The Circular Ruins by Antonella Aguilar

A man who tries so hard to impose another man on reality by dreaming him does not seem to be common human behaviour, but in this short story this is what the author, Jorge Luis Borges, focuses on.

A wizard who wants to bring his imaginary son into the real world is the protagonist of a story where dreaming is in every moment.

The wizard dreams about some students in a temple, he keeps only one of those who dares to oppose him, this pupil becomes real and is educated by him.

After that, the boy is sent to another ruined temple which is destroyed by fire but he does not die in that terrible accident. Unfortunately, as a result of this, the teacher realizes that this divine son is alive

because he is a projection of his dreams to find a terrible outcome.

A story that must be read because of its surrealist way of telling the events, those that will make you enjoy this beautiful alternative of writing. You may also find yourself a bit lost and confused if you do not pay a special atenttion while you are reading.

So, to prevent this kind of mishap you should submerge your senses in the sentences, thinking carefully in every detail that is written and analysing it.

Borges is one of the most important writers from our country and he will open your mind to a parallel world if you read his amazing short stories, begining of course, with “The Circular Ruins”.

Review: "The circular ruins"

By Catriel Benavídez

‘The circular ruins’ is one of the most well known short stories of the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. J. L. Borges is recognised because of his short stories all over the world.
‘The circular ruins’ is about a man who arrives in a land which was totally unknown only with the purpose of dreaming a man and imposing him on reality.
The story is very catching and has a wide vocabulary. Maybe you have to pay much attention because of that, but finally you enjoy it.
I would recommend to buy and read ‘The circular ruins’, especially if you like reading fantastic stories. I am sure it will catch your attention and you will like the end of this great short story.

Circular Ruins, by Agustina Claps

This short story was written by Jorge Luis Borges; it's about a wizard who wanted to dream the perfect person. After a few nights of strange dreams, he dreamed a classroom, he was the teacher, he was teaching; he started to look for the perfect person, but he did not find him; the next night he found a pupil in the same classroom that could be him, but then he knew that he wasn't. He kept looking, but he failed. He was tired; He started to have insomnia, so he decided to go to the forest to get tired. He talked to the "fire god", looking for help, the god asked him t adore him, and he would help him; the wizard did it. The end is "circular", an open ending.

In my opinion this is a very nice and educative story, it describes every scene very well, with interesting details, very complex vocabulary, it leave you a teaching.

On the other hand it's a very complicated story, the vocabulary is for people that have a very good language. You have to look for information to understand the story, becouse it uses synonyms that we are not use to reading

I recommend this story to language teachers, or professional people, and to look for information before and after the reading, to take advantage of this beautiful and strange story.

By Agustina Claps 3°E

Review "The Circular Ruins"

The Circular Ruins is known as one of the most famous and important Borges´ short stories. It’s written in such an interesting way that reflects different kinds of senses which, at the same time, make you create peculiar scenes and settings of the story.
The writer talks about symbols and signs which are part of the story of his life and they are likely to help you to look for different ways to understand what he really wants to express.
This story is about a man who is all by himself dreaming of another man who he wants to bring to life. He used to go to a temple and fell asleep and while he was sleeping, he dreamt about this creature that had been invented by himself.
On the one hand, the writer looks for a lot of expressions and types of writing that make the short story hard to understand. It’s common to find in this literary work unknown words which change the meanings of sentences.
On the other hand, you are bound to be concentrated and enthused as you read it, because it’s more than a short story, its creative and exciting.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, although it’s just for people who are used to reading good literature.

Carolina.

The Circular Ruins: Review

"The Circular Ruins" is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, and it is one of his best known stories. It is about a wizard, whose only job was to dream of the perfect man, so as to create him.

On the down side, I believe this story is quite complicated to understand because of the sophisticated terminology that Borges uses in all of his literary works. Besides, the plot is already complex, apart from the elaborated phrases.

On the plus side, however, the author managed to create an interesting piece that people who have studied beforehand the symbols that are repeated in all of his writings, will enjoy. It is also admirable how he could narrate so much in such a short story.

Over all, I would not recommend this particular story to be read by people who have not researched enough about it before. Otherwise, a lot of essential things would be lost.

By Ami

Circular Ruins

The circular ruins written by Jorge Luis Borges is a short story about a man who decides to create his perfect son while dreaming. This is one of the most well known short stories by Borges.
On the positive side, the short story catches you word by word till the very end. The story line is quite vivid although it is a clam character. Borges describes everything in detail.
On the other hand, you need a certain level of English. Wide and specific vocabulary is required to understand the story. Children may not enjoy or understand the story because what was said before.
Finally, I would recommend this literary work because not reading it would be a pity. Grown up people will enjoy it much more than youngters.


by María Laura Geretto