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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," what is Tlon?
(a) The narrator's term for deja vu.
(b) A genius servant, who fools others by pretending to be a simpleton.
(c) A fictitious planet described in a mysterious encyclopedia volume.
(d) A food that bestows immortality on those who eat it.

2. In "The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths," what is the labyrinth in which the King of Babylon is imprisoned?
(a) A maze of steel corridors.
(b) A desert.
(c) A ship on the ocean.
(d) A huge forest.

3. In "The Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden," what is the attitude of the English woman who has married an Indian?
(a) She is thoroughly Indian herself now.
(b) She feigns assimilation with the Indians, but is still quite English.
(c) She has gone mad.
(d) She despises Indians.

4. Thematically, "Pierre Menard, Author of Quixote" deals most closely with which of the following?
(a) The nature of literary criticism and the issues surrounding interpretation.
(b) The inferiority of the novel as an art form.
(c) The evils of plagiarism.
(d) Borges's thinly disguised self-hatred.

5. In "The Dead Man," why does Otalora first have to leave Argentina?
(a) He has slept with a woman whose husband pursues him.
(b) He seeks a cure for a strange disease.
(c) He owes back taxes.
(d) He has killed a man.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Deutsches Requiem," what group does Otto join?

2. Which of the following best describes "Ibn-Hakam-Al Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth"?

3. In "The Zahir," where is the sister of the woman he loves?

4. In "The Dead Man," which of the following best characterizes the gang leader's attitude toward Otalora?

5. In "The Widow Ching--Pirate," what prompts the protagonist to become a pirate?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "Emma Zunz," how does Emma exact revenge on Lowenthal for her father's death?

3. In "The South," how does Dahlmann feel about his imminent death in a knife fight?

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

5. In "The Garden of Forking Paths," why does Dr. Yu work for the Germans?

6. 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."

7. In "Ibn-Hakam-Al Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth," according to Unwin, why did Sa'id truly steal the treasure, and what are the implications of this motivation?

8. In "The Man on the Threshold," why do the people pretend that they do not know what happened to Glencairn when the investigator asks them?

9. In "The Circular Ruins," a man creates another man in a dream and ultimately discovers that he is a dream himself. Is Borges making a possible connection to the artistic process?

10. What does "Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden" say about the nature of human identity?

(see the answer keys)

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