In the second half of The Turner Diaries, Earl is reborn. After his initiation into the Order and subsequent capture by the System, he changes into a less sympathetic, more militant, even more dedicated member of the Organization. As his apprehensions about death and killing disappear, the dualism between supposed good and evil becomes even more defined in his mind. He becomes willing to do just about anything to help the Order and the Organization prevail.

Earl Turner’s transformation reminded me of the change we see in Jesus from most of the New Testament to the Book of Revelation. For the purposes of this novel, Earl does in fact represent the heroic Jesus figure. A leader figure for the Organization, Earl ultimately sacrifices himself for what he believes is right. Thus, it probably wasn’t just a coincidence that his undercover Mexican name was “Jesus Garcia.” First characterized as one of the more humble and cautious members of the Organization, Earl returns from his torturous imprisonment a man determined to achieve justice at any cost. “I am not the same man I was before… And I have lost all fear of death.” His new attitude is obvious from the way he no longer shows hesitations about killing/murdering people, including whites. But I don’t think I was able to fully grasp his newfound determination until after Katherine died. When he first proclaimed that “Katherine is gone!” I had the expectation, or rather the hope, that he might begin to question the Order’s need for violence. He always justifies killing the innocent by telling himself that it is necessary for some to die in order for the others to get justice. I thought that losing Katherine might make him realize how significant even one loss can be. However, that was not the case. Just one sentence after he mentions Katherine’s death he says, “There is important work for me to do, and I know that I must now put the past out of my mind and get on with it.” Well that was a quick recovery. Earl seems to continue following the traditional apocalyptic ideas of revenge and the cleansing power of death. If he is able to kill or defeat the evil System and all the non-whites, he can doubly get justice for Katherine and help to reach their goal of an all-white, non-Jewish “New Jerusalem.”

Then of course, he ends his life in sacrifice for the greater good of his fellow Organization members. This suicide mission reminded me of the Heaven’s Gate and Jonestown suicides we discussed last week. Though I hadn’t really been a fan of Earl Turner throughout this book, I did feel bad for him at the end of the novel. Yes, he wanted to complete his last mission and was even proud of himself for wanting to do it. But did he really even have a choice? After entering the Order, he had basically been brainwashed to be ok with killing himself because they told him that certain situations call for its necessity. He had been brainwashed to think it was an honorable way to die. Though he physically died shortly after the last entry in his journal, he had achieved immortality in the form of his journals. And what else would an apocalyptic tale be if not a source of hope for ultimate immortality and/or salvation?