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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 New Orleans, what do Lee and Robert try to buy from Ferrie?

2. What skill does Bannister assure Mackey that Dave Ferrie can provide?

3. What topic do Konno and Lee most often discuss?

4. What strikes Nicholas Branch as odd about Ferrie's death?

5. At what building in New Orleans does Lee spend much time in this chapter?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does Lee fair in the brig?

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

5. Describe the colorful conversation Bannister has at a bar on June 19th.

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

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

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

9. Why, according to Parmenter, did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail?

10. Who are the exiles on May 20th?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Marguerite. How does Don DeLillo use her to frame the story, and to what extent does she reemerge as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on Lee's fate? Why do her passages often involve the first person? Analyze her personality and neuroses: how do they reveal an ability to see the world as it is?

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

Write an essay about insanity and disassociation in Libra. What mechanisms does Lee Oswald use to assume false identities, and how does this allow him disassociate himself from his actions? Discuss how Lee's view of the world becomes skewed. What delusions does he desperately hold on to? What false patterns does he begin to see in everyday life, and how does this fuel his willingness to kill Kennedy?

(see the answer keys)

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