(Libra) Parallels Between Lee Harvey Oswald and Manuel Rocha

Parallels Between Lee Harvey Oswald and Manuel Rocha

        Delillo's Libra focuses on Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's infamous assassin and an intelligent idiot vying for notoriety. Similarly, the New York Times and other news corporations are concentrating on the life of U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha, a Cuban spy since the rule of Fidel Castro and Lee's potential brother in notorious idiocy. Let's explore these bewildering men and draw parallels between their seemingly dissimilar identities.

        Lee H. Oswald and Manuel Rocha hold many similar personal traits. In Libra, Lee always yearned to become a historically significant and notorious individual who would appear in middle-school textbooks across the world. In jail after being caught by the Dallas PD, Lee constantly contemplates choices to enhance his notoriety for allegedly (not actually according to Delillo) assassinating JFK: Lee believes he could either snitch on Mackey, Raymo, and Frank for manipulating him, or he could take all the blame/credit as the lone gunman. Either way, Lee would be involved in the severe assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and would likely be sentenced to death or lifelong incarceration (not a favorable situation for Lee), but the dumb intellectual only cares about branding his name into history. Similarly, Manuel Rocha desired acknowledgment for his decades of dedicated undercover espionage for the Cuban Directorate of Intelligence. In 3 meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative from the Directorate, Manuel unwaveringly narrated the entire story of his 4-decade career as an undercover operative, not once stopping to think why a representative of the Directorate would listen to him when the Directorate already has records of all his affairs. Although his extensive espionage for the Directorate proves his high intellect, Manuel's gullible dumbness ultimately exposes the spy and leaves him no excuses to escape criminal punishment. Both Manuel and Lee desire acknowledgment from others but place themselves in the worst situations only to obtain recognition that will harm them in the long run. While their intellect aids them in committing illicit deeds and gaining historical significance, their routine idiocy thrusts them into the worst possible situations, preventing them from enjoying their newfound infamy.

        Although Lee and Manuel carry similar character traits, the two intelligent idiots differ in their opinions concerning loyalty. Seeking a place to belong while gathering the hatred of the rest of the world, Lee interacts with a mix of right-wing and left-wing extremists and unconsciously situates himself as "the Libran" who is perfectly balanced yet could be shifted in any direction if given enough pressure. Lee's wandering/turncoat nature, his large commitment yet quick abandonment of countries and movements, causes others to view him as untrustworthy yet easily manipulatable, positioning him as the background character in every plot and making his desire for worldwide acknowledgment and notoriety unattainable. In contrast, Manuel remained a loyal spy for the Cuban Directorate of Intelligence for over 4 decades. In his unintentional confession to the undercover FBI agent, Manuel responded angrily when the agent questioned him on his present loyalty to Cuba, stating, "It's like you're questioning my manhood." Unlike Lee, Manuel found his home with the Cuban cause, dedicating over 40 years of his life to illicit foreign espionage as the "great friend" of the Directorate. While Lee became an untrustworthy defector and destined background character, Manuel became a dedicated covert operative, handling highly confidential information and operations across Latin America. Maybe Delillo really wanted to grow Lee into this character who could only be manipulated as a scapegoat or completely excluded from the plot as a liability.

- Max Bolton