooting, I am pretty convinced that there is something missing to the story.
I really liked Libra mainly due to the conspiracy part. Hearing everybody's opinions, watching the Zapruder film, reading DeLillo's depiction of the events, and everything else interested me in all of the possible scenarios that could have taken place on that fateful day. The oddest explanation for the shooting was that the driver shot JFK. Well, how would nobody see that or realize it was him? It makes no sense but I guess until we find out what really happened, which I personally doubt will ever happen, no one will ever know for sure. The mystery is what appeals to me and what keeps many of those JFK junkies memorizing and studying frames and coming up with their own theories.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Reaction To The Zapruder Film
While watching the loop of JFK's assassination, I felt like the room got increasingly uncomfortable with the film. There was something about the silence in the room as everyone watched the film that seemed eerie. Everyone expected the shot every single loop and knew exactly when it would happen.
This was actually my first time ever seeing footage of the assassination of JFK. I'd never looked it up before nor been showed it by a teacher or friend. I found it pretty graphic for a cheaply taken film, you could see parts of JFK's head and brain flying around after he had been shot. Watching Kennedy's head get blown open over and over with the film zooming in more and more was very uncomfortable to watch. I don't understand why JFK junkies would want to watch the film over and over to dissect it. I could feel the people around me get uncomfortable with the film as well. They knew what was coming as the vehicle came over the hill and nothing could change it.
I understand the controversy over the shooting of JFK as it did seem like the bullet was coming from a different angle than it should. I even read comments on the video that said the shot might've even came from the car itself, but that's highly doubtful. Overall, I just thought the video being looped over and over was uncomfortable and unnecessary.
This was actually my first time ever seeing footage of the assassination of JFK. I'd never looked it up before nor been showed it by a teacher or friend. I found it pretty graphic for a cheaply taken film, you could see parts of JFK's head and brain flying around after he had been shot. Watching Kennedy's head get blown open over and over with the film zooming in more and more was very uncomfortable to watch. I don't understand why JFK junkies would want to watch the film over and over to dissect it. I could feel the people around me get uncomfortable with the film as well. They knew what was coming as the vehicle came over the hill and nothing could change it.
I understand the controversy over the shooting of JFK as it did seem like the bullet was coming from a different angle than it should. I even read comments on the video that said the shot might've even came from the car itself, but that's highly doubtful. Overall, I just thought the video being looped over and over was uncomfortable and unnecessary.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Lee Harvey Oswald As A Character
Prior to reading Libra, I knew that Lee Harvey Oswald was a very controversial and polarizing character in American history. I was curious as to how DeLillo would portray Oswald in his book, if he would be seen as a mad man who was destined to commit a heinous crime or if Oswald's portrayal would be humane and unbiased.
In Libra, Oswald,is treated quite fairly. He is not portrayed sympathetically, nor is he portrayed harshly in the novel. He's still a very polarizing character as one would expect and it's hard to attach to him as a character. He does many things that makes the reader uncomfortable with him. He loves his wife, yet beats her and mistreats her. He is an intelligent person but his over the top communist political views keep him from fitting into American society. He also seems to be easily manipulated by others. I think coming into reading Libra, many readers might have their own personal bias against Oswald. After all, he is associated with probably the most famous crime of the 20th century.
Overall, it's very hard to sympathize or relate to Oswald as a character. He doesn't do anything to make him seem like a likeable person in the book, yet I feel like DeLillo's portrayal of him was exactly the type of person that he was in real life. DeLillo didn't sugarcoat anything while writing Oswald's story and he kept it real.
In Libra, Oswald,is treated quite fairly. He is not portrayed sympathetically, nor is he portrayed harshly in the novel. He's still a very polarizing character as one would expect and it's hard to attach to him as a character. He does many things that makes the reader uncomfortable with him. He loves his wife, yet beats her and mistreats her. He is an intelligent person but his over the top communist political views keep him from fitting into American society. He also seems to be easily manipulated by others. I think coming into reading Libra, many readers might have their own personal bias against Oswald. After all, he is associated with probably the most famous crime of the 20th century.
Overall, it's very hard to sympathize or relate to Oswald as a character. He doesn't do anything to make him seem like a likeable person in the book, yet I feel like DeLillo's portrayal of him was exactly the type of person that he was in real life. DeLillo didn't sugarcoat anything while writing Oswald's story and he kept it real.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thoughts On The Short Story Project
I'm just gonna say it: the short story project may have been the most enjoyable assignment I've ever done for an English class, maybe in any class. The project gave us free reign to write about whatever we wanted and it was very fun to just type out your thoughts as they came to you rather than having to research something or following a laid out criteria.
At first, I dreaded the idea of another project. After all, being a second semester senior with only a couple weeks left before you graduate you don't want to do any work whatsoever. But when I finally sat down and wrote, I found it very enjoyable. There's nothing better for a school assignment than being able to just write without having to worry about any restrictions.
My one regret is not starting on my story sooner. When I finished I felt like it was missing something which a couple more days of writing could've fixed. Had I known how enjoyable this assignment actually was earlier, I would've anything to perfect my story.
Overall, I loved this assignment and it was a great way to end the semester. What I thought would just be another project that I'd have to get out of the way to graduate ended up being a very enjoyable experience. I definitely think Mr. Mitchell should continue to assign these sort of projects in the future. The assignment was not only beneficial to me as a writer but allowed me to explore my creativity.
At first, I dreaded the idea of another project. After all, being a second semester senior with only a couple weeks left before you graduate you don't want to do any work whatsoever. But when I finally sat down and wrote, I found it very enjoyable. There's nothing better for a school assignment than being able to just write without having to worry about any restrictions.
My one regret is not starting on my story sooner. When I finished I felt like it was missing something which a couple more days of writing could've fixed. Had I known how enjoyable this assignment actually was earlier, I would've anything to perfect my story.
Overall, I loved this assignment and it was a great way to end the semester. What I thought would just be another project that I'd have to get out of the way to graduate ended up being a very enjoyable experience. I definitely think Mr. Mitchell should continue to assign these sort of projects in the future. The assignment was not only beneficial to me as a writer but allowed me to explore my creativity.
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