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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 physical evidence form Oswald is Branch surprised to have in 2 July?

2. Into what port town do Marina and Lee arrive at the end of the chapter?

3. What do Lee and marina name their daughter?

4. What does lee call the article he writes at the end of the chapter?

5. What is Oswald asked to do by Kirilenko?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does Lee and Marina's relationship begin?

6. Why is Oswald brought back to Moscow?

7. What do Frank and Raymo commiserate about on July 2nd?

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

9. How does the move to Fort Worth affect Lee and Marina's marriage?

10. What strange items has the CIA curator provided Branch with?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The main framing device of the two narratives of Libra is the figure of Nicholas Branch. In an essay, discuss the Branch storyline in the novel. Who is Nicholas Branch, and what is his objective in the novel? How does his life devolve in a fashion similar to Oswald's? Discuss the extent to which the rest of Libra is the product of Nicholas Branch's work.

Essay Topic 2

In Libra, Oswald's existence and objectives seem to shift depending on what setting he inhabits. Write an essay about three locations and how Oswald lives his life there. What seems to be his goal in life? Who does he associate with, and what image does he project? Discuss how this persona of Oswald is different from the one in his previous home and in his future home?

Part 1) In Atsugi

Part 2) In Minsk

Part 3) In New Orleans

Essay Topic 3

The character of Marina Oswald is distinctly passive compared to the other major figures of the novel. Write an essay about Marina's function in Libra. How do she and Lee meet, and why does she come with him to America? Discuss how she reacts to his increasingly unhinged personality, including her coping with domestic abuse. How does Marina respond to the realization that Oswald killed the President?

(see the answer keys)

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