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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 does the narrator hypothesize is the cause of the fight in "The Encounter"?

2. In "The Yellow Rose," what does Marino FINALLY think about his poetry?

3. In "A Prayer," what is the narrator's attitude toward his prayer?

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

5. In "Pedro Salvadores," Pedro belongs to which party?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "The Book of Sand," what are the stages of the narrator's view toward the book?

3. In "The Gospel According to Mark," why do the Gutres want to crucify Baltasar?

4. In "Covered Mirrors," what is the narrator's attitude toward mirrors?

5. In "The Rose of Paracelsus," why doesn't Paracelsus turn the ashes of the rose into a rose for the young man?

6. In "A Weary Man's Utopia," is the society described by the old man really a "utopia"?

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

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

9. In "Everything and Nothing," who ultimately tells Shakespeare he is like him, and why does he say this?

10. In "The Yellow Rose," what is Marino's epiphany?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

The concept of Time is a frequent theme of Borges'. Think of "The Secret Miracle," "The Man on the Threshold," "The Plot," "The Immortal," as some major examples. Pick one of these stories or choose one of your own, and describe the depiction of time. Is the passage of time contingent upon our subjective perceptions? Do events repeat themselves endlessly?

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