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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. In "The Lottery in Babylon," who sometimes arbitrates the result of a lottery drawing?

2. In "The Secret Miracle," how is Hladik eventually killed?

3. In "The Circular Ruins," what does the sorcerer do in his dreams?

4. In "Three Versions of Judas," who is Nils Runeberg?

5. In "Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv," Hakim is revealed to have what disease?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Writing of the God," why does Tzinacan decide to stay in his cell?

2. "The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths" ends with the words, "Glory to Him who does not die." Who is the one "who does not die," and what is the reason for this invocation?

3. How can the story "Tlon, Uqbar, and Orbis Tertius" best be described?

4. In "Hakim The Masked Dyer of Merv," Hakim's sect abhor mirrors and copulation. What is the significance of this abhorrence?

5. In "Three Versions of Judas," what are the three ways Runeberg portrays Judas?

6. How does Borges portray theological disputes in "The Theologians"?

7. Describe the significance in "The Shape of the Sword," of the last lines: "I denounced the man who protected me: I am Vincent Moon. Now despise me."

8. In "The Dead Man," why does Bandeira allow Otalora to sleep with his woman and enjoy a sense of power?

9. In "The Other Death," how does Borges suggest that Pedro Damian could actually be both a hero and a coward?

10. In "A Survey of the Works of Herbert Quain," why is Herbert upset at the success of "April March"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Existentialism is a philosophy that holds that one makes his own meaning from a life that is essentially absurd and meaningless. Is Borges an Existentialist? Does his method of writing, with its ambiguous meanings, and multiple possibilities imply existentialism? Choose at least one and up to three stories to support your argument. Be specific.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the stories in "Collected Fictions" are detective stories. Think of "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," "The Garden of Forking Paths," "Death and the Compass," "Ibn-Hakam al-Bokhari, Murdered in His Labyrinth" as examples of the major ones. How are Borges' detective stories similar or different from standard detective stories? Are they nail-biting whodunits, or something else? Are they satires of detective fiction? Choose at least one of the above stories and use it to specifically illustrate your argument.

Essay Topic 3

In "The Library of Babel," a librarian frantically and hopelessly tries to organize the books in a seemingly infinite library and looks for a book that will summarize all the others. Is this story merely a work of imaginative fiction, or a possible metaphor for the actual world? What is Borges implying about the nature of human knowledge? Make sure to discuss "The Library of Babel," but also include at least one more story that touches on this common theme of Borges. Be specific.

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