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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. Which famous Communist does Lee become obsessed with in New Orleans?

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

3. According to Bannister on June 19th, who does Kennedy travel with at all times?

4. Where is Lee's brother stationed while Lee is in the Bronx?

5. What is Everett doing post-CIA in 17 April?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Who are the exiles on May 20th?

4. How does Lee fair in the brig?

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

6. Discuss how Branch sees death surrounding Oswald?

7. Who is Walter Everett, Jr.?

8. What plans does Parmenter tell Mackey on May 20th?

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

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 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.

Essay Topic 2

The novel Libra begins with a single CIA man having a plan to fake an assassination attempt and bringing two colleagues on board. Write an essay about each of these three men. What is each man's vested interest in this plan? What is he revenging? What goal does he wish to attain? In the end, how does this man lose control of the people he brings on board with the plot? What becomes of him?

Part 1) Everett

Part 2) Parmenter

Part 3) Mackey

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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