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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 20 May, what request does Oswald make in Bannister's office?

2. Who is Delphine?

3. How is Lee's behavior in the brig?

4. Where is the training base where Parmenter visits Mackey in 20 May?

5. On June 19th, where has Oswald taken an office?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Win, Parmenter, and Mackey discuss in 17 April?

2. What does Lee read about in New Orleans?

3. What initial actions do the CIA men take for their plan on April 17th?

4. Why do Lee and Marguerite argue in New Orleans?

5. What does David Ferrie do in the Bannister office in this chapter?

6. What confidential information does Lee reveal to Konno in Atsugi?

7. What does Lee Oswald do on his base in Atsugi?

8. Why does Lee go to meet Dr. Braunfels in Atsugi?

9. What information about Oswald does Win receive at the beginning of June 19th?

10. What does Win Everett decide about the assassination location in 26 April?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Dave Ferrie. What are the defining physical and psychological characteristics of this individual? What role does he play in the novel and in the plot to kill Kennedy? How does his relationship with Lee Oswald shift and develop over the course of the narrative? Discuss Ferrie's portrayal as a personification of perverted patriotism.

Essay Topic 2

The character of Lee Oswald in Libra is an ambiguous figure, one whose loyalty is never clear as he moves from place to place and relationship to relationship. Write a three-part essay analyzing the shifting loyalties Oswald illustrates throughout the novel:

Part 1) Discuss Oswald's defection to the Soviet Union. At what point in his life does he decide that he should live in a Communist country? How does Soviet society appeal to Lee Oswald, and why does he eventually decide to return to the United States?

Part 2) What is Lee Oswald's life like in New Orleans. Why does he become friends with right wingers life Bannister and Ferrie despite his leftist leanings? Discuss his reasons for working in Bannister's office and why these conservative players tolerate his pro-Castro literature.

Part 3) Discuss the mindset that Oswald displays as he waits in his jail cell following Kennedy's murder. How does he rationalize his participation in the murder plot? What defense does he think he can present to authorities? How does this represent a fractured psyche?

Essay Topic 3

In writing Libra, Don DeLillo faces the deep challenge to make an unimaginably despised man understandable. Write an essay in three parts discussing three unthinkable actions that Oswald undertakes in the novel:

Part 1) How does DeLillo dramatize Oswald's suicide attempt in Moscow? Discuss what leads up to this self-destructive act and whether Oswald seems committed to his own negation. What is going through Oswald's head as he cuts his wrists? What is relatable about these passages?

Part 2) How does Don DeLillo introduce domestic violence into the novel? Discuss how the author portrays the protagonist's mindset as he begins beating Marina. Why does he begin striking her? Can the reader understand his rationale.

Part 3) Discuss Lee Oswald's perception of the assassination as he plays his active role in it. Compare it to the reactions of those on the street. At what point does he acknowledge what he has done? Does she ever fully accept his culpability?

(see the answer keys)

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