Kristy Medina

Death and the Compass was similar to The Approach to Al-Mu'Tasim in that the main plot is of a crime scene/ death. Auguste Dupin is an adventurer/ gambler and we've never really seen a character like him before. The short story is filled with action. There are four murders each occuring on the fourth of each month. The killer leaves clues all pointing to the motives of the crimes being religion. Before even reading I was interested in what a compass would have to do with the murders and then I though of Edgar Allen Poe and I always associated his death/ horror poems with a detective and a compass with an old watch- just as an image. I thought it was cool how it broke into 'letters' and it is left by the 'name.'

The Detective Story was more of an introduction of sorts to the detective genre and Edgar Allen Poe (which happens to be a writer Borges is compared with maybe because of similar styles.) Borges focuses on the story "the Raven" but creates a contradiction within this short story. He admires Poe but doesn't admire Poe's works overall. Its very strange.