Lee a Libra

Here's my response to the following in-class prompt: What do you think about the title of the novel, Libra, and does Lee seem like a Libra?

I think the title of the novel is very apt; it is, after all, a book that focuses on the realm of possibility where things unforeseen or unplanned may happen. The whole idea of the conspiracy is that it's supposed to be well-mapped out, but we don't know yet how well it's going to work out. And the reason we don't know largely lies within one character: Lee. He has the power to decide what happens, as he's a gunman. The question then becomes which side of Lee--and there are two distinct sides--will win out when November 22nd rolls around. Lee can be careful and calculating, as we see when he has all of his information forged without being told to do so. He can be, "well-balanced, levelheaded a sensible fellow respected by all." On the other hand, he can be impulsive (for exampled, when he shoots himself in the arm). The fact that Lee has a lot of qualities that are paradoxical is really crucial to the whole idea of history as comprised of "lone facts." Facts can't paint a complete picture of an event; they're lonely because people are unpredictable to the core.