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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. How does Guy Bannister ostensibly die?

2. What does Lee worry about going to Minsk at the end of the Moscow chapter?

3. Where does the Soviet government move Lee after his suicide attempt?

4. Why is Lee arrested in New Orleans?

5. Where does Lee's mother go in this chapter to find out where her son is?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Oswald's plans stymied in Mexico City?

2. Why is Oswald brought back to Moscow?

3. Why do Lee and Marina decide to return to America?

4. Describe the interviews Oswald has in Moscow?

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

6. How does Lee Oswald try to expedite his meeting with Soviet agents after his suicide attempt?

7. How does Lee Oswald decide to kill General Walker?

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

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

10. How does Lee meet George de Mohrenschildt?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Libra, individuals resort to violence when they feel trapped and marginalized in their lives. Discuss this striking out that occurs when characters feel they have no other options in a three-part essay:

Part 1) What indignities and profession setbacks has Win Everett suffered prior to the events of the novel? Why does he feel he has no voice in the intelligence community? Discuss how he decides staging an assassination attempt will remedy these injustices.

Part 2) Discuss the dreams and hopes that Lee Oswald has throughout the novel, and how their failure leads him to consider murder as an alternative. What purpose does the assassination serve for him personally? How does he feel empowered?

Part 3) What personal challenges is Jack Ruby facing when DeLillo introduces him near the end of the novel? What tactics does he use to avoid complete failure? What role does the murder of Oswald play in his personal redemption?

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

In writing Libra, Don DeLillo faces the deep challenge to make an unimaginably despised man understandable. Write an essay in three parts discussing three unthinkable actions that Oswald undertakes in the novel:

Part 1) How does DeLillo dramatize Oswald's suicide attempt in Moscow? Discuss what leads up to this self-destructive act and whether Oswald seems committed to his own negation. What is going through Oswald's head as he cuts his wrists? What is relatable about these passages?

Part 2) How does Don DeLillo introduce domestic violence into the novel? Discuss how the author portrays the protagonist's mindset as he begins beating Marina. Why does he begin striking her? Can the reader understand his rationale.

Part 3) Discuss Lee Oswald's perception of the assassination as he plays his active role in it. Compare it to the reactions of those on the street. At what point does he acknowledge what he has done? Does she ever fully accept his culpability?

(see the answer keys)

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