We have finally reached the climax of Libra, when the assassination of JFK is laid out. With this major event spanning many pages and from many perspectives, we see a turning point in how the author depicts Lee.
Previously, the matter of how DeLillo refers to Lee was discussed in class. At the beginning of the novel, we meet young, troubled teenager Lee. Then we meet Marine Ozzie the Rabbit, defector Comrade Oswald (aka Alek), Hidell, and O.H. Lee, among his many other aliases. Finally, after the assassination, as DeLillo brings us back to Lee's point of view as he sits in his cell and contemplates his future, we see DeLillo finally refer to Lee using the familiar three names of "Lee Harvey Oswald." Like earlier in the novel, DeLillo calling Lee by a new name signifies a change in Lee's life, mentality, and place in history.
At the same time, although Lee has become the notorious Lee Harvey Oswald who is known for assassinating JFK, we still see that Lee Harvey Oswald is the familiar, bumbling Lee whose short life we have followed through the novel. Sitting on his cot in the jail cell, Lee reaches one of his strange epiphanies again. He realizes that he now has a place in history as the man who murdered JFK, and that he will be known as Lee Harvey Oswald. Only, this epiphany is actually not a delusional one - Lee is right for once.
Finally, when Lee himself is shot and killed by Jack Ruby, he seems to make a final impression on history as he stares right at the camera and observes his death. DeLillo finally allows poor Lee to get a stab at making another mark in history, right as he dies.
