The Increasing Irrelevance of the Original Conspirators
The plot of Don DeLillo’s Libra is centered around the synthetization and subsequent execution of the JFK assassination conspiracy. Early on in the novel, readers are introduced to the figures of Win Everrett, Larry Parmenter, and TJ Mackey, the original conspirators responsible for setting the plot into motion. It would logically follow that these three masterminds become integral pieces in the execution of the plot, however it quickly becomes apparent that the opposite is true. As the plot advances, only Mackey is able to maintain influence over the proceedings of the conspiracy, while Everett and Parmenter become increasingly irrelevant. By the end of the novel, Everett has no control over his own brainchild, which has branched out and evolved in countless unintended ways. As the initiators of the assassination conspiracy, Parmenter and Everett are undeniably vital figures in the plot, but their relevance primarily lies at the beginning of the novel while their influence is...