View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Ibn-Hakam-Al Bokhari, Murdered in his Labyrinth," after killing his cousin, where does the protagonist sail?
(a) To Antarctica.
(b) To England.
(c) To Australia.
(d) He does not sail.

2. In "The Circular Ruins," what does the sorcerer do in his dreams?
(a) Rules the world.
(b) Turns into an eagle.
(c) Meets the most beautiful woman alive.
(d) Creates a man.

3. In "The Man on the Threshold," why is Judge Glencairn sent to the location where he disappears?
(a) He is going to a tryst.
(b) He is going to review some legislation.
(c) There are riots.
(d) He is seeing a doctor.

4. In "The Man on the Threshold," what is suspected of all the people who are celebrating?
(a) They are worshipping the god Apollo.
(b) They are Socialists.
(c) They all know what happened to Judge Glencairn.
(d) They all want to kill the narrator.

5. In "The Writing of God," how can Tzinacan escape?
(a) With a mysterious hacksaw he finds.
(b) By bribing one corrupt guard.
(c) By reciting the Bible.
(d) By reading the fourteen words on the animal beside him.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," who first finds an article about Uqbar?

2. In "The Improbable Impostor Tom Castro," what causes Tom's fake identity scheme to fall apart?

3. In "The Wait," why does Senor Villari only go out at night?

4. In "The Cult of the Phoenix," what objects are involved in their rituals?

5. In "Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities," what does Eastman do to become a bouncer?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "A Theologian in Death," what is Melancthon's doctrine and what are the implications of this doctrine?

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

3. In "The End," does the black man who plays his guitar and continually waits outside the bar get what he has been waiting for?

4. In "Pierre Menard, Author of Quixote," Menard wants to rewrite Cervantes' novel word for word. Why does he want to pursue such an exercise in seeming futility?

5. "The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim" is a review of a book that does not exist. How is this significant?

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

7. 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?

8. In "Death and the Compass," how does Scharlach defeat Lonnrot?

9. In "The Zahir," what is a possible reason for the narrator becoming obsessed with the coin?

10. In "The Aleph," what is the narrator's attitude toward Carlos Argentino?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,181 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample