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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. Why does Lee withhold certain information from Konno in their conversations?

2. What does Ferrie mask by his conversation with Delphine?

3. How do Lee and Robert know Dave Ferrie?

4. What celebrity does Lee see while on his ship outside Atsugi?

5. What is lee regularly quizzed on in the brig?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Nicholas Branch's life.

2. Why is Parmenter especially angry about the Bay of Pigs debacle?

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

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

5. How is Lee isolated in the first chapter of the novel?

6. What does George de Mohrenschildt tell Parmenter about Oswald in this chapter?

7. How does Guy Bannister respond to the Kennedy plot?

8. How do Parmenter and Win plan to incorporate Oswald into the plot?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The assassination passage of Libra is a harrowing and disturbing series of pages, but it clearly elucidates the reality of the day. In an essay, discuss how Don DeLillo frames the events on November 22, 1963 in this passage. Whose point of view does the author tell the assassination from? Is the passage linear in its chronology? How does the author eventually make clear who killed Kennedy?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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