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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 information does Win want revealed to the public as a result of the assassination attempt?

2. Who does Oswald's mother blame for her struggles in the Bronx?

3. What role does Parmenter think Oswald can play in the plot?

4. Who is Robert Sproul?

5. Who is employing Branch in 17 April?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Walter Everett, Jr.?

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

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

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

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

6. Who does Marguerite blame for her life in the Bronx?

7. What does Lee read about in New Orleans?

8. How does Lee meet David Ferrie?

9. How does Lee fair in the brig?

10. Discuss how Branch sees death surrounding Oswald?

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 political world of the book world is one of interlocking yet competitive covert interests. Write an essay about how these interests affect the life of Lee Oswald. What are each of these interests' objectives, and what role is Oswald supposed to play in these objectives? Which of these covert groups gives up on Oswald and which places nearly all of its hopes on him?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the nihilistic tone of Libra. To what extend do the events of the novel add up to a sum of nothing thematically? What impels Lee Oswald toward his final end? Does Win Everett achieve anything he intended? In the end, does President Kennedy die for any reason? Discuss if the world of Libra is one in which fate or some higher power guides characters' ends.

(see the answer keys)

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