In reading the chapter 22 November, I realized that what stood out to me most was the way the crowd is described by DeLillo. It is as if all of Dallas is one organism, awaiting the visit of it's president. Every description gives the feeling of the collective group, all feeling the same, all acting the same, all equally ecstatic that Kennedy has come to visit.
Big D rising out of caution and suspicion to produce the roar of a sand column twisting.
-Libra, pg 393
Dallas as one, as a large beast. Throughout the chapter the reader sees more and more references to the crowd operating as one, giving a sense of community. One embodiment, so happy and wholesome in light of Kennedy's visit. So personally grateful. As time grew closer to the moment that Kennedy dies, I got a sense that the death marks a tragedy personal to Dallas. "Big D" has been personally hurt by the end of what has made it so happy and excited.
This communal hurt feels like a metaphor for how the whole country felt when they heard the news. As if something that belonged to them has been taken away, and Oswald has done the taking. Kennedy's death is more than a political hardship. He had previously belonged to the American people, and now he's been stolen away. The wording DeLillo uses is precise.
This feeling of personal connection to Kennedy is what makes this disputed event all the more electrifying to the public. Had it been someone nobody would have wanted to spend time with, perhaps the national tragedy of it all wouldn't have been so potent.
Jack and Jackie belonged to Dallas. Belonged to the nation. DeLillo makes sure we feel interconnected during the reading of this particular scene.
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