“. . their publication was senseless. the book is an indeterminate heap of contradictory drafts. i examined it once: in the third chapter the hero dies, in the fourth he is alive . .”

considering its prefix, syntax, and context, what does indeterminate mean in this excerpt from “the garden of forking paths”?

imposing
inconclusive
messy
overwhelming

Considering its prefix, syntax, and context, indeterminate in this excerpt from "The Garden of Forking Paths" means overwhelming.

Indeterminate means not exactly known, established, or defined. Within the context of the excerpt we might consider that the word indeterminate means messy or overwhelming. However, since it is able to be examined and is contradicting, the best choice is overwhelming. There is no other evidence in the passage to suggest that the books were in messy heap.

reasoning from several particular examples to establish a general principle

every four years the american people choose a new president, and 1988 is one of those years."