1. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
La verosimilitud: a propósito de tres cuentos de Jorge Luis Borges
David N. Petro
3123 S. Indiana Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207
dnpetro@uwm.edu
262-880-2334
Spanish 781: Latin American Narratives
Dr. Nancy Bird-Soto
Research Paper: Spring 2015
**Would need access to Internet and PowerPoint**

2. Abstract
The work of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges often incorporates themes of history,
religion and identity. Such is the case of three short stories found in El Aleph (1949): “Biografía
de Tadeo Isidoro Cruz (1829-1874),” “Emma Zunz” and “Deutsches Requiem.” Each story
adheres to an unequivocal verisimilitude as the plot unfolds in a setting that is nuanced by
historical veracity. Religion and identity become major components of the aforementioned
literary works as they describe, define and personify the society and the self of the characters
involved. Notwithstanding the realistic ambit of each story, there also exists a dimension of the
fantastic. The case is made that the first of the aforementioned stories pertains to the fantastic
genre, as outlined by Tzvetan Todorov, whereas the other two simply provide brief interpolations
of fantastic elements.
The artistic representations of history, religion and identity in Borges are substantial
themes which relate to the human experience as conditioned by immigration and diaspora.
Judaism, in both its realms of religiosity and social as well as personal identity, is an unescapable
element portrayed with much vigor in “Emma Zunz.” Set in the city of Buenos Aires in the
1920s, a metropolis of immigration at the time, “Emma Zunz” is a detective fiction thriller that
narrates the revenge perpetrated by the main character of the same name. Similarly, Tadeo
Isidoro Cruz’s “biography” is the portrayal of the gaucho figure often alluded to in nineteenth
century Argentine society and literature, product of Spanish immigration raised on indigenous
American soil. Finally, “Deutsches Requiem” is the despicable monologue of a condemned Nazi
general upon the conclusion of World War II. A contributor to the Holocaust, as many were in
real life, many European Jews fled to Buenos Aires to escape the wrath of people like Otto
Dietrich zur Linde.