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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 Congress," why does the Congress fall apart?

2. In "A Weary Man's Utopia," in what language does the narrator speak to the man from the future?

3. In "The Gospel According to Mark," what does Baltasar do with the Gutres' English Bible?

4. In "The Other Duel," though Cardosa and Silveira have a long-standing feud, what do they both do?

5. In "Blue Tigers," what do the Blue Tigers do to the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. In "The Interloper," do the Nelson brothers have any redeeming qualities?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the style of Borges. Is it spare? Baroque? Academic? Opaque? Etc. Think, for instance, of "The Approach to Al Mu'tasim," which is written as a book review of the book "The Approach to Al Mu'tasim." Is his style mostly consistent throughout his stories, or are there any significant changes? Is his style appropriate for his subjects? Does his style itself often mirror the themes of the stories? Use at least three different stories to illustrate your point .

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

What is your favorite story in "Collected Fictions"? Why? Though you are free to describe why you like the story on a gut level, make sure you also include your reasoning as to why that story is an artistic success. Evaluate some of its formal elements, such as its plot, imagery, themes, tone, style, etc.

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