Echoes of Younger Brother in Lee Harvey Oswald

So, being the hyper-race-focused social justice warrior that I am, I took note of the few characters of color that appear in the novel. Not to take note of how many there were but rather to analyze what role they might play and therefore how DeLillo (or Oswald) might view the issue of race in the context of Oswald's broader arc towards becoming Kennedy's (supposed) assassin. (Also, I'm specifically looking at Lee's arc since I want to see what race reveals about him as a character.)

It seems relevant to the time period to discuss questions of race. The Civil Rights Movement was just picking up steam, we had troops stationed in various Asian countries creating xenophobic tensions, and, as Libra discusses, we're not exactly on the best terms with Cuba. Not to mention that Kennedy was seen by many to be a champion of civil rights, integration, and racial equality (though we can debate to what extent that was actually true.)

The first time we see any mention of race in Lee's half of the book is when he's bullied for sitting with the black people in the back of the bus. However, before you get any ideas about Oswald's noble intentions, DeLillo makes sure to note that it's not clear whether Oswald did it out of principle or ignorance    Already that gives an odd feeling to the reader. If he had done it out of principle, we would likely respect and admire that, and perceive it as a quality befitting of a budding revolutionary like the one he fancies himself to be. If he had done it out of ignorance, one might merely chuckle at how he stumbled onto a social issue. But the real cause, just wanting to piss people off? That's stupid. Irritatingly stupid. He simply uses the nearest and most convenient situation to advance his narrative as a Real Edgy Boy, paying no mind to the black people as people, specifically people subject to an inhumane system.

Oswald's next interaction with a person of color isn't until his adventures in Japan, where he comes across Konno. I'm not gonna lie, the depiction of Konno made me somewhat uncomfortable. Some parts were charming and nice, seeing Oswald having a friend that he can talk to communism about and feel comfortable with. But Konno plays an age-old classic among older Asian men in Western literature: The Mr. Miyagi, the sage, beard-stroking, fascinating Asian man meant to educate our coming-of-age Western protagonist on the ways of his exotic Oriental world so that the protagonist might discover himself. Not a person in his own right, Konno is instead reduced to his usefulness to Oswald. Again, we see a person of color being used as a mere vehicle for Oswald's ultimate "more important" character arc, with little of his own personality. Oswald even says that he never actually feels like he's talking to a person when he's talking to Konno, that Konno just acts as something he can feed all his thoughts into.

(Also supplementing this dehumanization of Konno is the weird exoticization and sexualization of East Asianness, as some sort of freaky universe to go wild in for a night or two, as if the people in it are utterly alien.)

Oswald's next interaction with a person of color (and his first antagonistic one) is his fight with Rodriguez. (It should be noted that it's not explicitly stated that Rodriguez isn't white, but for my purposes, I'm gonna assume he is.) Like the black people on the bus and Konno before him, Rodriguez acts as a plot vehicle, the only distinction being that this time he's working against Oswald instead of for him.  Oswald sees Rodriguez as a symbolic villain, a way to advance his cause for his "rights" despite the extremely petty nature of the argument he instigates.

The first time Oswald encounters a person of color that isn't a plot vehicle is his cellmate Bobby Dupard in the brig. He expects Dupard to function much in the same way as Konno, even saying that he wishes "for an experienced perspective, for the knowledge of some grizzled figure with kind and tired eyes, a counselor, wise to the game." Again, he wishes for a person of color to guide him and advance his own narrative arc. But Dupard, who is justifiably mostly concerned with his own survival, lacks the capability to give a shit about Oswald. And so Oswald, who has come to expect Dumbledorean figures out of men of color, isn't sure what to make of Dupard. The first person of color that works for themselves instead of for Oswald confuses Oswald since he's so used to having them serve his arc.

All of this is reminiscent of Younger Brother from Doctorow's Ragtime, who I would argue similarly saw people like Coalhouse, Emma Goldman, Evelyn, and Mexican revolutionaries as mere narrative vehicles for his story, completely disposing of their humanity.  And it makes sense that Oswald's narrative would parallel Younger Brother's. One of our major complaints about Younger Brother (or one of mine anyway) was that he never really gave a shit about the causes he participates in, he just wants to belong to something bigger than himself. Someone focused only on belonging will ultimately care little for the struggles of the people he claims to fight for as a communist, only temporarily allying with them so that he can "grow" as a person.