Nian Liu

Book of Sand

The Book of Sand by Borges had to do with the topic obsession with books. Since there is no beginning or end to the book, the reader’s social life goes into ruins and now he dedicates his whole entire time studying this specific book. Since the man couldn’t destroy the book, he hid it somewhere in the far corners of the library. Borges' main message seems to be that too much of anything is never a good thing. In this case, everything in the main character's life ceased to exist with the exception of the monstrous book. The narrator stopped doing things he enjoyed and instead studied and stressed over the book. He feared to even share the book with others. It became an obsession.

Janie Cherestal

I found Borges' "Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv," to be rather confusing. In this story, Borges uses very long and complex sentences, which makes the plot difficult to follow. What I took from the story is that there is a man named Hakim, who was trained as a dyer, and keeps his face hidden. Those who have seen his face have gone blind, and he is leading a war against Caliph's army. At the end of the story, his veil is removed by one of the captains, and the swollen features of his face are revealed right before he is killed. The theme of religion plays a very evident theme in this story, and I wonder if Hakim is a symbol for some sort of god.

Nian Liu

The Mirror and the Mask

This story felt like one of those child folklores where there are three reoccurring events that happen and in the end a moral or conclusion is developed. And so it did in this story where it ended with the poet killing himself. What I didn’t understand at first was why the kind liked the poem when the poet himself lost his taste in writing a new poem? Later I found out that, this wasn’t the case. It was the items that the King gave the poet that reflected three things. 1) The mirror that reconfirms a person’s existence, 2) The mask that conceals the truth and 3) The dagger which in the end kills the poet. The theme learned from this story was that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What’s pretty or not only determines on how a person perceives.

The Library of Babel

What started off as a something positive in the story, the Library in Babel became something horrific. People who admired the library found that the library has every single information that was accessible to mankind, knowing this people started searching for the book that defined the destiny of their own lives. I couldn't believe how people were killing each other to get their hands on a book that would help teach them how to govern their lives. The message that I get from reading this story is that we shouldn't be worrying too much on govern our lives through what outside sources are telling us but instead what we ourselves internally are telling us.

Nian Liu

The Zahir, The House of Asterion

This story reminded me of the “House of Leaves” because of the description of the labyrinth and how in the center of this maze there exists a minotaur. For the House of Leaves, I pictured a minotaur or something monstrous in the center of the dark maze. As for the story goes, it described a being that exists in the center of the maze where it lives its life in solitary. I feel almost bad for the minotaur rather than fearing this creature because it reminded me of the isolation people get when they are outcastes or when society neglects people with certain disorders or diseases.

Nian Liu

Death and the Compass

In “Death and the Compass”, Borges presciently anticipates developments in contemporary physics and scientific thought, constructing a literary environment that systemically gives the lie to the dream of rational determinism, suggesting instead something like a disorder from shifting from one religion to another. Death and the Compass was hard to follow because I would have to do a lot of back tracking to the highlights to the specific dates that happened prior to the murders. I wasn’t really into detective stories so I had a very confusing time reading Death and the Compass because when I read I don’t really like testing my memory to sort out the final clue to what really happened in the end and why.

Nian Liu

The Garden of Forking Paths

This story reminded me of the house of leaves when Borges started talking about mazes of mazes and with Dr. Tsun’s perspective on life and how time is infinite. With Tsun’s analogy to the maze (“I thought of a maze of mazes, of a sinuous, ever growing maze which would take in both past and future and would somehow involve the stars pg. 94), I got the message that he may be relating the infinite growth of a maze to the infinite paths of life. And these infinite paths are the paths that Dr. Tsun takes as he escapes from his arch nemesis. As we move further into the book, I discover that the book that Albert gives to Dr. Tsun reminded me of the house of leaves again because the book of Pen is a book of confusion where the story structure was extremely disjointed, but written in a way where the reader may still maintain flow. From Pen’s perspective it was meant to discover how all of humanities decisions lead to even more decision, and how each choice leaders a person down a single very specific path. In the house of leaves there were many possibilities and paths where Navidson may go and the single path Dr. Tsun took and Navidson took ended with him being in a path of may other possible paths. Confusing but understandable.

Nian Liu

The Lottery in Babylon

Another interesting story about a society in Babylon where lottery rules the society and evidently overtakes the whole government system. Along with time, the lottery system becomes more and more secretive where future generations question whether if the lottery still exists or has already been deteriorated over time. I really liked this story because it made me think about our society and how us like the citizens of Babylon do not often think about what or who runs our lives. We’ve been controlled by our government for so long and so much that we subconsciously do not think about how much control the U.S government has over us. There were many ideas that were brought up, especially the topic of religion and whether or not if over time religion was once pure and true until now where it seems to be more mystified.

Kristin Todd

I found House of Leaves chapters 1-4 to be very interesting and intriguing.  At the same time, though, I don't know what to expect because I have never read a book like this before.  It starts out talking about the main character's, Will Navidson, trailers to movies that he's made.  It's about him walking through rooms and going out a window, but coming back in another one.  I thought that this was very weird, but I'm still keeping an open mind.  It also talks about how Navidson, Karen, and their 2 kids moved into a new house.  There's also another story going on at the same time.  The main character of that story, Johnny Truant, seems to have a lot of problems.  I'm not sure how these two stories connect, but I'm excited to read further and find out more.

Janie Cherestal

I found Borges' "Garden of Forking Paths" to be one his more engaging short stories, for it described a man who, while being pursued, is faced with a series of choices that have profound effects on later events in his life. After following a complex maze, he meets Dr. Stephen Albert, who tells him about his distant ancestors. Although he is thankful for this information, the narrator kills the doctor in order to communicate the name of the city that he was trying to send to those he had been working for. I felt that this story had a surprising and entertaining ending, and I liked imagery Borges created by comparing the complex maze to that of endless possibilities and where each choice can lead you.

Alyson Bernero

The House of Asterion is a story that focuses on the life of many who lives in a house with no limits. Like many of Borges' stories, the house represents the labyrinth much like the labyrinth in House of Leaves. We don't find out until the end of the story that the man is in fact a minotaur which helped to clear up the confusion I had. The man is stuck inside his home and is all alone so he makes up games and tries to find ways to occupy his time. The only outside connection he has is when the nine men come to the house every nine years, but that is only so he can set them free. In a way, I felt bad for the man because he didn't have anyone and was alone for his entire life.

Alyson Bernero

I thought The Other by Borges was one of his most creative stories. The concept of the man seeing his past self was very complicated and confusing at first, but after thinking about it I realized that it caused me to consider things in my own life. I thought it was interesting that neither of the men went back to the meeting place they discussed when they first saw eachother. Perhaps they thought they had imagined the entire thing, or maybe they thought it would be crazy to go back again. Either way, I think it was so interesting to see how Borges interpreted the interaction between his past and current self. I can't even imagine what would happen if someone told me they were my future self.

Alyson Bernero

The Garden of Forking Paths was yet another story by Borges with the theme of a labyrinth. This story however, was much more suspensful than some of his other works. The story follows a man who is running away from his arch enemy. During the course of the story we follow this person on his journey through his labyrinth, while allowing us to see the many different possible outcomes. We saw how different something can turn out just by changing one simple part. I especially enjoyed the presentation we had on this story. I thought the idea of the game where we got to chose the different endings was very creative. It also helped me to understand the confusing parts of the story a little better.

Alyson Bernero

I think that the Library of Babel is the short story that most obviously reflects the theme of the labyrinth. Borges uses the infinite number of books and stories in a library to demonstrate the neverending concept of a labyrinth. The story is about a man who in the library and very familiar with it. The reader is told that the books are all arranged in exactly the same way on every shelf. I think possibly the relationship in this story between the labyrinth, the books and the old man shows that life is in some ways never ending. Life, like the books and stories in the library are limitless.

Alyson Bernero

The Lottery in Babylon was an interesting story that truly fits the saying, damned if you do, damned if you don't. The people of Babylon were told to enter themselves into the lottery or be deemed as cowards by the rest of the population. Those who chose to enter themselves in the lottery paid a fee much like lotteries still existing today, however the reward was much different. The outcome of the lottery was in most cases death. This caused me to wonder, why anyone would allow themselves to possibly be killed? If the consequence to not entering was being considered a coward I would surely take the new nickname.

Alyson Bernero

The Zahir was yet another example of the similarities between Borges writing and the book House of Leaves. The main character and narrator is once again Borges in this story and he once again cannot control his obsessions. The story not only focuses on his obsession with the zahir, but also his love for Villar. Like in House of Leaves the main character is torn between what is real and what he wants to believe is real. In this case, Borges' character cannot find the line between reality and what he hopes the zahir can do for him. This was definately not one of my favorite stories by Borges and I was confused throughout a lot of it.

Alyson Bernero

The Mirror and the Mask was another interesting story by Borges. It was slightly different than a lot of the other stories he writes. This story takes place during the Battle of Clontarf when the King hires a writer to create a poem for him over the next year. When the poet comes back he recites a long, well written poem for the King. The king loves it and gives him a silver mirror and the task of writing another poem. The poet than constructs another poem however this time with much less effort. The King once again loves the poem, gives the poet a golden mask and the task of writing yet another poet. This time when the poet returns the next year, the poem is only one line and the poet has clearly suffered emotionally. Strangely, the King loves this poem the most and rewards the poet with a dagger. As soon as this occurred I knew what was about to happen and not to my surprise, the poet kills himself with the dagger.
I thought this story was good, but unlike in Borges' other stories I wasn't able to see where the labyrinth came into play. Did this story even include a labyrinth?

Alyson Bernero

The Book of Sand is another one of Borges' stories which reminded me of House of Leaves. Just like Johnny Traunt in House of Leaves, the owner of the book becomes obsessed with the story. We find while reading that the character in the story is once again Borges himself. When Borges shows no interest in buying the Bible from the seller, the man pulls out the book which immediately intrigues Borges. Borges is unable to deny that he is fascinated by the limitlessness of the book in front of him. This is the demonstration of the labyrinth in the story. The labyrinth is once again an symbol for something with no limits or something that continues on for as long as you allow it too.

Alyson Bernero

I found Borges' story, Man on Pink Corner to be very exciting. The first thing that came to mind while reading it, was that it reminded me of a western because of what was going on and the wording he used. The story began in a club or perhaps a bar just like all good western movies, then there was a fight and then a girl got involved and in the end, someone died. I think this was an interesting story. I found it more fun to read than other stories by Borges perhaps because of the language. I wasn't expecting Yardmaster to be killed, especially after if was he who challenged Rosendo to the knife fight in the first place. I like the unexpected ending and the story overall.

Alyson Bernero

Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv was definately one of my least favorite stories of Borges'. The title I felt, basically told all of the details we learned later on in the story. It bothered me that Borges said things in very complicated ways when it could have been much more easily stated. For example, why did he say "... his father's brother..." when he could have just said uncle. Overall, I can't say much else about this story because I didn't understand much of it.

Alyson Bernero

Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Inequities was the short story that I presented. I found it quite confusing at first, but after reading it over I realized what it was talking about. The story discussed all the gang violence that went on in New York City between businessmen. Its related to the famous movie, Gangs of New York. The main character Eastman, started out by opening his own business and then overtime became New York's go to guy when someone needed a "job" carried out. Before long, Eastman became so famous for his work he didn't even do the jobs himself and instead had people do them for him. When things got a little carried away between the different gangs, Eastman was caught in the middle and sent to jail. Upon his release from jail he couldn't stay out of trouble and instead enlisted in the army which was the last place anyone heard from him. Overall, it was an interesting story, but not my favorite of Borges'.

Alyson Bernero

Death and the Compass was definately one of my favorite stories by Borges. I especially liked that it was written as somewhat of a mystery. I think that the mystery aspect is what made it more appealing to me than some of his other works. On the last page, Borges specifically mentions the labyrinth which is different than in most of his other stories. This almost helped me to understand exactly what some of the hidden meanings in the story were. Although it was longer than most of his other works, it was easier to follow and I think thats what made me so interested in the story. Someone mentioned that it reminded them of the movie Bone Collector and after thinking about the concepts in both works I agree. I saw Bone Collector my senior year of high school and I thought it was a great movie. After thinking back to the way it was written and the way Borges wrote this story I decided to write my paper in the same kind of way. Death and the Compass is a great Borges story.

Nian Liu

The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim

Once again, Borges mentions things I am not really clear about. He starts off naming Philip Guedalla, then Mir Bahadur Ali, and these additional characters that I have no idea about. Maybe its just the style Borges writes with, but what I feel it lacks is the hook that other stories have that he doesn’t. But once I begin to read on the story, I notice the plot all falls into place. Borges just introduced the whereabouts on the book first before he started to explain what the story was about and that it is written by this Mir Bahadur Ali guy. In general this Approach to Al-Mutasim is a detective story about a law student who has taken Muslim as a faith and he ventures himself around India to find a purpose so that he can find enlightenment in his religion.

Nian Liu

Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius

I didn’t really enjoy reading this story because it seemed as if I was reading about something I have no idea about. It talked about an investigation in the different volumes of encyclopedias that took these adventurers months to discover and inside they reveal a passage in the encyclopedia about a hidden world called Tlon. There was a difference in language in the world of Tlon where nouns do not exists but instead verbs are replaces the noun. For instance the sentence, “The moon rose above the river, ”would be said in Tlon, “holor u fang ataxias mlo” which translates in English as, “Upward, behind the on streaming it mooned.” After reading this I didn’t really enjoy the parallels of this world because it made me feel uncomfortable trying to understand how the world in Tlon worked since it greatly differed from our world. This story reminds me of one the projects I had to do this semester and that was to create a civilization. Borges created this civilization out of straight imagination, and to consolidate the astrology, calendars, geography, culture, and literature of a civilization takes immense skill and I think Borges wrote this story because he wanted to challenge himself to see if he is up to the task and he did it.

Michael Lampasona

This story begins at a bar, with the patrons doing the tango. A man called the Yardmaster walks in, and he is heckled and shoved by all the bar patrons. He walks straight up to a man Rosendo, and challenges him to a knife fight. Rosendo denies him, and even when given his knife, Rosendo declines. He throws his knife out the window, and looks like a coward because of this. Yardmaster leaves with a woman, La Lujanera, after Rosendo backs out of the challenge. However, he shows up at the bar later that night with a fatal stab wound, and the culprit remains unknown.

I thought this story was well written and captivating. I believe that La Lujanera stabbed the Yardmaster, because she was the one who left with him and she made sure to make a quick disappearance after the Yardmaster had been stabbed and killed.

Janie Cherestal

I enjoyed reading Borges’ “The Other” because the aspect of someone meeting the past version of themselves was pretty interesting and gave the story a supernatural twist. I felt that the fact that Borges was able to develop such a complex story such as this one proves the kind of intelligence he possessed. I was disappointed that Borges did not meet up with his past self at the end of the story because I was very curious to know whether or not the entire encounter was just a figment of the imagination, as had the young Borges speculated, or reality. Although I never learned if this was a actual incident, I enjoyed the contrast Borges created between the consciousnesses of the past and present, and between reality and the imagination.

Janie Cherestal

I felt that Borges’ “Library of Babel” was a relatively interesting short story. The beginning where Borges described in detail the elements of each room was a tad lengthy and unnecessary, the overall storyline of men attempting to gain all the knowledge the universe has to offer was engaging. I liked the fact that Borges included the “librarian” who reflects God, for He is the one with the single book that summarizes all of the books of the library and thus possesses all of its secrets. I was confused by the narrator’s closing thoughts, where he stated that somewhere amid the chaos must exist some type of order or pattern, and wondered what exactly Borges meant by this peculiar statement.

Michael Lampasona

I did not quite understand this story at first. I could not understand why the narrator is running from Captain Richard Madden. As the story develops, it appears that the main character is on Germany's side in the war, and Captain Richard Madden is trying to kill him for his war affiliation. Eventually he reaches the home of Dr. Stephen Albert. Along the way, he explains the work of his ancestor Ts'ui Pen, who was creating a garden of forking paths. This is an area with infinite possibilities and outcomes. At the end of the story, the narrator kills Dr. Stephen Albert to reveal that the name of the city he was spying on was Albert.

I found this story to be interesting. At first, I was a little confused by the plot, but I like the idea of infinite possibilities. It reminds me of time travel paradoxes, and the movie The Butterfly Effect. I enjoyed this story because it got my mind working about the infinity of everything in life.

tung kim

Many people find something out of nothing, that what I thought when I read the Zahir. A woman finds something in a coin that she is unable to let it go. Everyone I think is connected and that goes the same for objects. When things in our lives start to go all weird and we start to lose track, many people tend to find comfort different ways. And so perhaps the lady in the story holds on to that coin because she feels that she need to find reason to her existences. That just my take on it.

tung kim

The others was another great story I thought. I always thought to myself what it would be to meet my future self. Would I be the same as I am now, how much would I really change, would I be successful in my life or be in ruins. Another thought would that I would also wonder is that what I would say to my past self. Would I tell him to watch out for curtain things and prevent hardship and heartache? The story is very strange in the end in that they both chose not to go meet up and that shows that they both are still the same in their logic and actions. I don’t think I would be able to do that my wonder would over rule my logic and I would make my self to the meeting place.

tung kim

I remember reading this story somewhere before in my life and after reading it again I started to remember why I liked this story. There are many symbols in it that I thought was very well hidden such as the book being truth that it was the key to human kind understand that such a thing as a book of infinitely existed. But in the end we could comprehend such a thing, we as a society would not accept such a thing existed and book was later hidden for all time. I did enjoy reading this book and I’m sure that there are more symbols then just that. Borges is a very interesting man and in a way very crafty in adding like clues into his stories.

Janie Cherestal

“The Mirror and the Mask” was one of Borges more complicated stories. It described a poet’s attempt to create the perfect poem about a war as a favor for the king. As a thank-you, the king gives the poet a mask for the first poem, then a mirror for the second. However, with each poem, the poet displays physical changes, and by his last poem, looks like a completely different person. This poem is just one line, and the king states that it is the most beautiful thing in the universe. With that, he gives the poet a dagger, which he uses to kill himself, and the king becomes a beggar. I felt confused at to what this one line was, and wondered if it was the name of God. This would explain why the king called it the most perfect piece he ever seen, and why the poet commits suicide, for Borges had stated in one of his stories that men are not meant to discover God’s name.

Janie Cherestal

I found Borges’ “Book of Sand” to be one of his better short stories due to the fact that it was concise and to the point without any confusing symbolism. In the story, the narrator purchases a fascinating book with infinite pages from a peddler, but soon becomes horrified by the object and terribly paranoid that someone will steal it from him. Eventually, he decides that he must get rid of the book and decides that the safest place to lose it is in a giant library among countless volumes. I felt that the feature of an eerie book that drives its owner mad was pretty interesting and it was fun to read how strongly it effected the narrator. I was surprised that Borges did not end up killing off the narrator as he usually does to one of the characters in his stories, and wondered what Borges was trying to say about religion by having a Bible seller give the terrible book to the narrator.

Katherine Tesi

I found Borges’ “The Book of Sand” relatively interesting, but it was surely no surprise that Borges once again uses the idea of the infinite and labyrinths. We find Borges as the narrator and main character again, which I have found that I like a little better. I find it more intriguing when Borges is the main character, simply because I feel as though the story being told could be a first hand account of an event. We also find a theme of religion within this story in that the stranger is selling Bibles and Borges has a collection of Bibles. Throughout all of the time that Borges has spent referring to the infinite and labyrinths, I have found it increasingly interesting as the stories have progressed. I really do enjoy how many of his stories portray an idea similar to this one; if a person becomes obsessive about the infinite in any aspect of life, it will surely drive them insane. In the stories which have been read during class, we find that the characters are temporarily consumed by this obsession but they seem to always return to reality.

Michael Lampasona

This story was about a library that had every possible book within its shelves. All the books were the same length, and arranged in the same fashion on the shelves. Since every combination of 22 letters was used to form the words in the book, there were a seemingly infinite number of books. However, there is a limit to the number of possible combinations so the number of books is actually finite. During the story, men try to find the one book that will bring them salvation. Also, there is mention of the one divine book that exists within the library. In search of great books, some books from the library are destroyed. However, Borges points out that there are so many books, even destroying some does not eliminate the handful of almost identical books that are left behind. This analogy can be applied to many situations in the world, not only this library.

I found this story compelling. It reminded me of when I walk into a library and am astounded by the number of books. Even though every possible combination of letters is not actually in our libraries, the pure amount of knowledge on the shelves is unbelievable. Borges expresses this idea well in this fictional work.

Michael Lampasona

This story is about a lottery that takes place in Babylon. At first, the lottery seems like any other lottery - whoever wants to enter must pay a fee and is granted a chance to win a pooled prize. This lottery is run by "the Company." Eventually the lottery evolved, and those who entered were given a chance to win a pooled some or be penalized. More and more people ended up entering the lottery, because if a man did not buy a ticket he was considered to have no spirit of adventure. Eventually, the picked "loser" of the lottery was forced to serve jail time. The lottery gained popularity, and in time the reward became not being penalized - with death.

I thought this story was interesting. Borges talks about his common theme of infinity towards the end of the story. I certainly would not like to participate in this lottery, but then again if I lived in Babylon I wouldn't have a choice.

Emily Skahill

i think the stories in this book are getting better as they go on, because i really liked this book. it's probably because it reminded me of The House of Leaves and Zampano as well as Traunt's obsession with the book. Borges became obsessed with trying to figure out the novel just like Traunt's life revolved around what Zampano wrote and the way he lived his life. I really like this story, it's really interesting. i liked it so much i actually thought it was too short. i also think Borges could write another short story about someone finding the book in the library, sort of Jumanji like.

Emily Skahill

the House of Asterion is about a half man half bull thing living in a labyrinth. honestly i feel bad for the Minotaur. no one comes to visit him except for every 9 years and he runs around playing games and making up imaginary people.  i like greek mythology and it was interesting how Borges wrote it from this perspective but even so, i feel so bad for him. no one deserves to be alone! it was short though, and i loved this story for that! Borges should have never wrote anything very long, because he is a very boring writer. his readers would have been a lot better off.

Emily Skahill

i like the Zahir, much more than i've liked any of the other stories we've read. unlike a lot of the stories we read this sort of seems like it could really happen. if it did in today's world the person would be put in a mental hospital. it also sort of reminded me of the lord of the rings, the obsession with a coin. i don't really understand why the coin would bring him to god, thats a pretty out there idea in my opinion. i still don't like how Borges writes. i always have to reread everything more than once. i wish i could write more about my reactions to these, but seriously even though i liked this story there isn't much to say. 

Kristin Todd

I thought that "The Book of Sand" was really interesting.  It was really easy to follow and provided a mystery and something to think about for the reader.  It was intriguing how the book was a labyrinth to the reader- always changing.  It definitely reminded me of the labyrinth from House of Leaves because it was always changing depending on who was inside or trying to go inside.  I found that the man who bought the book wasn't that skeptical of the man selling it.  If it were me, I would have thought about buying the book longer and even trusting the man a little less.  But, then again, it probably wouldn't make a good short story.  The hyperlink was also pretty interesting.  It provided a different outlook on the story because it said that it didn't really matter what order the story was in.  The fact that the hypertext was interactive was also good because it was a puzzle that you had to figure out based on the plot.  But, like the book in the story, the pages kept changing so it made it harder to figure out the puzzle.

Kristy Medina

When first reading the title, Book of Sand, you can immediately think Borges will write about religion (even though Borges is not predicative, he is really consistent with the topics he discusses.) And anyways, I thought about why the metaphor sand for a religious book like the Bible. When the 'seller' starts describing the book, like talking about the page numbers and how they don't go in order, I immediately thought of House of Leaves and how different and innovative authors can get with these books. Also similar to House of Leaves I thought about how the set up of the book would be if the pages do not go in order...like how it would be read and how to follow it. But then it is told that the book is called the book of sand because it has no beginning, middle, or end, so it wouldn't be coherent anyways. As a reader reading a mystery story (or what I would call mysterious) I tried to guess what would happen to the narrator after buying the book because I knew it wouldn't be good and I guessed right (sort-of). I knew it was going to bring the narrator bad luck of some sorts. The book actually did lead to something bad in the narrator's life. The obsession the narrator had reminded my of Navidson's obsession with the unknowing and it was coincidental how both characters lost the people closest to them because of this obsession. In the end, Borges again leaves us with a very interesting ending about how the narrator won't even enter the street in which he left the book (also how he wouldn't burn it because the fire would infinitely burn.) The short story anyways, is really really short just like House of Asterion. I liked it a lot.

Julie Morvitz

I really liked The Book of Sand. It reminded me a lot of The Zahir, because the narrator becomes obsessed with the book, just like the narrator becomes obsessed with the Zahir. The difference in these stories is that in The Zahir, the narrator couldn’t stop thinking about the Zahir even after he got rid of it, and I don’t think it ever left him. We don’t really know if the narrator is still obsessed with the book after he leaves it in the library, but it seems more like he can move on with his life, even if he can’t walk on the street where the library is. The story, like many other Borges short stories, includes the idea of the labyrinth. I liked the idea of a never ending book, but there was no way of actually reading the book. Besides it not having a beginning page or an end page, there was no consistency in the middle and none of the pages were in order. Nonetheless, I liked the story.

Carly Cooper

I think this story was a really good one to be the last story we read in this class. It integrates like all the themes we have been discussing, it is a perfect example of the kinda of fictional stories that Jorge Luis Borges always writes. The theme of obsession is one that has been repetitive throughout the semester and again here the narrator has an unexplained obsession with this book and has isolated himself just like both main characters in House of Leaves. Another aspect of Borges' writing is that he keep talking about the story or book a hundred and one nights which still is a question i have as to why he constantly references it. 

I also really liked this story, i have really enjoyed the stories toward the end of the book and i am better able to understand them. I thought it was really intriguing though I don't understand why he feels obligated to hide the book and not share its mysteriousness with the world.

Michael Lampasona

This story is about a man who visits Jorge Luis Borges to attempt to sell him a Bible. Borges tells the man that he has plenty of bibles, and that he is not interested. The man then shows Borges the Book of Sand. This book is limitless, and the beginning and end of it can never be reached. This fascinates Borges, who then desperately wants to purchase the book. He buys it from the man, and soon becomes obsessed with it. The story ends with Borges hiding the infinite book at the basement of a library, to end his obsession. However, he still refuses to walk down the street of that library.

This story had themes that are common in Borges' works - infinity and obsession. Borges becomes obsessed with the never ending, labyrinth of a book. Luckily, he is able to get rid of it, but not after it has altered his life. This was a very typical Borges short story.

Michael Lampasona

This story is about a king who hires a poet to create a poem about the history of Ireland. The poet comes back with a rehearsed poem that the king enjoys and appreciates. He gives the poet a silver mirror as a gift, and instructs him to come back with another poem. The poet comes back with a less rehearsed, stranger poem. Surprisingly, the king enjoys this poem even more, and rewards the poet with a golden mask and instructs him to come back with another poem. The poet comes back, this time with one line. He recites it to the king, and both of them are awestruck by the meaning of this line; both believe they truly heard beauty. The king gives the poet a dagger to kill himself. The poet commits suicide, and the king becomes a commoner after hearing this one line.

This story was quite deep. It makes me very curious what this one line was, or could have been about to cause such strong reactions from the king and the poet. It must have been very moving, because it changed both of their lives drastically.

Michael Lampasona

In this story, Jorge Luis Borges meets a younger version of himself while he is sitting on a bench. He is seventy years old at the time, and his younger counterpart is around twenty years old. Borges talks to the younger version of himself and tries to convince himself that this is not a dream. He tells the younger Borges facts about his life that only he would know. The younger Borges still has his doubts, however he seems convinced when the older Borges shows him an American bill with a date from the future on it. At the end, they agree to meet again, but neither shows.

I found the idea of meeting your future self interesting. It was amusing how Borges had such a hard time convincing himself that it wasn't just a dream, and he later explained how maybe it was just a dream for his younger self. This story reminded me of concepts of time travel, and it's potential problems. Overall, it was an enjoyable short story.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

When reading this story I imagine a circular sort of novel in which the pages are scattered over a 360 degree angle. A book which contains bits of every story that was ever told is what “The Book of Sand” represents to me. Borges attempts to put together this infinite creation only to become obsessed and enslaved by this tedious labor. At least he was able to recognize that he had a problem, which he fixed by getting rid of the book. However, I do think that Borges finding the man who traded him the book and demanding a refund would have been a far superior ending because it would involve more plot driven action. Overall it was pretty safe but I do appreciate it for its imaginative qualities.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

“The Other,” by Jorge Luis Borges was very creative and imaginative in its context. It involves two men meeting at a park bench, only Borges feels a strange familiarity in this other man. The other man is actually turns out to be Jorge Luis Borges as well, except he is much younger. The narrator is the older, greyer Borges. The two men engage in a conversation, the older Borges offers advice to the younger Borges on his literary development and progress for the future. I find it ironic that the older man was much more affected by this phenomenon than the younger man. I thought the younger man should’ve taken more of an active interest in this encounter with his future self because he could’ve gained a lot more out of it. It’s not every day that such a phenomenon occurs. When the conversation is over the two men agree to meet at the same bench the next day, only they don’t. They both lie to one another, which is quite sad, because I would be way more enthusiastic if I had the opportunity to meet my future self.

“The Mirror and the Mask” by Jorge Luis Borges was an exciting story. It was about a king who chose a very knowledgeable poet to summarize for him a brief history of Ireland in the form of a poem. The first time, the poet’s work was very lengthy and rehearsed. The king was astounded and rewarded the poet. The second time the poet wasn’t as thorough and detailed, but the king was moved nonetheless, even more so than the first time. The third time the poet recited only a single verse and brought the king to into a standstill. He was so amazed that the poet was able to capture such a long period of time in that one line, and handed him a dagger. The poet ends up killing himself and the king becomes a commoner. It is incredible to imagine how one line of poetry could have such a profound affect on people.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“The Book of Sand”

“The Book of Sand” is the story of how Borges came to be the owner of a vast infinite novel called The Book of Sand. This story focuses on the theme of a labyrinth which is prominent throughout this entire book. A poor bible salesman comes into Borges’s apartment hoping to sell him something. When Borges shows no interest in purchasing a Bible the man pulls out The Book of Sand, a rare, limitless novel which contains no beginning or end. Borges is intrigued by this book and makes a quick trade in exchange for the novel. The novel turns out to be a menace to Borges. The only thing he can do is attempt to find order in his very disorderly new novel. He has been at it for months and to no avail. Borges’s obsession draws a parallel to Johnny Truant, who also works tirelessly to complete a disorganized manuscript. This book now taunts and debilitates him. Because he can’t grasp the power this book has over him, he decides that the best thing to do is to hide it high in the shelf of a library. Though he still feels anxious when he walks near this library, his decision was made for the best. I thought this story was very straightforward and interesting. I think it would be wonderful to find such a book even if it is impossible to read, it can still do something powerful to the mind.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“The Other,” “The Mirror and the Mask”

This next story by Borges is a social satire between the young and old. Borges is about seventy years old; he sits in a familiar bench only to realize he is in the presence of his once former self. This other man is about twenty, he is just starting out his career as a writer, and he reads many books which he uses for inspiration. He seems so focused on his career to the extent that he fails to notice this great presence before him. The older Borges tries to guide this younger man but to no avail. The younger Borges responds in disbelief and indifference. This lack of concern is disappointing to the older Borges because he realizes there is no way to reach out to this man. Perhaps he had an important message to deliver to him concerning his future. It’s a shame that both men leave the bench feeling empty when they have such close ties to one another. Perhaps some people fear their future and choose not to get in the way of what is meant to be someday.

“The Mirror and the Mask” was very sentimental and unusual. It reminded me of a fairytale in some aspects. There was a king who appointed a poet the task of writing a manuscript for an allotted period of time. It seems that during each time when the anniversary of this day passed, the poet became less sure of his capabilities and the king just became more proud of the poet’s accomplishments. The poet was awarded a silver mirror for his first labor, a golden mask for his second and a dagger for his third, which he used to kill himself. It seems that the deteriorating quality of the poet’s work reflects how difficult times are becoming outside the realms of the kingdom. The poet mirrors the quality of life in its present state. At the end the king himself becomes a beggar, who never speaks the words of that third poem. I guess that third poem must’ve been a line that said it all, if it made the poet kill himself and turned the king into a beggar.

The Book of Sand

My first thought going into this story just from judging the title was that this story would have religious symbolism tied into the theme somehow. So far Jorge's has been consistent by communicating underlying religious issues as well as layered secrets only found in mysterious brain like seams. Jorge's held up his consistency by incorporating a bible salesman for a religious reminder and a labyrinth obstacle. These themes continue to show up throughout the book and are starting to get a little old quite frankly. The stories with new themes are becoming more intriguing due to their fresh underlying objective. This leaves me to question how much of a genius Jorge was. I think that Jorge's was so smart that he purposely implemented new themes in between repeating morals to highlight the spirits of the new stories. If Jorge's intended this, well than my goodness what a smart man. But honestly the next time I throw up will not be from alcohol but from the next Jorge labyrinth religious themed story.

The Other

The Other was so interesting, at first it crept me out because the movie The Others was very creepy. The entire scenario of the story was so interested how Borges went back to visit his younger self. The interesting point in this story is there is no clear conception as to whose perspective we are in. One self of Jorge's thinks that the rendezvous is simply a dream however the other one thinks its a reality. I think there is irony here because the younger self is the one who believes it is a dream. Usually a younger person would think something of this impossibility is a reality and an older person would simply fluff it away with some kind of scientific explanation. This has to do with sophistication. And maybe just maybe Jorge is sending a message that his younger self had the sophistication of a man. I'm sorry if I confused anyone it was kind of hard to express that in words. Overall great story.

Katherine Tesi

I really like Borges’ “The Other”. I thought the entire idea behind the story was interesting, original and intriguing. Once again, I found the story with Borges himself in it more entertaining. I was really impressed by how much he carried his use of parallel worlds throughout the story. Borges shows the parallel of locations (Cambridge and Geneva) and with the exchange of money at the end of the story. He also found a way to work deceit into the story, like a handful of his others, by mentioning how the two versions of him were unable to deceive each other because they knew one another (or themselves) too well. As the story ends Borges reveals his explanation of the encounter. He believes that the physical encounter was real however the young version of Borges spoke to him in a dream. This is the reason why the young Borges could forget the conversation but the old Borges is “tormented by the memory”. As an old man Borges comes to realize that as a young man he dreamed the unattainable date on the dollar bill. I found his explanation really interesting. I definitely had to read the last few paragraphs a few times to understand what he was saying, but once it clicked I found it to be a really remarkable idea.

Kristy Medin

Well, first, why is the title of this section "The Book of Sand?" I would guess something but I really have no idea and would be making false inferences. But to the stories: "The Other" is such a weird story about how Jorge Luis Borges meets another Jorge Luis Borges. At first you think it's him talking to himself, making conversation, bored, schizophrenic, whatever. Next you think that it is Borges at different points of his life. For example, it is Borges at the present and then a "visit" of Borges at the future. Then you keep reading and Borges himself is confused which is kind of comical. It was interesting in the sense that the older Borges knew the current Borges's future. They were talking about how many books Borges will write and that was cool. The he talks about alter egos which made it confusing because you were thinking about 4 different Borge's. It made me think about what I would ask myself if I could ever talk to myself from the future. But, then of course, Borge's "twist" in the end of the short story where can be interpreted that the Borges (younger) was visiting the Borges (older).

Julie Morvitz

I thoroughly enjoyed The Other. It wasn’t confusing to me, and I liked the idea that Borges meets his younger self. I also liked that they were unsure of how they were actually meeting- his younger self thought it was a dream, while his older self thought it was actually happening. Many of Borges’ themes were apparent in the story, and clearly that we didn’t know whether the story was reality or fantasy. One or both of them could be dreaming, or they could be in a fantasy world where these events actually do happen.
I cannot say that I liked The Mirror and the Mask quite as much. Poetry has always confused me to some extent, and this story involved a lot of poetry. I understood the main idea of the story, that the poet came every year to the king and read him a poem, but I wasn’t sure what the gifts the king gave him meant. I also don’t understand why the poet couldn’t read the poem at the end, or why the king gave him a dagger which he killed himself with.

Elisabeth Jeremko

"The Book of Sand" seemed to be a blend of themes and commentary already issued forth in Borges' other stories. For this reason, I found the story repetitive, even annoying. Borges sounded rather arrogant in relation to the Bible salesman, seeming to think himself more worldly and more able to handle such a book. Much symbolism can be drawn from the nature of the characters...the Bible salesman does not have grand curiosity to keep the book. For those who find comfort in their faiths (such as Christianity and the Word of the Bible), complex mysteries and unexplainable energies cannot be ventured towards in curiosity pursuits. The Bible salesman finds much more value in a straightforward Wyclif, whereas Borges insists on tackling the great labyrinth-like nature of the Book of Sand. The idea of Edward Said's "Orientalism" shows up here, again. The Book of Sand seems exotic and full of unearthed secrets, much of because it is foreign. I found similarities in this story to other stories. Like "The Zahir", Borges becomes restless and disturbingly obsessed with the Book. This also reminds me of Johnny Truant and Zampano in "House of Leaves". Like "The Library of Babel", concepts of infinity and secret knowledge needing to be found are brought up. The story did not seem unique to me, in relation to his other stories. Also, with his hyperbolic descriptions of his relation of events, Borges starts to sound like a drama queen. I could believe the immensity of the effects from meeting himself in "The Other" or obsessing over "The Zahir". But now that panicky obsession is just becoming too repetitive for me. "I now feel a little better, but I refuse to even walk down the street the library's on" is what Borges says of his hiding place for the book. Perhaps this melodramatic recruitment on the behalf of Borges helps usher in his themes, but my curious reaction to this state of panicky unsettledness is not as exhilarating or new to me as a reader now.

Elisabeth Jeremko

For this story, I really liked it in the beginning. The irish king asks the poet to come and read each year. After the first year, he is given a mirror of silver. Then next year, a mask. The third year, a dagger. Apparently the poet is Virgil. By the end of the story, the king tells the poet that tehy share the same sin -- of "having known Beauty, which is a gift forbidden mankind" (Borges, 454). Here is where I got lost. The gifts that the king gives seem to represent something, but I do not know what they would represent. As for the third poem, the king says that no marvels even compare with the poem. I do not understand why the poem would defeat the two men. Is it akin to the "Library of Babel" sceneario, where the lesson to be garnered is like the Tower of Babel biblical story -- that man cannot attain godly knowledge and awareness? The king becomes a beggar and never speaks of the poem again. Why is their involvement with the poem sinful? I find understanding the meaning of the story very frustrating.

Elisabeth Jeremko

"The Other" reminded me of "The Zahir" opening, which is also reminiscent of "House of Leaves". Like these two other works, "The Other" presents a narrator who expresses an intense, yet vague sense of horror and deep impact from some type of occurrence. The subject matter in this story was perhaps one of the most interesting. Therefore, I found this story to be one of my favorites. The thought of meeting up with yourself from a different time is bizarre and unsettling. The story also proves to be rather humorous, because the confrontation is so awkward. Alot of captivating thoughts are mentioned that can all relate to Borges' meeting with himself -- deja vu, knowing oneself,an individual's changes throughout time, and the confusion of dreams and reality. It is funny when the one Borges corrects the other and when they both agree to meet again, yet neither will actually do so. The older Borges attempts to say grand, sweeping commentary on the nature of the individual and literature, whereas the younger Borges barely listens. As the older Borges says, though, "The situation was too unnatural to last much longer. There was no point in giving advice, no point in arguing, because the young man's inevitable fate was to be the man that I am now" (Borges, 416). I like how Borges gives an explanation for why it was forgotten by the young Borges -- a dream. Honestly, it is quite difficult to wrap my mind around the whole concept. That is why I think I find the story so challenging (in a good way) and memorable.

Julie Morvitz

I’m not sure what to think of The Zahir. It was confusing at times but it was about a man who bcomes obsessed with a coin and then finds out other people have been obsessed with it as well. In the past it hadn’t only been a coin, it had been other things as well like a tiger, a blind man, and many others. I think that anyone can decide what The Zahir is, because what it’s been in the past are very abstract things. The narrator says that The Zahir is also a form of God because they are both unforgettable and they make people mad. I think this is an interesting comparison, but there are many other things that are unforgettable and make people go crazy, but these things aren’t compared to God.
I enjoyed The House of Asterion. It is about a man who lives in a house (which is similar to a labyrinth) where its’ doors are always open and there is no lock. Although the house would allow him to leave, he feels like a prisoner beause when he walks outside people hide from him and run away because he is “unique”. Every nine years, nine men come into his house to be freed from all evil, and they all die suddenly. There are many questions I have concerning this story. Why do people flee from Asterion when they see him? Why is the number fourteen so important? How do the nine men die and why? Will Asterion’s redeemer ever come?

Carly Cooper

I think this story was better then most of Borges' stories although I can't say i really liked it. I kind of feel like Borges was being lazy like he wanted to write this story but he couldn't think of any poem that the man could say that would be so sinful so he hides it from the reader. Even thought it is a fictional story, I can't help but wonder what the last poem was. However the part of the story I did like was that the king and the poet spoke very poetically and that made the dialog more interesting and beautiful to read. I also like the turn of surprise at the end of the story, there is something interesting about starting a story with success and ending it in failure, since most stories are usually written the other way around.

Carly Cooper

I liked this story a lot more than most of Borges' other stories, even though it was very fictional it was interesting and understandable. I think it is one of those stories that makes you think about the impossible and also makes one inquire about time and the universe, future and past. I often wonder if I would want to meet someone that could tell me how things will go for me, would i want to know what the future holds for me? This story is interesting because here he wasn't given a choice he was just told and we don't know if he believed it or not. I think the story would have been even more interesting if we could hear it not only from Borges in his current older state but also from the young Borges, his reaction to the information and how he was feeling at the time of this encounter would have also been a good thing to write about.

Katherine Tesi

The two short stories that were presented on Thursday April 23rd were Borges’ “The House of Asterion” and “The Zahir”. “The House of Asterion” was a short story about the Greek mythological character, the Minotaur, told from his perspective. The narrator, the Minotaur (half man, half bull), gives a brief history of the Greek myth and begins the story by explaining how he lives within a labyrinth. Throughout the short story Asterion (the Minotaur) speaks of his perception of his life. He views his home as a prison and it upsets him that he never has visitors. He plays games with himself to stay entertained. The only visitors that ever arrive are nine men who visit every nine years so Asterion can deliver them from evil. The story ends with Theseus, the Kind of Athens speaking with his wife Ariadne, and explaining how Asterion hadn’t “scarcely defended himself” when Theseus killed him. Borges’ story displays the Minotaur in a far more sympathetic light and as more of a “hero” than in other stories. On a more technical note, Borges has rewritten Greek Mythology into a Spanish short story which can be considered intertextuality.
In the second story, “The Zahir”, Borges focuses on the idea of obsession and the perception of reality. A zahir is explained to be an object or person that upon seeing it causes complete and total obsession eventually leading to no perception of reality. Borges is the narrator and main character within this story, and is the one affected by the zahir within the story. The zahir takes the form of a Buenos Aires twenty centavo coin and after attending the funeral of a model he had loved, Borges goes to a bar where he is given the coin in his change. That night he dreams of money and the following day Borges goes to a bar to get rid of the coin. He immediately realizes the obsession that begins to overwhelm him and tries to write a fantastical story to distract himself. The focus of his story includes the narrator trying to protect an infinite treasure from human greed. The narrator cuts his own fathers throat in the treasure’s protection. His obsession continues and he sees a psychiatrist which doesn’t help. He begins reading about the zahir to understand its powers better. Borges begins to realize he’s going crazy and loosing sight of reality. The definition of the zahir that is given within the story is that it’s “the shadow of the rose and the rending of the veil”. A rose can be a symbol for the beloved and for God and the definition can be interpreted to mean that once the veil or in this case the zahir, is removed from one’s life, they can see God. This story incorporates not only a few outside literary sources like “1001 Nights” but also a very strong religious influence. Repetition is a constant throughout the text (often found within religious prayer as well) and the idea of loosing sight of oneself to see God is the main idea within the story.

Kristin Todd

This week's readings, "The Other" and "The Mirror and the Mask" were very interesting to read.  I thought that the first story was more enjoyable and easier to follow than the second, but they were both good stories.  "The Other" was a better story, in my opinion, because I liked that Borges was writing in an obscure way about himself.  It was a little difficult to follow all the concepts that Borges wrote about, but I didn't feel that it stopped me from reading the story.  Both of the stories, again, showed Borges's typical writing style in that he starts the story assuming the reading already knows what's going on.  Overall, I liked this week's reading.

Kristin Todd

The chapters 5 - In a Network of Lines that Enlance also follow the same pattern that the whole book has been doing so far.  In this point of the plot of the numbered chapters, the main character decided to go to a publisher.  I found it interesting that he would go but not Ludmilla.  I can understand her point in not wanting to go because it ruins the magic of fiction and books for her, but I also couldn't understand why she wouldn't go and see the process of publishing a book and to possibly hear the secrets that may be revealed.  It's still a little confusing trying to follow the path of the novel, but it's getting easier to do so.

kristin Todd

The second Calvino reading, Ch.3 - Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo, was a continuation of what was going on in the previous reading.  The numbered chapters continued with the main character trying to find out what was going on with the books he was purchasing.  I thought it was interesting when the main character goes to the professor to find out the meaning of the book and where it came from.  It turned out that it was a language of some society that was disappearing.  But there was an argument about whether this writing came from one culture, the Cimmerians, or a different one.  I thought that it was fascinating to think of books as being part of one culture or another and the different views that people of these different culture have about certain works of art.

Kristin Todd

The reading, ch.1 - Outside the Town of Malbork, was a little confusing.  The parts that are labeled with numbers is one story line, while the chapters that have an actual title are a different story line, but they do not connect to each other.  I find that this makes reading the book a little difficult.  I find it interesting that the book is talking about the book while it is being written.  The main character in the numbered parts of the book talks about buying this book and thinks there's something wrong with it.  But, the book turns out to be If on a Winter's Night a Traveler.  That was a little confusing, but it also made the book different than other books that have been written.

Kristy Medina

House of Asterion concentrates on a Greek Mythology story of a minotaur and his life in a labyrinth. Asterion, the minotaur, which is a creature that is half man, half bull is a prisoner of his own house. He lives within his own solidarity. At first, the short story talks about the house and how no one visits him even though the labyrinth has no door, no furnitures, etc. The readter actually gets to sympothsize with Asterion. He even makes up games to play with himself, one being where he makes up another Asterion. There is a twist however, to the end, the reader gets to know that every 9 years, 9 men come to the house so that Asterion can set them free. The very end the dialoge between Theseus and his wife where it kind of flashes foward. It basically says that Theseus killed the Minotaur. In the end, the Minotaur got what he wanted because he was killed since he wanted a reedemer and Theseus was that. This of course is an interesting short story because Greek mythology is written in the perspectives of kings and honorable men while Borges takes a point of view that is completly different and that of the evil creature sided against the king.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

“The Zahir” is about Borges himself and his obsession with a gold coin called the Zahir. He goes into great detail in telling us the origins of the Zahir and how it could also refer to other things such as god or a tiger. He also mentions his lovesickness for a woman named Teodelina Villar, a model. It seems as though his obsession stems from the fact that he spent the Zahir at a bar when he saw Teodelina Villar having a drink. This story is simply the ramifications of a man who has been heartbroken and chooses to express his grief by channeling it through an entirely different extreme. Borges was so overcome with grief over Teodelina Villar’s suicide that he held on to the closest part of her that he had known, which was the Zahir coin. I believe this story was written to show the toils of dealing with an unhealthy obsession and how heavily it can impact your life.

“The House of Asterion” is a first person account of a princess who isolates herself in a very large house. She is not a prisoner, as she isn’t locked up or forced to stay in one place. She simply chooses this way of life because she fears the commoners and the way they treat her. It isn’t clear whether her house is really infinite, or if that word was simply placed over the number fourteen. It seems she lives a very lonely life; no companionship, no ability to read, and no overall contact with the outside world. There is the exception of a ceremony that occurs every nine years, but other than that her life is desolate. All she has is her house, in which she wanders through its limitless pools, galleries and all sorts of other treasures. Though she does possess all these riches she is still empty inside, just like her infinite palace.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“The Zahir,” “The House of Asterion”

This first story describes the irrationalities of obsession. Borges was in love with a woman named Teodelina Villar. This woman was very calculated in her mannerisms, and always maintained herself as a classy and beautiful figure. The story gives the impression that she took her own life, as a result of finding herself inadequate. The story then shifts its focus to the Zahir, which is a coin among its many other meanings. Though I don’t see the connection between Teodelina Villar and the Zahir, I think it could be the coin itself that played a part in her untimely death. Borges inserts himself into the story as a man who is plagued by his obsession. I feel very bad for people who cannot grasp control over such extreme emotions. I assume the man Borges portrays in the story commits suicide as well because the coin held such a high power over him.

“The House of Asterion” is the story of a spoiled princess who chooses to isolate herself from society. She is simply a desperate soul who retreats to an immeasurable house for protection against the common folk. She doesn’t even have the patience to learn to read so that she herself could understand what poor people really have to go through. She spends her days doing nothing but frolicking in her mansion while the rest of society is hard at work for her. This princess is in dire need of a rude awakening because she is overly sheltered. My hope is that she is either overthrown or made to live as a commoner, because her attitude is just beyond reality.

Katherine Tesi

I enjoyed Borges’ “The Zahir” the most of all of his stories thus far. Initially, I found the fact that Borges made himself the narrator and main character more intriguing as compared to the other stories. In the past stories, the history piece that introduces each piece I’ve found to be boring and confusing. However, in the beginning of “The Zahir” Borges explains the history of the zahir and the idea behind it, attracting the reader further. The idea of the story, that a single item or thing can cause complete obsession, prohibiting a person to view and interpret reality, was so interesting in itself.
The second story, “The House of Asterion” I found appealing as well. Although short, Borges once again brings in the idea of the labyrinth when he refers to the infinite doors. I also noted that Borges illudes to religious themes once again when Asterion speaks of himself as having god like characteristics and when the “great redeemer” is mentioned. The story ends with mention of the Minotaur being killed, and I couldn’t help but remember House of Leaves. However, it was unclear to me whether or not Asterion was the Minotaur or not.

Elisabeth Jeremko

I cannot decide if I like or dislike “The House of Asterion”. It contains a unique perspective and bizarre elements, like the lockless, infinite doors. Asterion is fascinating as a character and the emphasis on the House throws off the reader from ever guessing Asterion would be a minotaur. One question that lingers in my mind is, what is the significance of “14”? It is not a number that I have seen pop up as symbolic. So I wonder why Borges picked fourteen to represent infinity and keep showing up in the story? Asterion says that he may have created the house, but does not remember it. What would propel him to think this (merely his ignorance…or his rich imagination?). The ideas that get presented in the story are interesting, but they leave me questioning more than feeling like I have the answers. The story is so short that so much is left ambiguous and unfulfilling in terms of explanation. I also want to know who the redeemer is supposed to be? If Asterion is the minotaur, who would be the redeemer? I found the very ending so sad…that the minotaur “hardly defended itself” (Borges, 222). Somehow, even though not understanding much, I still was emotionally invested in Asterion and felt bad for his imprisonment of solitude and then how the story ends. Has Asterion been redeemed by the end, through this act?

Elisabeth Jeremko

Right at the onset of reading “The Zahir”, Borges hooked me in with his proclamation that “I am not the man I was then, but I am still able to recall…” (Borges, 242). I was highly curious to see what the Zahir would mean and what had happened to Borges in the story. After this, I loved the description of Teodelina Villar. Borges did such a concise, yet descriptive job of fully giving me an idea of what type of woman she was. I tend to think of myself as a perfectionist, so the description of her discipline being greater than that of Talmudists or Confucians was humorous. Borges says the reader might have expected that he was in love with her—I did not guess this, actually! As I read more and more Borges, I see how abruptly and sometimes out of order he presents details. While once annoying, I find his approach to relaying the story in “The Zahir” refreshing. Perhaps I am just more accustomed to Borges or maybe its this particular story. I am not quite sure. I started to lose Borges when he described money as “future time” (244). I found the story humorous again when Borges said that his whole description of the fantasy story was to get the coin off his mind. It is as if the reader is along for the ride, so to speak, of what goes on in Borges’ mind. The concept of the Zahir, as being any object able to induce nonstop thoughts revolving around it is really unique and interesting. His idea seems to become fully developed when referencing Tennyson’s idea of understanding a single flower being able to understand everything else. He then references the Kabbalist idea “that man is a microcosm, a symbolic mirror of the universe” (248). The story finishes up saying that he relentlessly focuses on the Zahir, where behind may be God. One thing I am confused about is how Julia’s presence in Borges’ life fits in with the Zahir. Is it one obsession to another? I cannot really find a connection.

Janie Cherestal

I thought that the story “The Lottery in Babylon” was a little strange in that the lottery that is meant to reward people was turned into a system that can lead to one’s death, yet the characters of the narrative continued to participate in it to avoid being called a coward. I have never been in such a situation, but I imagine that in the face of being called a coward or possibly being killed, I would pick being called a coward. In the story, the risk that one put in playing the lottery were meant to reflect the chances of everyday life, and how one day we may find luck, and on the next disaster- an idea that I felt was pretty interesting.

Janie Cherestal

I actually found “The House of Asterion” to be one of the more enjoyable short stories of Borges’ collection. Not only was it delightfully short, it had a clear storyline about a man named Asterion who is of royalty and lives alone in an infinite house. It also appears that he has a few marbles loose, for he has hilarious conversations with himself, runs like a charging ram, and pretends that he is being hunted. Asterion describes how once a year he executes nine men, and one year one of the men stated that Asterion will meet his redeemer, which he is very excited to hear. I felt a little confused as to why Asterion was executing men and who exactly he was in the community. Was Asterion the Minotaur that was mentioned at the end of the story?

Carly Cooper

This story begins, as many of other Borge's stories with a character that is unknown and an explanation that is unknown. The reader doesn't know why this character is living in a home with an infinite amount of doors or why he never leaves or why people flee from him in the streets when he does. Until the very end the I did not realize that this story was about Minotaur a greek mythological charachter and I am always confused as to why Borges makes the reader wait so long to enderstand the story. It is a good story, however, and it held my attention because I had so many questions i knew would be answered at the end and it was short enough that i was able to wait until the end to find out.

Elisabeth Jeremko

I was really curious to see what Borges would say about the detective genre. When I went to school at University at Buffalo, I took a course devoted to the genre of mysteries. I entered in the class skeptical of how insightful the class would be, or how talented the writers would be. Similar to what Borges said, Edgar Allan Poe was attributed in this class to being the pioneer of the genre. Borges spent a lot of time describing Poe’s personal life and relating this to his choice of romantic poetry and detective stories. To say that Dupin is mirrored after Poe himself was something new to me as an idea that has never been presented before. Another interesting point from Borges was that Poe’s plots may seem transparent to readers familiar with other forms of detective fiction, but to the first readers, they were “wonderstruck” (Borges, 497). Borges says that the “intellectual origins” (499) have been lost. He says that he wrote “Death and the Compass” but I feel that this story is almost a critique (because of the ending) how Poe or Doyle would end a story. The way Borges ends the essay is I think his most powerful commentary throughout the essay. He says that the detective genre “is safeguarding order in an era of disorder” (499). With this being said, it is not so unusual that Borges would find interest in the genre, and why he may add his own spin to it.

Carly Cooper

I did not like the story about the Zahir, it might be because i didn't fully understand the story but I didn't see the connection between the death of the women he loved and this mysterious coin. I thought it was interesting how he could not get the coin out of his head and neither could anyone else who saw the coin. This part of the story reminded me of House of Leaves and the theme of obsession. However i also struggled with understanding the connection between this man and the other people who's stories were reported about the coin such as the man who painted his jail cell or the sister of the women who died. What is this coin? I didnt feel like the mystory of the coin was solved or if it was I didnt understnad it.

Elisabeth Jeremko

After reading Borges’ non-fiction essay “The Labyrinths of the Detective Story and Chesterton”, I was actually surprised at how “Death and the Compass” turned out. I thought it would be the classic detective story, such as those with Dupin or Sherlock Holmes, but in the end, Lonnrot was killed! That was quite the plot twist. I was stunned at the first reading. Going back through the story, however, I see that Lonnrot was not exalted to the invincibility of the classic detectives. Within the first paragraph, it is mentioned that Lonnrot was a reasoning machine, BUT also a gambler. The idea of a gamble is not something that would be used to describe the classic detectives – instead with these guys, the power of reason and logic by the detectives always prevails. As far as the events of the story went, these followed the logical order and use of details that would normally follow the scheme (outlined in the non-fiction essay). But the ending really diverges from the normal scheme. That’s why I was rather surprised…I had expected Borges to completely follow the detective story as described in his labyrinth essay. The fact that Scharlach uses the word “labyrinth” in his triumph over Lonnrot makes me feel that Borges is maybe poking fun at the ever-present reliance and trust in order and logic. Maybe not everything can be solved or taken care of through the pure reliance on order and logic? Lonnrot’s job (and ultimately) his life depend on the success of logical deductions. When he dies, it raises the question, is everything just a gamble? Can order really prevail, or prove to be meaningful?

Elisabeth Jeremko

In the Library of Babel, I found that the story had many inspirations or ideas adopted into the story. These included Borges’ non-fiction essay, “The Total Library”, the ideas of Lasswitz and other mathematicians, and “The Tower of Babel” story in Genesis 11 of the Old Testament. Much can be said about the story’s meaning just through the mere title, since it referencing the biblical story that has a moral admonishing the superiority and over-loftiness of humans to think they can know all. Like the biblical Babel attempting to reach the Heavens, the vast Library and its hexagonal set-up allows concepts of infinity, available knowledge, order versus chaos, and man versus God to all be addressed and explored. In the story, the “imperfect librarians” all come up with theories on how the books should be read or why they are difficult to comprehend and compile. Some took actions against this vastness, trying to employ human control over that which is boundless. A god would be the “Book-Man” where one book would explain everything. I think these theories and actions can be related to religious doctrine or philosophical/scientific explanations made by humans in real life. It is not possible for humans to comprehend or realize perfect order and balance within everything. Thus, the librarians’ theories do not really mean much, when the reader is presented with just how vast and ever-reaching the library really is. I am still confused about what the books represent, exactly. Also I wonder if Borges’ real life views show up through the narrator. A very intriguing but small detail was the mention of the mirror that makes the Library seem not infinite. I wonder why a mirror would do this, according to Borges?

Kristin Todd

The first story, "The Zahir" seems to be about this coin that Borges himself finds.  The coin seems to be very distressing to Borges, but I didn't understand why that would be.  I thought it was very interesting that at the beginning Borges was describing the Zahir to be all these different items in different times of history in all different places.  I have concluded that the idea of whatever was engraved into that item in the certain points of time were very important to the people of that time period.  The other story, "The House of Asterion" I also thought was interesting.  It was short, so it was able to keep my attention better than any of the other stories.  The fact that Asterion was "locked" in his house, but could get out was very interesting.  I thought that it was weird that he didn't want to leave his house.  He would rather had others come to him.  There must be some reason why he doesn't leave, maybe it has to do with his mother being a queen, or it could just be some psychological problem within himself.

Elisabeth Jeremko

For Borges’ story, “The Lottery in Babylon”, I was immediately enthralled within the first paragraph. Borges jam-packs emotions, philosophies, poetry, mathematics, and belief-systems all into one paragraph. Some sense of hierarchy or difference between this narrator to others. I love how Borges uses such images as being invisible and the moon in conjunction with the idea of knowing uncertainty. Furthermore, I think its neat that Borges then goes on to attribute this uncertainty and all other qualities mentioned in the first paragraph to the Lottery. By organizing the story in such a way, the Lottery is pronounced to be of great significance, without the reader even realizing how it operates or what exactly it is. This is an example of how Borges can add complexity to a short story. I really like how Borges presents the discourse of chance and the possibility of a God-driven series of incidents through the whole organization of the Company and the Lottery. I am still confused as to what the Company itself represents and if it is painted as completely positive or negative. “That silent functioning, like God’s, inspires all manner of conjectures” ( Borges, 106) makes the Company seem neither good nor bad. Does Borges not really even make a judgment here in this story? Or is the Company criticized? This I am still not really sure.

Kristin Todd

The first story, "Death and the Compass", was very interesting.  I enjoyed the plot of the story and how it was actually easier to understand.  The story, like all of Borges's other stories, started off assuming you already knew what was going on.  Though it's still a little confusing to understand, I am getting used to his writing style.  The second reading, "The Detective Story" was a non-fiction, opposed to the previous story.  It discussed the rules of writing a fiction and how the story should be written.  I didn't really understand the rules for the stories too much.  I understood that they were written for authors to follow them and make reading their works easier, but other than that, I wasn't sure.  At the end, it gives the example of the book The Scandal of Father Brown and discusses how this book follows the rules mentioned.

Carly Cooper

I understand and agree with all the "rules" that Borges puts down in this essay. I'm not impressed because it seems that since all detective movies and stories are like this it is clear that everyone already knows these rules, however it is nice to have them here and organized with examples. Again i find it slightly difficult to read Borges essays about short stories or novels when I have never read any of them, even if he does do a good job of explaining them. There is a certain helpfulness to Borges essays that are written like this because they help to organize and understand general writing rules such as these.

Elisabeth Jeremko

I enjoyed “The Approach to Al-Mu’Tasim” from start to finish, but what I thought really enriched the story was the nod to Attar in the footnote at the end of the story. It is quite amazing how Borges could whiz through such a seemingly complex story and long journey for the main character, still managing to make a coherent and rather descriptive piece. Borges mentions much detail, such as rungs being missing on an iron ladder, but does not detail the trials and tribulations all along the way. The reader receives a small glimpse or almost summary of this hugely significant series of events for the law student. I wonder what the significance of the student being a law student would be. If he is a law student, one would think him to adhere to universal moral codes, understand the nature of criminals, and not want to find the woman of the caste of thieves. So, the student being a law student, is an interesting pick that Borges made. I loved the footnote about the “conference of the birds” because when I researched the work written long ago on the internet, I found the story really beautiful. So for Borges to use that as an inspiration and understanding how its message could tie to the story –that is, God being diffuse or as a total entity, not set apart from the universe, nature, or humanity -- I found the story to be much more telling and moving.

Michael Lampasona

In this story, the Asterion begins by describing how he is a social outcast. He talks about how he remains in his house throughout the day and night, and his descriptions make him seem insane. He also talks about how he would like to mix with the commoners, but every time he goes outside everyone runs from him. The Asterion describes how he explores his house, and that there are an infinite amount of parts to his house. He goes on to state that his house is the world. At the end of the story, he says that nine men come to the house every nine years, and he slays them. At the end of the story, we learn that the Asterion is the minotaur.

I found this story very interesting. It showed a human side to the minotaur, and showed that he was not a ruthless beast. This is similar to how the minotaur was humanized in House of Leaves, and helps the reader gain a new perspective on this character.

Michael Lampasona

In this story, Jorge Luis Borges is the main character. He goes to a bar and when he recieves his change, he recieves a coin as change. This coin is apparently a Zahir, which soon becomes the object of his obsession. Borges spends some time talking about money, and he describes how money is the least material thing there is - and it is just "future time." Eventually Borges realizes that he has become obsessed with the Zahir, and gets rid of it. He goes on to describe how the Zahir can take form of many objects, and it causes the owner to become obsessed. He ends the story by speaking of how he is content with his fate, even if he is to become crazy.

I thought this story was intriguing. I think the idea of obsession can be applied to many different aspects of life. It is easy for us to get obsessed with things, even if it is not to the extent of Borges' experience. These obsessions can detract from our everyday lives, and we have to be careful.

I’m not sure what to think of The Zahir. It was confusing at times but it was about a man who bcomes obsessed with a coin and then finds out other people have been obsessed with it as well. In the past it hadn’t only been a coin, it had been other things as well like a tiger, a blind man, and many others. I think that anyone can decide what The Zahir is, because what it’s been in the past are very abstract things. The narrator says that The Zahir is also a form of God because they are both unforgettable and they make people mad. I think this is an interesting comparison, but there are many other things that are unforgettable and make people go crazy, but these things aren’t compared to God.
I enjoyed The House of Asterion. It is about a man who lives in a house (which is similar to a labyrinth) where its’ doors are always open and there is no lock. Although the house would allow him to leave, he feels like a prisoner beause when he walks outside people hide from him and run away because he is “unique”. Every nine years, nine men come into his house to be freed from all evil, and they all die suddenly. There are a lot of unanswered questions that I have concerning the story. Why do people flee from Asterion when they see him? Why is the number fourteen so important? How do the nine men die and why? Will Asterion’s redeemer ever come?

Robert Stevens

Today in class we had two presentations. The first was by Natalya and Victoria Gornopolskaya and it focused on the short story “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges. This story was about a German spy in England (during WWI?) named Yu Tsun. He was not really a truly committed and dedicated spy for Germany, he was just using his occupation as a means to prove himself. All throughout his mission he is pursued by a British officer named Captain Madden. A story is mentioned that was written by his ancestors that was called the “Garden of Forking Paths” so basically the story turned out to be a story within a story. A labyrinth is also hinted at, and Borges eventually makes it clear that the labyrinth in this story is time, and that it consumes everyone, including Tsun, who is captured at the conclusion of the story and sentenced to death. Natalya and Victoria even managed to made it interesting by including alternate endings to the story, and incorporating the class into each reality.

Next came my presentation. How did that happen, right? Get the summary assignment the same day I’m supposed to present. Anyway, I did my presentation on “Death and the Compass” another short story by Borges. This story was about a detective named Erik Lonnrot. It took place in an unnamed city that carries a distinct mix of French and Spanish influence. The outline of the plot is that three crimes take places that appear to follow both a religious and geographic set of patterns. Lonnrot eventually concludes that a fourth crime will take place at a certain location in the city. He then proceeds to the site to catch the criminals only to find out that he has been set up by a local gangster who had sworn an oath to kill him. Everything was done with the sole purpose to lure Lonnrot to the site so he could be shot dead for sending the gangster’s brother to prison and shooting him in the stomach.

The remainder of the class was spent discussing the next and final paper. Diviani was gracious and expanded the realm that the paper could cover. Instead of a simple research paper we can now write a short story that emphasizes the spirit of Borges, or an alternate conclusion or plot twist in one of his existing stories. We could also write a fresh short story of our own. After the discussion we only had about 5 minutes in our broken up groups to brainstorm about what we would write about. While the time was short, I think most got the general idea about what they will write.

tung

The Lottery in Babylon was another interesting story I thought as well. The idea of gaming and losing and winning gives me a sense of danger and risk. But in this case the winner wins it all and the loser if left with dealing with something that was beyond. They had to deal with their own nightmares. That I thought was very dark. The idea of theology pops into this story as well it seem as if they play on the leaving everything up to chances and in the powers of something great then themselves.

tung

I think this is one of the stories that I really enjoyed out of all of Borges short stories. I love that idea that there are so many paths that we call can take in our lives and each of those path could drastically change the outcome of what and who we are in the end. The story leaves me thinking the idea of “what if” what if I never or if I did this or that in a curtain part of my life. All of out at one point or another has thought of this question. And the character in the story showed this idea so well I thought. The idea of the labyrinth also draws me to this story. The story was able to hold my attention in that I wanted to see what would have happen if he would have gotten in this or that situation. Over all I enjoyed this reading.

Michael Lampasona

This story was compelling, and I enjoyed it a bit more than some of Jorge Luis Borges' other works. The story is about a detective, Lonnrot, who is set on discovering the murderer who has killed in a pattern. The murdered killed on December 3rd, January 3rd, and February 3rd. The murders took place at equal distances from one another - in an equilateral triangle. This gives Lonnrot the idea that he can predict where the final murder will take place. The killer, Scharlach, knows that Lonnrot would travel there, and kills him (this is the fourth murder.) This is how the story ends.

I thought this story was entertaining, and was one of the better short stories by Borges that I have read. It was ironic how the detective who thought he had everything figured out was outsmarted quite easily.

Janie Cherestal

“Death and the Compass” talked about a man named Lonnrot who becomes fascinated with the written works of a recently murdered rabbi and uses his works to find the final name of God. In order to do so, he follows a trail of murders, where the killer continuously leaves clues for the investigator. At the end, Lonnrot discovers that this was all a trick, and that the killer, Scharlach, was using the clues to get revenge and lure Lonnrot to his death. I actually like this short story, because I enjoyed the mystery/crime plot. I also enjoyed the fact that, unlike most of Borges’ pieces, this piece had a clear storyline with different characters and dialogue.

Katherine Tesi

I found Borges’ “Death and the Compass” to be the most enjoyable story yet. I’ve started to realize more of the elements that are included within his stories and in return I find them more entertaining. I noticed his initial use of color in the story, often referring to red towards the beginning passages. I also found the use of numbers quite interesting, especially his use of the number three. His choice of three was unclear at first and then when the presence of religion became stronger within the story; I began to think that three might be a continual reference to the Holy Trinity. Borges also refers to the numbers two and four; however their meanings weren’t as clear to me. Similarly on a mathematical note, Borges refers to geometry and symmetry within the text, which alluded to a sense or need for balance (symmetry). As I mentioned before religion had a presence in the text. Originally, there was a sense of religion being a driving force behind the killer’s actions, but eventually we find out that religion was coincidentally tied in and the killer could be considered to be anti-religion. Finally, we once again find the use of both the labyrinth (the “infinite house) and mirrors within this story. Although the final lines about the “straight line labyrinth” confused me, it did seem like an interesting idea.

Janie Cherestal

While reading Borges short stories, I often feel confused and left wondering, “What is the point of this?” I definitely felt that way again while reading “The Zahir.” What I got from the story was that the narrator becomes obsessed with a coin, which he calls a zahir, and he finds out that he is not the only person to become mad over an object. He talks about an artist who becomes fascinated with tigers, and a woman named Julia who becomes crazy over a coin, as well. At the end of the story, the narrator speculates whether or not the coin is really God, which I did not understand, either. Why would the coin be God? And who exactly was Teodelina Villar and what was her role in the story?

Robert Stevens

This story made little or no sense to me. I’m not even sure if I’m interpreting it correctly. It seemed to revolve around a man who was telling several stories about himself and others at the same time, but they all seemed to revolve around this mysterious coin, the “Zahir.” The Zahir he speaks of is nothing more than a 20-centavo (Argentinian?) coin with the letters N T, and the number 2 scratched in it. He then goes on to say that the “Zahir” has taken many forms throughout history.
After “losing” the Zahir, he proceeds to become obsessed with the coin, and the fact that he had held it. He also starts to contemplate and research the other Zahirs that have tormented other men. Eventually he comes to believe that the Zahir is God, or at least a manifestation of Him. Thoughts about the Zahir were joined by others such as his love for Teodelina Villar, an aspiring fashion mogul who has died on “June 6” at some point after WWII. At some point I started to believe that he had become so obsessed that he had stolen her body and made it up so she would appear as she had when she was younger. He also made reference that it was Borges himself in the story (as the main character).
Who is Wally Zenner? Is the dedication for this story from Borges or the translator?

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.

Death and the Compass

Here we go something with some thrill to it. This short story was a detective mystery filled with thrills, chills and murder. The title of the story is a little deceiving because the story doesn't quite mention a compass but it does have death. But after taking a step back and reading the story again there is a circular symmetry between the crimes which would hypothetically be the compass.
This story reminded me a lot about this mystery movie with Denzel Washington, I believe it was called the Bone Collector. Maybe we should watch it in class its wonder full. Anyway Denzel is a detective who gets paralyzed on a scene and is forever layed to bed. He is one of the stop detectives in the world and has done the best detective work in the world. Anyway it turned out that a cereal killer is leading Denzel to his death by planting clues in mysteries. Denzel cant figure out who is the killer trying to finally kill until the last murder. This clue leads him to the conclusion that the final murder will be him.
This was a great story and I am surprised by this one. I wouldn't expect this from Borges and I look forward to seeing more thrilling stories like this one.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

After reading “Death and the Compass,” by Gorge Luis Borges, I realized I finally understood the meaning of the title as soon as I got to the end. This story involves a series of organized crimes designated in the shape of an equilateral triangle, which are actually meant to shape the form of a rhombus. The character Erik Lonnrot met his end at the endpoint of that rhombus, and since a rhombus is the traditional shape of a compass, the title of this story is logical, which is typical of Borges. This story was similar to “The Garden of Forking Paths”, in that it was twisted, sinister and shocking to read. I enjoyed this story very much, especially the last part. The villain goes into this monologue revealing his intentions, while leading up to the climactic moment that we all anticipated.
I appreciate the way Borges is able to capture this lingering feeling of fear and suspense within the story.

“The Detective Story” lecture seemed to be a tribute that Borges wrote to Edgar Allen Poe, the founder of the detective genre. In this speech Borges compares the detective story elements used by Poe to the nuances used by more recent authors. Despite the fact that Poe was the first to pioneer this brand of genre, Borges feels that his stories are somewhat lacking in terms of creativity and logic. He uses an intellectual figure named Charles Auguste Dupin, who solves crimes simply by using the cleverness of his mind.
Borges feels that even though Edgar Allen Poe created this genre, there exist many books by authors who surpass Poe’s version of the detective story. The plot which he described at with the mailman as the killer seemed very simplistic and uneventful from what I read. Borges acknowledges his own attempts at writing a detective story and closes his argument with an optimistic view towards the detective genre.