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Jorge Luis Borges is a very wordy man; these stories are filled with intertwining and complex wording. Well at least that what I think. The story about Monk was an interesting one I thought. He a leader of a gang then is sent to prison then have a boxing match with a rival gang leader. Then seems to do some good by join in the war, it just seems as if the man was some how turning his life around and then in the end dies in a new york city ally way… kind of depressing. Borges does give us a good sense of what happening around in the stories and that is a positive thing.

Janie Cherestal

I honestly do not know what to make of Borges’ short stories “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities” and “Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv.” It seems as though both stories would have been really interesting if I had understood them. Borges tends to be too wordy in his writing, and by the time I get to the end of the sentence I have to go back because I do not remember the beginning. I did notice though that his stories are pretty violent, and that they end with a person dying, which I find to be a pretty exciting theme. With that, I wonder how one can go about understanding Borges’ stories.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
Borges: “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities,” “Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv”

This first story was about a classic Capone-esc gangster by the name of Monk Eastman. Monk Eastman was the leader of a gang of over 1200 people. This story showed us an entire illustration of his life as a street brawler, his subsequent trip to the hospital followed by prison; which then led to an epic boxing-match showdown between him and a rival gang leader. He then went on to aid our war efforts in Europe, and the story closes on his dead corpse being found on the streets of New York by an alley cat. I enjoyed this story and thought it was very symbolic that he died on the streets that bore his fighter’s soul and fury.

This next story shows an entirely different situation in which a common village dyer, known as Hakim is granted immortality by an angel, Gabriel. Gabriel comes to Hakim’s home, chops off his head and sends it into the heavens. Hakim now becomes a divine being and uses his newfound purity to play on human devotion. He appears to humans during Ramadan, and proves his otherworldliness to many a people by casting magic and wearing a sacred white veil. Hakim is a corrupt figure, who is soon found to be a fraud in the eyes of his followers. At the end he is speared to death and his soul is banished to an infernal realm for all eternity. This story was particularly more spiritual, as opposed to the Monk Eastman piece. I appreciate it for depicting the imaginative premise of what happens when a commoner inexplicably becomes a god, only to end up losing his convictions by succumbing to mortal sin.

Katherine Tesi

In Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities”, what stood out to me most was how rich with detail it was. Borges provided a brief but full history of the character Monk and continued the same detailed story in the pages that followed. From the physical description of Monk Eastman to the prices of the different types of “jobs” one can request, Borges was able to develop the story so fully in such short length.
In the second short story, “Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv”, Borges presents a very obvious religious force within the text. The most obvious relation to religion is the simple fact that Hakim becomes a prophecy of sorts. The idea of multiple heavens is also mentioned. What was also very clear was that although this story was full of religious references and relations, it didn’t become boring or overwhelming at any point. Borges presented the story concisely yet completely and was able to include the religious points without becoming preachy and dull.

Carly Cooper

I thought the way each story was written was interesting, the way that both stories were written in parts instead of as one long entity. In Eastman I was confused as to what the story was trying to convey, if there was a message, I didn't really understand it. In Hakim I like how each section of the story develops almost into a new story. I also like how it is based on religion and incorporates religion into the story. Even though it is very fictional (which is something I usually avoid) it is interesting because it is as if the very fictional parts, like the masked face, can be attributed to religion and Gods and therefore becomes more believable or at least legitimately believable to those who study or understand that religion.