Jorge Borges: Short Stories Lesson Plan

"The Circular Ruins" can be read as an allegory of the writing process. What evidence do you think supports this view?

There are various answers to this question. Some possibilities include:

• The process of “dreaming a man” is very similar to how a writer might imagine and then create a character.
• In order for a character to seem realistic, a writer needs to know them inside and out so that they can represent the character’s genuine reaction to different circumstances and events.
• When the dreamer realizes he is also being dreamed, it proves that he has created a son in his own image. Characters are often in some capacity created in their writer’s image, even if only through...