Jack Ruby's Motives
DeLillo uses various elements of historical fiction to explain the inconsistencies of the story of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. From making small leaps to large jumps in terms of the prevailing historical narrative most present in today’s current society, DeLillo tries to operate on the most likely explanation of what would have happened in order to help bridge the gaps of history. However, one area where his reasoning and judgment about historical likelihoods falls short in terms of explaining the narrative is with the Jack Ruby side story. Jack Ruby being the man responsible for the assassination of Oswald shortly after he assassinates Kennedy, little to nothing is known about his mysterious motives and even in his testimony it is cited as being a crime of passion, motivated by an intense love for his country. DeLillo’s novel only builds on this, establishing Ruby as a patriotic man driven to murder by the death of his president through various narrative to...