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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. What is Guy Bannister's response to T-Jay Mackey's proposed operation?

2. What institution does Ferrie warn Oswald about in New Orleans?

3. Who is employing Branch in 17 April?

4. After leaving Fort Worth, what country does Oswald's travel visa expire in?

5. Why was Marguerite recently fired?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Lee meet David Ferrie?

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

4. Who is Walter Everett, Jr.?

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

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

7. How does Lee fair in the brig?

8. What does Lee dream about doing while in New Orleans?

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

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

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

The main framing device of the two narratives of Libra is the figure of Nicholas Branch. In an essay, discuss the Branch storyline in the novel. Who is Nicholas Branch, and what is his objective in the novel? How does his life devolve in a fashion similar to Oswald's? Discuss the extent to which the rest of Libra is the product of Nicholas Branch's work.

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