Theme Of The Traitor And The Hero "That history should have imitated history was already sufficiently astonishing; that history should imitate literature is inconceivable. . . ." Plot Summary & Historical Background: Settings - The Narrative is set in Ireland in 1824. However Borges is only using this as an example. He says " The action takes place in a oppressed and tenacious country: Poland, Ireland, The Venetian Republic, some South American or Balkan state". This universalises the story …showed first 75 words of 802 total…

…showed last 75 words of 802 total…the end of the story to keep his findings to himself proves to be more dangerous. He withholds what seems to be the final truth behind the story of Kilpatrick telling us that the truth might well be out there but nobody cares to share with us. According to Borges, however, even Ryan's supposed truth must be examined closely. Ultimately, Ryan is trapped, the spread of either account fails to create anything but another story.