“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.
Showing posts with label The Mirror and the Mask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Mirror and the Mask. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
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 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.
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.
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.
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