View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Dreamtigers," the protagonist can see only little tigers, what kind does he want to see?

2. In "The Ethnographer," what does Fred Murdock do with the secret he learns from the Indians?

3. In "Juan Murana," what is the name the aunt uses for the knife that kills the landlord?

4. In "August 25, 1983," what is the young Borges told?

5. In "The Congress," why does the Congress fall apart?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Duel," what is the nature of the duel between Clara and Marta?

2. What is the message about scientific precision in "Museum- On Exactitude in Science"?

3. Is there a contradiction to the argument in "Argumentum Ornithologicum"?

4. Name some of the customs and beliefs of the strange group in "The Sect of Thirty."

5. In "The Other," how does the elder Borges most successfully prove to the younger Borges that he is not dreaming their encounter?

6. What does "The Disk" say about greed?

7. What does "Shakespeare's Memory" say about creating art?

8. In "Undr," is there any suggestion that "Undr" or "wonder" really isn't the only sacred word of the Urns?

9. In "The Ethnographer," why won't Fred Murdock reveal the secret of the Indian tribe to the professor?

10. In "Unworthy," why does Fischbein, a mild-mannered and bookish man, hang around a gang?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Is Pierre Menard's project worthwhile? Is he a fool? A visionary? Does his project say something about the nature of interpretation and meaning? Your answer should display a thorough familiarity with "Pierre Menard, Author of Quixote." Be specific in why his project is worthy or not.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Borges, a cerebral author, often focus on lowlife characters? He often frames stories of knife fights, gangsters, murder, prostitution, etc., with academic musings. What is the effect of this seeming disconnect? Does this rough subject matter undercut the intellectualism? Or does the intellectual frame suggest that there might be more to these earthy stories? Perhaps they strike a perfect balance. Use specific stories in developing your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,161 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample