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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 the name of George de Mohrenschildt's debriefing agent?

2. How does Guy Bannister ostensibly die?

3. Who is Hidell?

4. Aside from Fidel Castro, what is General Edwin Walker a verbal opponent of?

5. Why is the mob considering taking over Ruby's clubs?

Short Essay Questions

1. What money problems is Jack Ruby facing on August 12th?

2. Describe Lee's life in Minsk after returning from the U-2 Interrogation.

3. How does Lee have a falling out with the FBI in New Orleans?

4. What deal does Lee strike with the FBI in New Orleans?

5. What does Oswald do in Dallas prior to killing Kennedy?

6. On August 12th, what concerns does Win Everett express to Parmenter?

7. What new plan is Frank Vasquez hatching on September 6th?

8. Why does Carmine Latta help with the assassination attempt?

9. Why is Oswald brought back to Moscow?

10. What calls Oswald's testimony into question in Minsk?

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 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 3

Libra's central topic is the Kennedy assassination, but he also incorporates connections to other military-political events of the time. Write an essay about three of these events. What is their Cold War significance? How, in Libra, do they connect to the story of Lee Oswald? Are these connections historically accurate or largely invented by the author?

Part 1) The U-2 Incident

Part 2) The Bay of Pigs

Part 3) The General Walker shooting

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 956 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample