Victoria Gornopolskaya

“The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim,” by Gorge Luis Borges was quite the tangled web. It is centered on a law student trying to find Al-Mu’tasim after he kills an unknown man. It is through this pilgrimage that the law student hopes to find new meaning and begin to live his life more purposefully. However the story ends on a cliffhanger and we never find out the impact that the meeting actually had on the law student. What we do know is that Al-Mu’tasim appears different for those of a different religion, making him this universal god to all mankind. At the end of the story it questions whether the meeting actually did occur and whether Al-Mu’tasim was the man that the law student killed during the riot. All of this is possible considering the way Borges uses his creativity to mold new worlds with some very interesting characters.

In “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”, Borges sensationalizes Pierre Menard for reinventing the story of “Don Quixote”, originally written by Miguel Cervantes. It is unclear whether Menard is an artist or a writer, or both; but one thing is for sure, he wrote a much better version of Cervantes’s work according to the narrator. I believe Pierre Menard is a liar and a thief because of his merit-less actions. If he were that great a writer he could have certainly written something great on his own. This shows me that as an author you have to be careful when you send out your novel overseas, because it may get lost in translation.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

The story “Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by Gorge Luis Borges was very fantastical in its elements. It deals with the lost civilization of Uqbar, in which the Tlon people flourished. There is no account of this place in an Atlas or an Encyclopedia, it is simply untraceable. Somehow, someway newer and newer secrets are being discovered pertaining to this “lost world”, because a few lucky treasure seekers bring some of this scattered information to light. Borges illustrates the theme of a labyrinth in this story with the seemingly nonexistent world of the “Tlon”. It assures us that a reality can exist within our hearts even though it has no physical medium. The world as described by Borges simply isn’t ready for a new world order, which is why these texts continue to remain hidden from the public. He does however prophesize that someday when we are ready, the languages, customs and ideas of the “Tlon World” will become one with our world.

Nian Liu

Man on Pink Corner and Et Cetera

The Man on Pink Corner was not my most favorite story because of the story structure itself. The author of this story named all these people and expected me to know their past with just a sentence or two of description. It was hard for me to imagine the full personalities of these people and justify their actions based on history because there wasn't enough of it. We are only told that, Francis the Real has a face of an Indian and has the reputation to be feared, but we dont know anything else about his past. Et Cetera is an example of good and evil/ right and wrong and how being good or being right will lead to benefits. I felt that the story Et Cetera carries a theme that relates to our present society. The theme of obeying the right laws will eventually grant the person harmony is what the story ET Cetera seems to be gunning for.

Julie Morvitz

Today’s class was based on Borges’ short story Tlon, Uqbar, Urbis Tertius. It began with Mike’s presentation, which first explained the plot. In the story, Borges finds in an encyclopedia three lands with an alternate reality. He finds the land of Tlon, which is an idealistic society with different abstract concepts. There are many schools of philosophy mentioned in the story as well. One is that we are all just a memory, and another is that we are two people- one when we are awake and one when we are asleep. There is also a loss of identity in Tlon, through the coin example. In this land, what happens to one person happens to everyone.
Mike also explains that the ideal society makes sense to be written about at this time, because there were totalitarian governments and it was easy to have an idea of what one would want in an ideal society. People also seemed to lose their identity in real life, so Borges’ story was reflecting people’s worries at that time in history.
Diviani then spoke about people’s ideas of an ideal society. With an example like communism, it sounds good in theory, but people turn into monsters when it is put into action. We watched a video about a parallel universe which asked the question, what would someone like Isaac Newton be like if he lived in an alternate universe?
After the presentation, Diviani spoke about Borges. The world was recovering from fascism when he wrote, and world events influenced his writing. In all of Borges’ stories, he talks about some kind of alternate reality. Diviani said that everyone instinctually wants immortality, and since that isn’t possible, they do things to live in people’s memories. This is the reason why writers write or why architects build buildings.
Diviani also spoke about unified consciousness, which is the idea that everything is in harmony and all people are connected and are one organism. She also spoke about deliberative democracy, which is a democracy where political actions are decided by consent, or the majority rules. This is difficult to carry out because people have a hard time setting aside their own wants to make decisions for the greater good.
In fantasy books, authors make up their own names of objects because they don’t actually exist. Diviani mentions that people take the names of things for granted, but someone had to come up with the name, and that person has power. It was also said that in books, seasons mark the passage of time. This relates to a part in Borges’ story, which said that all events are linked to each other. In other words, we can’t describe something if we can’t relate it to something else. Class concluded with a discussion of people continuously wanting homogeneity in the world, but this isn’t a good idea because we would never evolve if we were all the same.

Tung

As the end comes to a close on this the novel “if on a winter’s night a traveler” I find myself left unclear on what it is that the author was primary trying to convey. All that I kind of understand is that somehow all the stories are connected in some way or another. The stores have many symbolic moments I thought, relating with subjects such as life and death. even though Italo Calvino’s took the time to write the book and have readers look in to it. I felt as if he didn’t have enough time or space in order to get his point across. But all in all the book was a difficult read for me personally and I felt as if other had the same problems.

Emily Skahill

Tion,Uqbar, and orbis tetrius are apparently planets that are in complete chaos. Borges writes about their totaltation ways. In Tlon everything is very idealistic. But i can't imagine not living in a world with nouns. does anything actually exist? i guess they do, but we can't really call them anything. they describe by using adjectives. it seems so strange but i guess if i lived in a world like that it wouldn't be ALL that strange. i really don't like reading Borges, it's really obnoxious and wordy, and very boring to me.

Michael Lampasona

The first time that I read through this story, I found it quite confusing to exactly get the stories message. After reading through the second time, it became apparent that the story was about the imaginary world of Tlon, which is located on the lands of Uqbar and Orbis Tertius.

The story begins by describing the struggle to find Uqbar, and how information regarding it was finally found in an encyclopedia. As the story progresses, the reader learns more about the imaginary world of Tlon on Uqbar, which seems almost like some sort of alternate reality. Nouns do not exist, and it seems as if everything is interconnected and idealistic. The story also states that on Tlon, concepts like time do not exist.

At the end of the story, it seems like Borges is criticising a society where everyone is plain and the same. The postscript addresses concern that the real world is turning into this totalitarian state. I think this is because during this time period World War II was taking place, and the Axis powers were totalitarian.

Katherine Tesi

Borges’ writings are without a doubt diverse. This story discusses the development of an entirely new and unreal planet, culture and population. While reading this particular story, I couldn’t help but think that Jorge Luis Borges was internally developing his ideal society and many of the aspects written about within the story are truly what he wants and believes. The idea of deception was really strong throughout the short story. Not only are the creators of Uqbar deceiving all of the people who read of it and believe it, but the narrator initially doesn’t believe his friend when he talks about Uqbar. Borges also continuously mentions how no one has been to Uqbar and the unreality of everything revolving around the place. I thought that the end was interesting however. Borges concludes his story by stating how much of the Uqbar culture is integrated into real culture even though Uqbar never existed. Because this was the way he chose to end his story, it made me strongly believe that the made up culture in the story was actually his ideal culture.

Kristy Medina

"Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" is a really interesting short story. It, similar to "Et Certa" breaks off into sections but this is very different in that it is all one cohesive story. At first I had no idea what the title meant, what it was and how it related. The second section is where we find out what each really is. First I thought of it as a relam and thenI found out they are planets. These planets are filled with chaos. There is unknown mythology. It seems like one big fantacy Jorge Luis Borges created. It was fun and interesting, almost like a childrens book, yet sophisticated because it made me think of some of the characteristics the planet Tlon had. For example, the plant doesn't have parrallel lines and language is not understandable. And briefly, it makes you think if that's even possible. The short story goes into more charaacteristics of the planet like the language to psychology to philosophy to geometry to books and literature. In the end I wondered it Borges was imagining a perfect world.

Kristin Todd

I thought this reading was kind of confusing.  I understood that it was talking about another society, in some country that no one has heard about.  I wasn't sure if Borges was talking about another society in a different world though.  This was definitely a short story, not a bunch of excerpts put together like Et Cetera.  I also noticed something that I have seen in most of the stories so far.  I saw that they all had the word abominable incorporated in the story somehow.  I was just wondering if this was a coincidence or if it was intentional. 

John Bonhomme

Tion, Uqbar, and Orbis Tertius is a story about a self envisioned land. Jorge Borges has a niche with playing God or tyring to spin off God's power in some way. This is Jorge Borges himself using his power as an author to simulate God writing the earth. In this case however Jorge Borge creates his own mystical land. This mystical world is called Tion. The planet which Jorge creates is called Orbis Tertius and the country is Uqbar. The universe however was hidden beneath copies of Encyclopedia Britannica only known about by a couple of historians. This is like a story relating to God and the apostles. The encyclopedia's are like the bible, and its secrets because only he followers believe it. I think anyone who really wants to find this universe will find it, just like anyone who is looking for their faith will find it. This story is really interesting to compare with Christianity and all of its correlations.

Elisabeth Jeremko

In the two biographical short stories of Monk Eastman and Hakim, I was able to be introduced to Borges's talent with language. Both stories are very concise, yet somehow, he paints a full picture of both instances. Borges gives vivid descriptions of the characters' physical attributes and of the setting. The image of Monk Eastman with his notched walking stick was so memorable. As for Hakim, describing the dizzying sun and the convulsion-causing moon stuck with me. I think one of the reasons Borges was able to span so much time and include so many instances for the biographical characters was because of his organization through subtitles. I found his subtitle headings to be just as significant as the words within them. The subtitles are witty and help describe the transition through different events, even when they span great time. I have not really read short stories like these before, where so much is included. Though not delving greatly into separate events, somehow all the little descriptions within subheadings come together to make a story. In Hakim, I saw the introduction of magical realism elements, and I found this to be really enjoyable. It made me look forward to reading more of Borges. Of the two readings, I think my favorite part was in Hakim, under the "Abominable Mirrors" section. I like when Borges writes, "The earth we inhabit is an error, an incompetent parody. Mirrors and paternity are abominable because they multiply and affirm it" (Borges, 43). I also really like how Hakim ends -- "no one was listening; he was riddled with spears" (Borges, 44). With such a short ending sentence, Borges is able to make a profound statement on religious authority, doubting its realness.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim,” “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”

The first story was about a law student who decided to undertake the task of finding a holy man known as Al-Mu’tasim. It was actually a story within a story; it starts out as a book review for “The Approach to Al-Mu’tasim,” which contains a 1932 and a 1934 addition. The law student has renounced his Islamic faith, and finds himself at a crossroads in which he participates in a riot and kills another man. Throughout the book the law student goes through a long journey seeking out Al-Mu’tasim, who has been given a variety of descriptions. It seems as though this man is some sort of a godly figure to all religions who shape shifts in order to be significant to all. As it turns out the law student finds this legend of a man at the end, and the story ends there. I believe Borges wrote this story in order to show that religions can interrelate through one powerful unseen force such as the legend of Al-Mu’tasim.

This next reading conveys how great of an artist Pierre Menard was and how he was the true author of the “Quixote”. The narrator continuously compares the book which Pierre Menard supposedly wrote to the actual work by Miguel Cervantes. The narrator prefers the Don Quixote version written by Menard. When writing his version of the text Menard makes no attempt to translate it word for word, he simply revitalizes this work just as he envisioned it, not staying true to the original author. In a way Menard has spurned Cervantes’s artistic integrity by fabricating his own literary novel at the expense of Cervantes. This story tells me that Borges may be in favor of the concept of a “re-make” since he feels they can sometimes be more successful than the original. If something like this happened to me, I would sue my translator for copyright infringement and demand a large percentage of their profits.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”

This was a very unique spin on how to go about creating an entirely different country with a new religion and new theologies which ultimately become an entire new world. The story being told here is all about the fictitious world of Tlon, in the country of Uqbar, on planet Orbis Tertius. This vast universe was masterminded by a couple of crafty historians who knew how to hide their works inside various encyclopedia volumes. The secrets of this society and its history are hidden well beneath “pirated” copies of Encyclopedia Britannica and contain infinite knowledge that is sought after by many. I can’t decide whether I was more impressed with Borges, who brought out this concept of creating a new world or the new ideas represented by the “Tlon” itself. My favorite part of the new “Tlon order” was the part about materialization. Those nine gold coins that were lost were still continuous in time and even came back to the original owner. I believe Borges was trying to make the point that nothing is lost forever, it simply rematerializes someplace else. I see this as the ideal type of world, with a Utopian foundation that I would enjoy being a part of.

Julie Morvitz

I thought this short story was very confusing at first. I didn't understand where it was going and what the point was- it began with talk about Uqbar, which was written about in one encyclopedia but not another, so the narrator wasn't sure it was real. The story got less confusing as it went on, because the reader realized that Tlon was a made-up planet, with many in-depth details. Apparently on Tlon there are many philosophical schools of thought, and the idea of reality is misleading. At the end of the story the reader finds out that Tlon is definitely a made-up planet, made up for the purpose of proving that someone besides God can conceive and shape a world. The planet ends up in one encyclopedia though, and its practices continue in the real world. Its' languages and history are taught in schools, and now no one really knows if the place is real or not. I think part of the meaning of this story is that people can believe anything if others believe it too. Also, something that didn't start off real can be made real by people who believe in it, simply because they do.

Robert Stevens

This story is another literary review, but this time of an author that does not and has never existed, Pierre Menard. It starts with a list of his previous works, along with various credits to selected European Nobility. The story goes on to cover how Menard became obsessed with the translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Rather than just translate the story, he decides to “recreate” it, line for line.

Instead of retelling the story as Cervantes had originally written it, he set the story in “the land of Carmen” and made the story much richer in his translation that it had ever been originally.
This, at least, is the opinion of the reviewer. In reality, the entire translation is merely a line-for-line reprint of Cervantes’ story. This is shown in the quotations between Menard and Cervantes in the review. The reviewer however, believes that Menard’s version has become richer simply because it is a reproduction, and the fact that he can reproduce the language of Cervantes so far in the future from him that is a major reason why.

The Italians have a phrase: "traduttore, traditore" which means “Translator, Traitor.” It basically means that when a work is translated, the original meaning is lost, and thus, the work becomes useless. I think this phrase has some meaning here because the reviewer is trying to paint Menards translated version of Don Quixote as better than Cervantes’ original work. He does not know what Cervantes was thinking when the story was written, or what messages he was necessarily trying to convey, so in essence, Menards translation has distorted and lost the original purpose of the story and replaced it with another meaning.

Robert Stevens

This story reminded me very much of Zampano in House of Leaves. Borges mounts a critical review of a story that does not exist, much like Zampano did regarding the Navidson Record. The story being analyzed is about a law student who becomes an outcast among the poor and destitute after killing a man in a riot. After seeing the good in these people, he comes to the belief that a mysterious (if not divine) man or being – Al-Mu’tasim – has impacted their lives in a positive way, so he sets out to find this mysterious person. As he searches, he is told by different people wildly different descriptions of Al-Mu’tasim. Eventually the law student catches up with Al-Mu’tasim, but the story ends just as he walks through the curtain into the room where he is. This is kind of an anticlimactic ending that leaves a lot open to speculation. When I read that part, I started to wonder if this story influenced the writers of the Sopranos for the final episode, as the endings were very similar.

Robert Stevens

This story is kind of confusing, it seems almost like we are introduced into it about ½ way through. The first (and longest) part of the story seems to involve the search for any information related to the nation of Uqbar. Eventually it is determined that Uqbar is actually a fictional country on the fictional planet of Tlön. The information seems to be scattered across many different encyclopedias scattered across the world. The main characters spend a lot of time gathering as much information from as many places as they can. Eventually, they realize that the entire Tlön saga was created by a conspiracy of intellectuals (their organization was called Orbis Tertius) as an attempt to show that God was not necessary to create a world.

As the investigation continues, the world at large learns of the investigation, and starts to adopt Tlönian culture. At the end of the story the Earth is well on its way to becoming Tlön.

Carly Cooper

This story probably has most of the aspects of a short story that is boring and difficult to read. It starts on one topic and moves quickly to other topics with hardly any indication of why it is moving from one the the other (ex. starting with Bioy and Uqbar to the planet Tlon to a story about coins, etc...). The writing in the story reminded me immediatly of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, the way it is kind of choppy and also talks about things that the reader clearly has no idea about, or the way a lot of the topics and names written about are not in english. Another reminder of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler was the fact the the encyclopida was false and the book was false and the essay was false and the information about the planet was false. It is almost as if becasue everything clearly isn't real and becuase people have made things up jsut to mess with others it isnt even worth writing about and definently is not worth reading about. Another thing I noticed was that again the story of 1001 nights is mentioned and i realized tha Jorge Luis Borges must really find meaning in this tory bdcause he mentions it in almost everything he writes. My question is, what is this story really about? what is its point/conclusion?

Kristy Medina

Today was the second class where we discussed Jorge Luis Borges' Fictional short stories. Janie started off the class by presenting 'Man on Pink Corner' through Jeopardy, which was really creative. She asked questions based off the characters and some main plot questions. Janie then explained the story briefly telling us the main concepts. Finally she redirects some questions she had towards the story to the class like why the story ended with the narrator looking at his knife.

Next, Carly and Kristin presented 'Et Cetera.' Their presentation was a PowerPoint where they discussed each individual section of 'Et Cetera.' Professor Diviani told us about flash fiction which is almost the same format as 'Et Cetera.' Flash fiction is a collection of shorter stories within a short story, made up of 15 or so words. Carly and Kristin summarized each section of the story and in the end they brainstormed some possible reasons as to why the sections were compiled together to form 'Et Cetera.' They came up with some reasons like a religious/ magical connection and a connection through moral tales.

Finally, Professor Diviani discussed the two short stories. The two stories were contrasted: 'Man on Pink Corner' is more of a Western, descriptive, action story while 'Et Certa' is an exciting, magical realist story. We discussed Borges' language as concise but profound and an example was found in 'Man on Pink Corner.' A continuation of Borges' writing style was discussed. Borges is a versatile, innovative writer not only for Spanish writers (he paved the way for writers like Marques) but also for his fantasy fiction style of writing (for stories like "The Alcamist"). Borges' writing is creative because it is historical but merged with a magic-like element. On topic of fantasy fiction, the class ended with a deeper view of the first section of 'Et Cetera' where religion was discussed. In this short story, we see that Borges references the Bible and other short stories like "1001 Arabian Nights." We see that Borges is against institutionalized religion and criticizes their formulized beliefs. For example, in 'A Theologian in Death' the theologian is dying and is stuck between two worlds and the angels criticize the theologian for not writing about charity work. This shows Borges' beliefs that institutionalized religion constraints an individual's freedom and personal rights.

Emily Skahill

Man on Pink Corner reminded me of a stereotypical western saloon, it was confusing, yet interesting. confusing because of the amount of words Borges uses just to say simple things. et cetera i didn't like as much. I think it had to do with the effects actions have on the people who take them. i thought Man on Pink Corner was much more interesting, it held my attention.

Janie Cherestal

I enjoyed “Man on Pink Corner” and “Et Cetera” much more than the two previously assigned short stories. “Man on Pink Corner” was pretty interesting due to the dramatic setting of gangsters in a tango bar full of tension, and because of the fact that it actually had a clear and concise storyline. However, “Et Cetera” was strange in that it was divided up into separate short stories. I liked the section titled “The Chamber of Statues” in that it seemed like a Disney movie, for it had very vivid imagery and an ending that unveiled itself very well.

Julie Morvitz

I found Man on Pink Corner a very interesting story. It was very mysterious and it left me having to find my own answers at the end. I didn’t expect the Yardmaster to die because he sounded so confident, and when any of the men tried to fight him he barely flinched. It was surprising when he died at the end, because no one knew who killed him. It may have been the narrator, because of the hint he gives about the knife he was holding, but the reader can't be sure it was him.

Et cetera was an interesting set of tales, and they are all connected by a similar theme. They all have to do with good or bad people, or the choices they make and how this affects them. The stories also involve magic.

Kristin Todd

The story, "Man on Pink Corner", was interesting to read because it portrayed an actual story and plot.  I thought it was interesting reading about past times and different cultures.  It opens my eyes to things that other people are accustomed to, even if it is just a story.  The other story for this week, "Et Cetera" was also interesting to read because the stories were short so it kept my interested.  The point that connected all these stories were the fact that they all had to do with religion and the morals that they provide.  

Why is Et Cetera in Borges's novel? The stories are already written and they don't seem to have any input from him.

Kristy Medina

"Man on Pink Corner" seemed similar to Monk Eastman in that it reminded my of a classic Western, sort of mob/ gangster scene. There is a lot of talk about killing and blood. I am guessing that just like Monk Eastman and Hakim, the characters are true but the story is somewhat exaggerates. Something that I really like from the short stories Jorge Luis Borges writes is his strong sense of culture. It is evident in Man on Pink Corner through the dances, for example. Also, throughout, Borges objectifies women a lot, which is another part of old Spanish culture. I was wondering what the stars next to words like "Maldonado," "Morel's Men," and "gutted him" means.

"Et Certa," the first section 'A Theologian in Death' i thought was really interesting how it ends metaphorically in representing death. Again, Borges' strong sense of culture, here representing religion through his writing. Same with the section 'The Story of the Two Dreamers.' TO me, his writing so far takes a while to interpurt correctly but is somewhat interesting.

Emily Skahill

Monk Eastman was really intersting. It reminded me of Gangs of New york. Life was really different back then but at the same time, there was still bad people doing bad things. Like the mob today. Hakim was harder to understand. Apparently, he gained immortality or something. I don’t know, Borges’ writing is really difficult to grasp because it’s very wordy.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

The “Man on Pink Corner” reminded me of a violent old western film. I thought there was definitely something odd about how the man and woman started a tango, just after a fight had occurred. This bit of information leads me to believe the woman, may not have been the killer but an accomplice, working in cahoots with the narrator. Since the narrator claims the woman does not appear to be capable of killing another man, he steers the blame off of her and allows their involvement to remain secret. However, I do find it ironic that even though the Yardmaster died with certain courage, his body was dealt with quite paradoxically. I guess it just goes to show that even in death it is still possible to be disrespected by the living.
“Et Cetera” seemed as if it were indeed a long repetitive sequence of similar events and themes induced into one lengthy passage. I feel the title was appropriate for this part of the novel, as Borges grouped together stories that draw a parallel to one another in terms of a reoccurring theme. The theme I can spot here is religion or theology. The presence of a god or gods is prominent in each story in the way they are shown carrying out the impacts they have on the lives of humans. These Borgesian examples here serve as an astute framework for gaining knowledge on how religion can influence human behavior

Natalya Gornoplskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
Borges: “Man on Pink Corner,” “Et Cetera”

The “Man on Pink Corner” story was extremely puzzling in its execution. It starts out with a bunch of western type folks carousing at a local bar. Suddenly a tall stranger comes around and doesn’t receive such a warm welcome from the locals. It seems this stranger was told to go there in order to pick a fight with someone. Suddenly the bar breaks out into a crowded tango during which some men manage to sneak out. At one point Yardmaster and La Lujanera managed to slip their way out. The next time Yardmaster is seen he has been wounded with a blade and is bleeding to death inside the bar. Though it is unclear as to whether it was the narrator or the woman who he was with that did the deed, the key here was the dignified way in which the Yardmaster died. He showed no pain or signs of struggle; he simply accepted this fate with conviction. I believe Borges was trying to showcase that there is a sort of lively elemental aspect after death as shown in this story.

The story “Et Cetera” seems to be a series of religious events taking place that somehow relate to one another. Each story fragment here is similar in that a misfortunate character comes upon a good fortune; usually this is due by a god who grants such fortunes to those who need them. Later, the person receiving the good fortune does something dishonorable in which he angers the god that granted his fortune in the first place. The god’s must then adhere to these sinners by punishing them for all eternity because of their overbearing vices. I think perhaps this rather long series of similar passages was meant to reiterate the theme of human flaw and error and how we as mortals could never compare to the gods who are the utmost virtuous beings.

Nian Liu

Summary March 24th,

In class we had presentations today and Alyson presented the story Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities to the class. After a brief presentation we learn from Alyson that there were parallels between the story of Monk Eastman with the movie Gangs of New York. We then get into the topic of how Borges "fictionalizes," themes when he writes about real people. Diviani adds that, "Monk Eastman was a real man." Thus helping us understand the comparison between the story of Monk Eastman and the movie Gangs of New York. They both are similiar because both the author of the book and director of the movie romanticizes the historical facts on the gangs of New York and they do this by adding texture and imagination to the specific scenes and events in that time period. We also talked about the figure of a gangster, where they were seen as "petty theives and robbers. Along with these descriptions were the transactions from this image of robber/theif/low life to a this fighting hero in the army. Monk Eastman never changed his behavior in what he was doing but had only changed occupations and everybody's perspectives on his criminal behaviors changed from shame to valor. Diviani said that this was, "Criminal behavior reversed, the anti-hero or heroism with inequity." This made me think about how we look up to both the best gangsters or the best soldier with this idleness, that he is this great unstoppable being. Its kind of scary and thats why we praise these figures in our society. Next we moved on to the story "Hakim, the masked dyer of merv". Diviani taught us about "Prophet Religion", and that many have named themselves as prophets and descendents of god. We stumble upon the topic of orientalism and how it represents the cultures of the East. It is said in Edward Said's book called Orientalism that there is bias, prejudice, against oriental cultures from the western culture. Everything is made mystical, and exaggerations are formed. We compared it to the Persian king in the movie 300, and I totally agree, because when we picture any Eastern character's, for instance a Chinese man from China, we imagine a man with chicky eyes and a bamboo hat. We learn today that people who don't understand other cultures, often exaggerate the authentic figure or perspective of the actual oriental culture. This prejudice, mystification, and orientalism was brought up due to the western colonization in the 1970's which pumped fuel to Said's ideas.

Nian Liu

Borges Reading Number 2
Monk Eastman and Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv

In the Monk Eastman, he was perceived by society as this dangerous man who was, back in the days, the most dangerous gangster along with Kelly. Around that time period, America was in a premature state where technology wasn't fully advanced yet and certain laws were not in effect compared to the present time. This allowed Monk Eastman and the gangs of New York to prosper. As the numbers of gang members grow, so does the illicit activities and killings. The last massive fight as Rivington street caught the attention of the politicians and they started to take action on gang activity. The politicians who had been avoiding the gang problems for years are now changing their motives and this only makes me feel that the politicians of that time only wanted national stability and cared nothing for violence. If they cared about the bloodshed that was spilled through the exisitence of these New York Gangs, then they wouldn't have gone to war.
For Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv, I thought Hakim was a very powerful man because he was able to persuade so many people that he was the prophet of god and was able to abuse the ideaology of being a prophet. I found this reading kind of weird but interesting at the same time because I learned a little about the Middle East religions and about the 999 layers of fire empires and all these other layers within the layers of endless fire.

Carly Cooper

Man on Pink corner was interesting but i was really   especially at the beginning and the end, i thought the author was using a lot of names and expecting that the reader would understand who he was referring too but I didn't and that made it more difficult to follow the story. I was wondering about the relationship between the northsiders and the others and what the previous interaction between the Rosendo and The Yardmaster was.  I thought the part where the narrator was standing outside and runs into Rosendo was interesting because of the things he was thinking about his own life compared to Rosendo's. It was a different perspective on the story about the main gang member because it was also an evaluation of the importance of this narrators life and how he viewed himself. Also I realize that it was kind of about gangs but my question is, was the narrator the one who killed The Yardmaster? 

Et Cetera was a lot more engaging because the story kept changing and there wasn't much of a relationship between the stories. However, I feel like some of these stories are biblical or i have heard them before and I don't really understand why they are put together or how Jorge Luis Borges used them as his own? 

Kristin Todd Borges Fiction #1

Monk Eastman was a pretty straight forward story.  I thought that this was an interesting story because it kept me hooked on it.  Though it's already a story before it was put in Borges's novel, you can definitely see his take on the whole idea.  It's interesting to read about how different life was 100 years ago, yet the same.  The idea of gangs is similar to the mob which we have now.  The story of Hakim was a little harder to interpret.  What I got from this story was that Hakim was a man of the past who was taught the art of dying by his uncle.  I didn't understand what the story of the Bull had anything to do with Hakim, but I thought it was an interesting side note.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

Upon reading the story of “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities,” I felt as though I were reading a classic historical account of a fictional sounding character during the early 1900’s. To my surprise, this person actually existed in real life. Monk Eastman was the man who everyone feared and wanted to be like. He ran those New York streets until his untimely death in 1920. Though the story does not specify how I believe his death was due to the result of gang violence. It seems as though Monk Eastman lived the life of a petty ruler, who experienced a brutal uprising and a sure downfall.

While reading “Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv”, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the main character, Hakim. He was only a mere villager and upon gaining his immortality he simply wanted to show the rest of the villagers his extraordinary gift. I feel that anyone placed in this situation would probably do something similar. As this religiously derived story progressed, Hakim was appropriately punished for betraying his wisdom in exhibiting such unholy behavior. It sort of teaches a moral to all of us who happen to come across good fortune; that we should be humbled; otherwise our souls are doomed for eternity.

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.

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.

Robert Stevens

What a story, and what an ending! Hakim was born into relative poverty in the city of Merv, and raised by his father and uncle to be a dyer. Unfortunately a dyer was not considered to be a very noble position. He eventually became so disheartened and fed up with his position, that he swore off all colors forever and left Merv. While out in the desert, he claims to have been visited by angels and have spoken to God, revealing himself as a great new Prophet (perhaps the successor to Mohammed?). Part of his “legend” involved him wearing a veil at all times, because anyone who saw his face was supposed to be made blind. Eventually he gathers a following and declares jihad against his resident Caliph. The end of the story finds Hakim and his army surrounded, and it is in this position his secret is revealed. He is nothing more than a leper propagating an elaborate rouse. They summarily kill him.

In the beginning of the story Hakim talks about purple robes. Purple was the color of the Roman Emperors, could this have been some kind of foreshadowing of his ambitions?

Victoria Gornopolskaya

After reading the essay “Narrative Art and Magic,” by Jorge Luis Borges, I stopped to think about the different ways that art and magic could apply to a particular narrative. I came to the conclusion that art and magic must exist in any well-thought out narrative in order for a story to really connect as opposed to just words on a page. Borges draws an example from the epic tale of Odysseus and how he escapes the sirens’ songs of death through magic and courage. In doing so he shows that figurative language and innovative creativity are key tools for a writer when trying to make an impact through the use of magic. I also believe that by using the movie The Showdown, as an example Borges is saying that all great narratives must begin with a rising action that sets off this chain reaction of events that make a great story cohesive and artistic in approach.

Robert Stevens

This story matches up quite well with its title. When I first read “Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities” I didn’t believe it would be too violent a story until realized Iniquity basically means “sin.” This story follows a Jewish man named Edward Ostermann (later changed to Eastman) in New York City at the turn of the 19th century. He rose to power as the leader of a violent street gang, and was known for doing much of his own fighting, and carrying a large stick with a notch in it for each man he’d beaten down. Eventually a street war erupted between his gang and a rival gang. Unwilling to negotiate a truce, he ends up being arrested and thrown in jail for 10 years. After getting out, he realizes that his gang has scattered and decides to join the army. It is here that he earns a ferocious reputation while fighting in France during WWI. A few years after returning home, he was summarily murdered on the streets of his city, shot 5 times.

Robert Stevens

This essay seems to be about how fiction can exist within fiction (go figure, right?). Anyway, he makes his point most clear with his example of the story of the “Thousand and one Nights.” A fictional tale that consists completely of fictional tales, including one instance where the Queen tells her husband his own story and summarizes the others that she told preceding it. Even William Shakespeare makes ample use of this technique in his play “Hamlet” by hosting a small play within a play for a short time during the main story. He summarizes by saying the dreaming and being awake are actually very similar (if not one and the same), and that stories, paintings, etc. that can have fiction within fiction help to bridge that gap.

Robert Stevens

I did not really understand too much about this essay. It seems to revolve around some inherent defense of literary "magic." He appears to be saying the literature is mostly either depicted as a series of causes and effects, or that the storyline is heavily influenced by magic. In most of his examples he determines that “magic” is the driving force behind most writings. Some of his defense, however, included non-literary sources, such as the references to the cultural traditions of American Indian tribes, ancient Mayans, Australian medicine men, et cetera. The conclusion states that with magic, “every lucid, determined detail is a prophecy.”
Again, this essay really confused me. I am not even sure I interpreted it correctly. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
Borges: “Narrative Art and Magic,”

When reading this essay it is important to keep in mind that even though one may not be completely familiar with a particular reference within this essay, it is still possible to gain some understanding from it by having some previous exposure. What I acquired from reading this is that narratives become artful in the way the author can paint a picture of a fantastical element or being, such as a centaur or a siren; in a way that coincides with reality. It is the dutiful task of the author to create this balance between aspects of reality and the magical elements involved within the story in order for the reader to get a clear image of the author’s intent. Borges also provides extensive examples of magical remedies used in other cultures to emphasize the law of sympathy and how it applies to the miracles that occur in this world, through magic. In this last paragraph of the essay Borges shares his belief that a carefully put together narrative should be a sort of premonition. By this he means that each pivotal event in a story should foreshadow the next so that the story makes sense and seems less random. This essay as a whole is very informative, although it seems to follow a certain nonlinear structure in the way Borges at tends to sometimes rotate from one example to the next, and then back to his previous one. I enjoyed reading through this essay and look forward to reading the short story works of Jorge Luis Borges.

Robert Stevens

The Postulation of Reality is a critical analysis of some contemporary literature. In this essay he rejects the literary formulas of several notable scholars, and instead offers his own formula. He divides most writers into two main categories: Classical and Romanticist. He then goes on to divide the “postulation of reality” into three subdivisions: A general notification of important facts, Imagining of a more complex reality, and use of the Invention of Circumstances.
A major part of the analysis involved his use and interpretation of several selected texts as examples of his system, including “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” and “Morte d’Arthur”.

Michael Lampasona

In class we continued to watch the film, ‘Pan's Labyrinth.’ First, we listened to the commentary of the director, Guillermo del Toro. He explained how the movie takes place in Spain in 1944 after the Spanish Civil War. He talks about how he directed a film in 2001 as well which took place in 1939. Pan's Labyrinth takes place in 1944 and was directed in 2006. He said the change in the time periods of 1939-1944 and 2001-2006 mirror each other because of the major world events which were taking place including September 11th, World War II, and the Spanish Civil War.

Del Toro goes on to explain how Pan’s Labyrinth is marked by the themes of choice and obedience. He also talks about how the movie is not about a girl dying, but about a girl giving birth to who she wants to be. He emphasizes how the film intends to juxtapose fantasy, war, and violence. Del Toro also mentions how he tried to express his belief through the movie that we should not spend our whole focus on educating children, but that we should also learn from them.

The director talks about how important the camera angles are in the movie. The angles tell a story about different characters or situations. He discusses how the camera emphasizes the insect’s role in leading the girl into the labyrinth. The camera’s perspective also allows the magical world to transition from a cold, dark one, to a characteristically warm one. At the same time, reality is portrayed as a never-changing cold and grim one.

Del Toro uses the civil war as a comparative symbol for the conflict in the family. This particular theme is also shown through perspective. The Captain is the main antagonist as he lacks sympathy and carries himself with a callous demeanor. His rigor is shown through the portrayal of his facial features in the magnifying glass. It demonstrates his attention to unnecessary detail rather than the broader importance of life.

Furthermore, Del Toro expresses the significance of storytelling through means other than spoken or written language. This is an exemplary notation as every moment captivates the pure heartedness of Ofelia and her desire to escape reality. The labyrinth was a strong symbol of an emotional hiding place as well as a fantasy world that tested her strengths and weaknesses as a human being, a child and perhaps even of her own perceptions.

Borges- Non-Fictions Reading #1

I thought that these readings were a little confusing.  The first one, I don't know who or what Hume is, so it made it difficult to grasp the importance.  In the second one, Narrative Art and Magic, it talks about the different rituals that some cultures took part in that may have been considered magic.  I think that it's interesting that people feel this way because it is only something that people do, and it's not always connected to religion.  Someone with OCD may also perform certain rituals, but it wouldn't be considered magic in their case.  I liked the third one because it was the easiest for me to understand; through the writing and because it's something that is easily relatable.  While reading, stories appear in other stories all the time, so it's a simple concept.  

Carly Cooper

To be honest I really didn't understand The Postulation of Reality, I don't even think I picked up the main point or theme of the piece. I feel like using different books and literary works as examples was inefficient since I haven't read most of the references and was mostly just confused.I enjoyed Narrative Art and Magic because the main topic was mainly the suspension of disbelief which is a familiar literary term. I thought the examples were much better explained and even when I hadn't read the example I felt that I was able to understand the reference. When Fiction Lives in Fiction was also interesting to read and and interesting concept to study. Overall i felt like the topics being discussed were interesting because they are often overlooked as unimportant or uninteresting however in truth they are good subjects to study.

Jorge Borges assignment one

The short stories which Jorge Luis Borges creates aren't your typical childhood short story. I was thinking more along the line of Dr. Sues or Mother Goose but this was not like that at all. He writes in a totally different manner that has no clear plot. The short stories are very hard to keep up with. The stories don't seem to be stories at all but much more like commentary on a vast variety of other actual short stories. He seems to place all these ideals into one chapter which I guess he considers a short story. The footnotes at the bottom provide more clarity than the pages above. It seems to be a better idea to read the footnotes than the actual book.

Carly Cooper

I don't think i fully understand the ending of the book. I think it is incomplete and i am confused about a couple of things. I did however like the part about the library and hearing all the different readers speak about they way they read. It is interesting to see that not everyone reads the same way and that most people read in their own ways to help them get the most out of the stories. my questions are: 1. why didnt the reader just go to the library in the first place, rather than search the country himself? and 2. are the titles or all his stories the begining of a whole other story which he has not yet read?

Nian Liu

Chapters 9-12

Wow...is all i can say, I have dedicated so much time to only come back to where I've started. Stories after stories, and different events affecting the circulation of these stories have brought me only to the book that I am reading myself. Even though I have been tormented by Calvino's never ending maze of books, I have learned that I am also a victim of this endless investigation in these forbidden books. I have went through every story the Reader have read and stopped reading because of the false printing and misguiding publishing information. I have experienced the perspectives of the first reader (main character) and second reader (Lumilla) and it is safe to say that me too, was innocently thrown into this serade of false novels, and by throwing me in Calvino has written the first book that I've ever read and been so involved with at the same time. There was surely a connection between me and the book itself, and this made me feel special that such a manner of writing could be done, but at the same time Wow...I just wasted so much time going in a endless circle of words and sentences. Overall I enjoyed the book, but I would definitly not read this book again for the good of my own mental health. Questions I would like to ask is:
1) Are any of the stories in this book true? Or is it all made up by Calvino
2) Is the part where the Reader and Lumilla gets married suppose to represent a life Calvino himself made for us?

Robert Stevens

Ch. 8 basically reveals how much of a fraud Marana truly is, although he attempts to make himself appear legitamite. It turns out Flannery has met Lortaria, Ludmilla, and the Reader at different points in the story. The latter 3 of the 4 eventually end up in Ataguitania, a South American nation with a serious legitamicy problem. Apparently a Revolutionary movement and a Counterrevolutionary movement have become so cross infiltrated it is nearly impossible to discern who is on what side. In the process many stories have been banned, falsified, reprinted, etc. all in the name of whatever cause you can think of. Eventually they wind up in Ircania (most likely a Slavic nation), Ataguitania's polar opposite, where still more antics occur. Eventually the story moves on to a circle of readers commenting in a library about stories that have no beginning and no end, and a discussion of the stories laid out in this book. The Reader then ends up married to Ludmilla and they proceed to read "If on a Winter's Night, a Traveler" by Italo Calvino.

The stories in this section cover a wide variety. From a story about a Japanese academic that ends up sleeping with his mentor's wife, to a young man in the Southwest who searches desperately for his mother after his father dies, to a man who can seemingly make the world disappear, except for the mysterious Section D. None of the stories follow any tag line, as is true with all the rest.

This novel has basically gone in a circle backwards. It began where it should have ended and it ended where it should have began. How confusing!

Tung Kim

In today’s class we started watching a new movie called Pan's Labyrinth. The movie looks very interesting from my point of view since I never really saw it before. It follows a little Spanish girl name Ofelia and her mother Carmen who opens up the movie. Carmen the mother is pregnant with a child of a military man named Captain Vidal to whom she is also married too. Ofelia biological father died in a war and now she is reluctant to call Captain Vidal her father. We find out very early that Ofelia is very much into fairy tales and likes to read a lot. Once they get to the base where Captain Vidal is located, Ofelia find outs that something has been following her since her trip began. Ofelia leave her bed in the night and follows the fairy to a dark labyrinth where she meets a strange looking creature named Faun who tells her that he has been waiting for her and that she is the daughter of the lord of the underworld. He gives her a book and three tasks to complete before the moon is full in order to prove that she is the right girl. The first task leads her to a dark rotting tree where she faces a toad. At the same time her mother is become weaker with each passing day due to the baby and Captain Vidal is busy fighting off rebel forces in the forest. Ofelia returns home to an angry mother who tells her that she has disappointed her. As Ofelia finds time to herself and opens out the book that Faun gave to her, it starts to turn red. Ofelia runs out of the room and finds her mother cover in blood. Right then we ran out of time. Besides watching the movie we didn’t really do anything else in class.

Katherine Tesi

Even now, I still am unclear which set of stories within the novel are supposed to make up the primary story. After a bit of research I found that a few sources say that the two stories are somehow intertwined, but that doesn’t quite make sense. Other sources said that the two sets of stories are supposed to simply play off of each other. However, the chapters that are titled with phrases don’t seem to be related. I feel like there must be some relation between the two sets of texts, or else the form of the novel would be pointless. I’m just still not sure what the relation is between the texts. Hopefully with a little bit more research I will be able to find my answer.

Julie Morvitz

I thought chapter 9 was pretty interesting, but I don’t know why Corinna-Ingrid-Gertrude-Alfonsina gave each person she encountered a different name. I’m sure there is a reason which may be symbolic, but I don’t know what it is. I thought around an empty grave and what story down there awaits its end? were pretty interesting chapters, but I’m not sure what the narrator said before was true. He said that each beginning of the books he reads get better and better and after he reads the next book he wants to finish it more than the last one. Although I have liked the last few chapters, the ones at the beginning I did not feel got better as they went along.
I wonder if the whole point of this book was to get to the end and hear Italo Calvino’s thoughts on why or how people read books. The book ended so suddenly but it seems like he wanted to get this point across, and once he did, there was no point to the book anymore.

Nian Liu

Ch 7-9.


After reading these couple of chapters, Calvino introduces new perspectives to his book. For an example through the perspective of Lumilla as well as the main character in the book, and he twists and turns his words which for me was quiet hard to enjoy. I am too use to reading those "innocent" novels where everything is neat, precise and has an ending, while this book is like the total opposite. The most confusing I would say would be chapter 7 because the author refers the term "you" as this second person but he then says he dears not to forget "you" the original reader. And then the main character finds this type writer with translations made by Ermes Marana, and you have Irnerio say that Marana turns anything he touches into something untrue which then makes me question whether all the stuff I've been reading is real or not. I'm starting to get frustrated reading this book because my curiosity has died down and my patience is wearing thin. I hope the ending of this book will save me from this feeling.

Emily Skahill

To be honest, i probably would have liked it had i read it in a different situation. I really enjoyed House of Leaves, and i think these two novels are very similar in form. i think if we hadn't read them back to back i would have liked If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Both were very confusing in structure and i think it was too much for me at points. The stories are interesting as well as the main narrative in If on a.." and i really think if i wasn't so frustrated i would have enjoyed it more. it was just difficult to read it with an open mind after such an intense novel before it.

Carly Cooper

I think the main narrative is becoming a little bit ridiculous. It has been so far dragged out that it is becoming to far from realistic, something like this would never happen. I actually thought that chapter 9 was a joke, the fact that everything was a fallacy and a lie, that whatever anyone says you would say would mean just the opposite. Clearly just being a visitor in this country would not make him automatically a part of some kind of crazy book scam and detective work. No government even cares that much about banned books and searching for books that are mislabeled. Another thing that really bothered me was that the last story of the secondary narrative was so boring and captivating. My question is why would Italio Calvio use this as his last story?

Class Summary March 10

Today in class, we started with some more reader response theory. We discussed the “Political/Ideological” view and the “Post-Structuralist” view. The political/ideological view says that the text has inclusions that are intrinsically ideological and that in turn the readers themselves interpret with ideological convictions. Thus, readers must perform “critical readings” to demystify ideologies. For the post-structuralist view, (like that of Derrida, Lacan, etc.), the meaning of a text is not found IN the text, but instead through the play of language and nuances of conventions, in which the reader is an active participant. Within this view’s discussion, we talked about Stanley Fish, the herd mentality, Marx’s base and superstructure, and Aristotle’s idea of art being a “mimesis”. From this Aristotle-derived idea of art, we talked about photography and different ways that art can present reality; staying close to sensory perception (Renaissance art) or interpreting the nature of reality (such as cubism). We then began to talk about aspects of postmodernism, such as fragmentation and the ability of a text to be deconstructed, or have its implicit meanings unearthed. While in the postmodern discussion now, we began to discuss Calvino’s novel. The class was questioned as to whether this was really a novel, and we talked about how it differs from an epic, poem, or tale. Robert helped to give us a summary of the numbered chapters, listing off all of the characters of the numbered chapters and the main plot of the readers finding the publisher and discovering author/editor/publishing fraud. It was mentioned that the frame story’s genre is that of a whodunit or detective-like story. Through Calvino’s novel, he prompts a question: How important is the plot to a novel? In postmodern literature, there are frequently no unifying themes or bigger picture formed. Calvino constantly reminds the reader that they are present and that all in the novel is imagined. We learned about Bertolt Brecht, who was a Marxist playwright and writer whose plays always kept the audience aware of the imagined. He did not want audiences to be swayed by propaganda—he was always looking out for the proletariat audience. The actors in his plays would frequently interact directly with the audience, breaking down false walls. After this, we discussed about how Calvino takes on ten or eleven different voices, such as in “Looks down in the gathering shadow” versus “Without fear of wind or vertigo”. A writer has to be very sophisticated to write in different voices (Milan Kundera was also noted in this discussion).

John Bonhomme

The story really begin to fall into place these last chapters. The format of the book as well as Roberts explanation in class helped me understand what was going on perfectly well. The format of the book is one main story with a bunch of other stories going on inside that main story. The other stories which are going on are the stories which the main characters are reading. The truth behind it all is that a corrupt translator as well as publisher have created this entire thing. The main characters are on a goose hunt to find something which is fraud. The moral of the story is the reader should get satisfaction out of the suspense which the book has left. A story is not all about plot, it's also about the emotions which one feels while reading through a novel. This novel just happens to leave one on the edge of their seat, and keep you there. Some people may like this but I enjoy closer better. There are some good points to this though. People always complain about endings. Well in Calvino's stories there are no endings, so what is there to complain about?

Tung Kim

After reading through Ch 5-7 I find that the two stories were interesting but I’m started to see that my prediction about the book being clearer as we move on isn’t going to happen. The book is starting to become more and more interactive to Ludmilla and us the readers. The stories are always changing and it sometimes hard to point your finger on what is happening and what is changing. But this in its own right is a little exciting because I kind of want to know what happens next even though it seems as if it going to be a hard read.
1. Big question what is happening in the stories?
2. Well we as the reader ever reach some sort of conclusion at all?

Dan Bush

Italio Calvino has written this novel in a way that speaks to the conformity within the literary world. He has shown that the true intention of a novel is to involve and capture the imagination of it's readers. In this part of the book he has demonstrated the use of the third person perspective and the ways in which this point of view may alter perception it still is in the end the reader that gives the story life and the narative its meaning. He has continually attempted to demonstrate the ability of the reader to shape and form a text into whatever the reader needs that text to be. In a way this novel is his thesis on the ways in which the world of literature and the world the readers themselves live in can be connected, if the author of a narrative leaves the confines of conventional construction of a novel. In this way the reader is more able to make the text his/her own. He has once again show that literature is more about perspective and freeing the mind than forcing a persons imagination to be shaped by the authors conformity. He has allowed his readers to become a part of the novel and in some ways they shape the narrative. He has compiled a series of readings and adapted them to show the ways in which us the reader can make, and have made narratives our own and escape to a literary realm that is open to some extent open to "interpretation".

Elisabeth Jeremko end of Calvino's novel

"You have come all the way...to hunt a counterfeit of novels, and you find yourself prisoner of a system in which every aspect of life is counterfeit, a fake. Or, rather: you were determined to venture into forests, prairies, mesas...lost certainly while seeking the source of the oceanic novel, but you bang your head against the bars of the prison society which stretches all over the planet, confining adventure within its mean corridors, always the same...is this still your story, Reader?" (Calvino, 215).

This passage from Calvino in Chapter Nine pretty much sums up the entire book for me. Like Emily, I found the ending of the novel unfulfilling, vexing, and anger-inducing. Calvino has a lot of nerve to send us a readers on this wild goose chase, poking fun at our curiosities and teasing us without ceasing. Thus, I cannot really say that the reading experience for this book was a completely positive one. Despite my gripes, I see how Calvino has completely broken up the particles that comprise the structure and workings of a novel. For this, I was able to see how fake my reading experience really is. It was a neat concept on the part of Calvino. Unfortunately, I am not the most willing of subjects for his experimental fiction. Perhaps it was just so alarming and foreign to me that I had trouble just going with it. This is the type of novel I definitely think that I have to read again. I think it is possible to appreciate an author's talent or writing ability, while not enjoying the fiction. Maybe I am too traditional of a reader -- but the reason that I love literature is because I like being encased in a world that an author creates for me. I like an escape from reality -- I do not want to be constantly reminded that my reading experience is meaningless and fake. In the above quote, Calvino seems to acknowledge this.

After reading this frustrating novel, I am looking forward to reading a "traditional" novel again -- "I can't wait to go into reverse, to make the things of the world exist again, one by one or all togehter, to set their variegated and tangible substance, like a compact wall, against the men's plans of general vacancy" (249). I totally see how this is a postmodern novel -- there is a dissolution of that which is "fake". Calvino breaks down the novel to show its careful construction. He also recognizes the desire to have order and togetherness, a yearning of the fragmented individual for meaning.

Emily Skahill

i really can't stand this novel. I really hate when things don't have a beginning, middle, and an end. it's really annoying to me. House of Leaves had an end, maybe not a very conclusive end, but still an end. And, i just don't like how the stories start and stop, never giving you enough yet leaving just enough for you to be angry that they aren't finished. i really don't care about the "Reader" anymore. the reader is clearly not me. I would not develop a sick obsession with finding a central story within different stories like the author. i think it is ridiculous and the author should get a life and stop annoying me. this book is trash, i don't understand why people like it.

Julie Morvitz

I understood this part of the book more than some of the previous chapters, and it seemed somewhat more interesting. I liked how the book brought yet another author into it, which was Silas Flannery, one of the authors of one of the books within if on a winter’s night a traveler. It gave his perspective on what was going on, and how more than one book of his seemed to be started but not finished. It turned out that some of the books were fake and were not written by him, but it wasn’t clear which one(s). I liked what he wrote about the tormented and the productive reader. Both writers are unsatisfied with their own way of writing, and when they try to write like the other they end up with the same book (at least, I liked that version best). In response to how Ludmilla gets through books, I think that is a very interesting way of looking at writing. I don’t think it’s effective all the time, because I think a book can be good even if its’ repeated words don’t seem very effective. On this same thought, I think a book that seems good from its’ repeated words can turn out to be a worse book than one thought.

Katherine Tesi

Within these chapters, I continued to ask myself whether or not Calvino’s novel can actually be considered a novel. A general definition of a novel is “a long narrative in literary prose”. Although Calvino’s work has a long narrative intertwined within the chapters (the alternating chapters titled by numbers), there are multiple secondary stories within the text. I can’t help but question if the long narrative is required to be continuous in order to be a novel. Obviously this text cannot be considered a continuous narrative; however it may be deemed a novel because it contains a narrative which does have a beginning, middle and end. I still don’t know whether the inclusion of the secondary stories is enough to make Calvino’s work something other than a novel.

Carly Cooper

Chapter eight was so helpful to me in understand the main narrative of this story. I think using Silas Flannery's point of view and taking away "the reader" and the difficult way the main narrative is usually written. I think it is interesting the way that Ludmilla is constantly the center of all the attention and she that she is basically the only woman (besides her sister) in the book. The part of chapter eight that really interests me is the way that Silas Flannery writes about differnt kinds of readers and writters. I think that Italio Calvino is definently trying to make apoint about the way people read and their inteeraction with the writter of the novel. It is definently one of his main interests of the book to talk about how people read and the many differnt ways that there are to read. My question is why does Italio Calvino decide to use an exert from the diary to explain what is going on?

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Ch. 3-4

Ludmilla is one of the characters in the books point of view that I can kind of understand at the moment, being that the format of the book is in lights terms all over the place. I find it interesting that Calvino get the reader involved in the book by setting us up for the reading. Still im a little confused on how the book is going so far. I think we need to go over something’s in class a little bit more before were all lost.

1. Is there real story in this book? Or is something come kind of weird happening?
2. Are the stories connected?
3. What this Ludmilla story so far? Why is it a little easier to understand then the others?

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Ch. 1-2

When reading the first two chapters I thought to myself “this book is going to be confusing” and I was right. There are different meaning and hidden message it seems as I read deeper into the book. It seems like the book is divided up into two different plots, one being the reader and the other Calvino. I’m sure as we read deeper into the story things will start to pop up and maybe hopefully become a little more clear.

1. is there a clear message that Calvino wants the reader to get?
2. what are some symbols that are hidden in the story?
3. Are we as the reader part of this book as well?

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino: 9-12

The Reader is bound for Japan. Upon his arrival he is stopped by security guards that confiscate his novel based on the grounds that it is banned. The Reader then meets a woman who resembles Lotaria; she offers him an escape route via taxi. She and the reader notice there are two more taxis following their taxi. At first they are stopped by the first taxi and arrested by cops along with their driver. They are then stopped by another taxi and get arrested once again by even more cops who also arrest the cops they were with. The woman he has met takes on a large variety of names. All of these elements serve to reinforce the theme of schism within the country. The reader is then taken to a prison where he sees the woman once again working as a technician. Turns out this woman is a fraud who wears several disguises while playing both sides of the schism. She leads the reader to a brand new novel called “Around an empty grave” by Calixto Bandera. This new novel is about a young boy whose ill reputed father has just passed away without ever telling him the truth about his mother. The boy goes in search of answers meeting various women along with their daughters who all have very similar features. At the end the boy discovers his father’s fate, the identity of his mother and that he must kill a man in order to fulfil his true destiny. In chapter ten, the Reader has successfully made his way out of prison by agreeing to undertake a very dangerous mission. The Reader now finds himself in Ircania with the Director General of the State Police Archives. The Reader was brought here to find the source of books that were being banned. The Director spoke of Marana and how they couldn’t decipher him because he was not mad, just simply desperate over the bet he lost to Ludmilla. This enraged Marana to the point at which he spread his confusion of titles, authors, and translations so that Ludmilla would realize his presence in her reading. The Director allowed Marana to escape thereby losing his trail, but allowing the rampancy of his work. The Director proceeds by offering the reader a brand new manuscript by the banned author Anatoly Anatolin called “What story down there awaits its end”. The Reader meets the author in secrecy to retrieve the manuscript, only to receive fragments once again as the pages are swept away by an icy wind. This next novel is about a man who has done something that caused the world to erase itself into oblivion. All the man can wish for now is to be alone with his good friend Franziska so they can go to a café and listen to an orchestra. Chapter eleven brings the reader into a library full of many other readers. Each reader comments on their own personal views towards reading. The Reader shows a list of all the books he’s encountered thus far to the librarian, only to find that not one is available. Looking at the list again it reads “If on a winter’s night a traveler, outside the town of Malbork, leaning from the steep slope without fear wind or vertigo, looks down in the gathering shadow in a network of lines that enlace, in a network of lines that intersect, on the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon around an empty grave- What story down there awaits it’s end?” The other readers think that those are not titles, but the beginning of a story, a story which must not have a beginning and an end. One reader remarks that stories always end in two ways; with the hero and heroine succeeding and getting married or otherwise they both die. The Reader then decides to marry Ludmilla. At the end they share a bed as the Reader finishes If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino.” Overall this story communicates the message that a powerful story is one limitless in conventions.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino: 7-On the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon

I have reached a particularly interesting point in the story in which the author refers to “you” the reader, meaning Ludmilla, the Other Reader. I enjoy his use of imagery and thoughtful commentary in describing the details of Ludmilla’s home. Ludmilla has allowed the Reader to drop by to discuss the books they’ve been reading. Just as the Reader sits down to read Irnerio, the non-Reader re-enters the picture. It seems Irnerio frequently takes Ludmilla’s spare books among the books she’s already read and recreates them into works of art. Calvino articulates this as a way to express how a Reader and a non-Reader can individually capture the heart of a novel. The Reader then discovers a few personal items belonging to Ermes Marana, contained in one of Ludmilla’s closets. It seems that she and Marana had a close relationship and perhaps her deep passion for reading is now the driving force for his literary treachery. The Reader is baffled by the knowledge that Ludmilla is somehow involved in this elaborate conspiracy. Ludmilla returns to her apartment and suddenly the two are in bed together. This was quite a shock for me to read because there was no precursor to set off such an event. At the end of the chapter they both resolve to search for Silas Flannery for answers since it is his novel that is being counterfeited. The book “In a network of lines that intersect”, is about a billionaire obsessed with kaleidoscopes who finds himself involved in a conspiracy leaving him, his wife Elfrida and his mistress Lorna trapped in a hall of mirrors. Chapter eight also makes an unexpected shift to the modern diary of Silas Flannery, instead of referring to these events using the two Readers. Flannery talks about his toils and troubles in writing his next groundbreaking novel. He mentions a female who reads each day on her deck. He also encounters Lotaria, who is using his novels for her thesis paper. Lotaria is an unconventional reader who feels that by reading his novels she reaffirms what she already knew to expect. Through Lotaria, he meets Ludmilla, who he sees as the ideal reader and also attempts to sleep with. He then encounters the Reader, and out of his fear for losing Ludmilla, sends him on quest to Japan to trail Marana. He leaves the reader with a copy of yet another novel called “On the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon”. This story is about a scholar living at the house of his mentor, Mr. Okeda. The scholar finds himself attracted to his mentor’s young daughter Makiko. This section is very sensual and erotic in its elements and adds a refreshing new twist to this already twisted novel.

Carly Cooper

I was extremely confused by these two chapters while the stories were interesting I'm getting lost in the plot about the reader. I feel it is becoming too complicated with the publisher and all the new characters, it seems that as the reader becomes involved in more stories his own plot becomes more complicated. Other than the fact that I am struggling with the pain plot the stories seem to keep getting more and more interesting and intriguing. Thia makes it even more possible to put yourself in the readers shoes and further understand his frustration. I find myself wishing they were real stories that had real endings. My question is, what is going on at this publishing company and how is it connected to the Cemarien man?

Robert Stevens

Chapter 7 begins to provide some insight into Ludmilla's life and role in this whole story. Calvino talks about how you "the reader" are invited into her house to go over the new novel you have just discovered. She tells you how to get in, so then you proceed to look around her house once you arrive. Books are a very big deal to Ludmilla, and she is even a personal acquaintance of Silas Flannery (they were friends, but apparently they had a falling out). Marana is revealing himself more and more as a fraud as well, as now two stories by Flannery have the same name, with one passing throug Marana's translation, and the other not doing so. The reader is also becoming jealous of Irnerio, who has come to the house as well on his own accord.
The story "In a Network of Lines that Intersect" tells of a businessman that is obsessed with the concept of the kalideoscope. He is also extremely paranoid about being kidnapped by his "associates" and his wife finding out about his affair. As a result, he creates an elaborate rouse of false motorcades, counterplans, and the like. Unfortuantely, this does not stop his wife, who dose succeed in kidnapping him and his mistress.

Why the elaborate analyzation of the Reader and Ludmilla?
Does Irnerio have intentions with Ludmilla as well?
Why is it that the stories are getting more random?

If On a Winter's Night Chapters 5-7

From my last post, I am still not really getting a strong hold on the book yet. In thinking closely about Calvino's writing, I decided that sentence, by sentence, I think he is a wonderful writer. His combination of words make beautiful language and some of his observations are extremely astute. The problem I am continuing to have is that I cannot make sense of it all. By this point, I am expecting very little from the "meaty" plot sections of the book. Instead, I am trying to really appreciate what Calvino has to say about writing or reading itself. What better way to get into the author's mind and see the underlying construction of a story than to have a template of a story,serving as example, next to it. I thought it was funny when Ludmilla tells what type of novel she wants to read --"should have as its driving force only the desire to narrate, to pile stories upon stories, without trying to impose a philosophy on you, simply allowing you to observe its own growth, like a tree, an entangling, as if of branches and leaves" (92). Here, Calvino seems to poke fun at himself. He does not simply narrate or allow a natural growth -- he is an incessant presence as a creative shaper. I have been frustrated all along with Calvino's careful control on my reading experience; telling me how I would react, giving out sparce information, etc. I like how Calvino acknowleges frustrations the reader might have, such as with the existence of multiple, unsatisfied stories. Regarding these, Calvino says, "...so it is not impossible that the person who follows the story may feel himself a bit cheated...but it is not impossible that this is the very effect I aimed at when I started narrating, or let's say it's a trick of the narrative...a rule of discretion that consists in maintaining my position slightly below the narrative possibilities at my disposal" (109). In this passage, Calvino seems almost arrogant, saying that we should trust him because of his masterful ability to weave together a true, new reading experience. If he is right, then this is going to be remembered as one of the most unique books I have read. If he is wrong, then Calvino was arrogant and too self-reflexive. Although I am having trouble with the book, I am leaning towards Calvino being right about his intentions being brilliant for the work. This is because, as I mentioned before, sentence by sentence, his writing is beautiful.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) Does Calvino think too highly of himself and his ability to redefine how stories are told? Or is he a master whose working between the lines to offer a brand new experience for the reader?

2)What kind of reader would Ludmilla be in the "reader-response" theory?

3) "Let us see, Other Reader, if the book can succeed in drawing a true portrait of you, beginning with the frame and enclosing you from every side, establishing the outlines of your form" (142)...
Do you think that the book succeeds in this?

Nian Liu

"If on a winter night a traveler..." Ch 4-6

As I read more chapters in this book, the questions keep piling up. Story after story I read and never get to finish, I feel the agony that the main character is feeling. My whole perception of "innocent" reading fades away and now I'm tangled in this novel after novel hell. I feel that the author is purposely doing this to again bring the relationship between reader and narrator together and that's the main focus of his writing. It's not really the story that is important but the form of style of writing and craftiness that should be credited for.

Questions:
1) Will the main character find all these books in the end, or will he be left hanging like we all are right now!!?
2) Is Ludmilla and the main character going to end up no wanting to read ever again? Like how Irnerio chose to not look at words.
3) Why doesn't Irnorio like to read? Is it because he too was caught up with this repetition of non-finished novels?

Victoria Gornopolskaya

Reading these next few chapters, I realized this book illustrates the reader's-response theory. This novel follows a struggling reader who is trying to piece together a book that may not even exist. The reader as well as Ludmilla are trying to experience literature though it turned into a much more interactive journey than they may have expected. It is clear that the stories in this novel do not relate to each other as of now. The concept of the novel may be the thing that ties it all together. This is about the performance of literature and bringing in our own experiences to try to fill in the vast gaps left by Calvino. Though this scattered novel had been causing us much confusion, I believe it does this intentionally. I am realizing how much we all strive for a perfect novel and demand to read the way we are used to; the way a novel should be organized. At this point we struggle through the book along with the people in the novel in order to truly share an experience.
Questions:
Will the reader ever find satisfaction with this reading experience?
Will the reader (I) ever find satisfaction with this reading experience?

Victoria Gornopolskaya: Class Summary

Today in class we discussed the meaning of history. History is a recollection of ones’ past. It is a story we tell, picking out only important information and events. People used to believe there would be a dominant history and something to counter it. We now know that with history there are many versions of a particular event. The past alone does not define history. The class went on to discuss literary history in particular which accounts for history of literature or narrative. Narrative history is an aspect of history that is always animated by being written down. Historical Contextualism is an organizing principle or theory of narrative history. The Theory of Immanent Change involves automation and defamiliarization of literature. It implies the standardization of a form of art. Artists create art and art seems to change by itself through time according to this theory. Standardization puts limits on art and literature. This is why we read limitless books such as “House of Leaves”, that go against standardization and against tradition. Italo Calvino’s book also brings about an atypical format for a novel. It is important to explore the possibilities and depths to which literature can go when unrestrained as well as its’ uniqueness in telling history.

Ideology is a very significant principle that we learned about in class. It is a set of beliefs that define the world for an individual. These beliefs are endorsed by that individual throughout life. People enjoy being part of a large group that consists of others who share their beliefs. This can be extrapolated to the government level with China and Communism as an example. We also introduced the term horizon of expectation which states that you expect to achieve resources based on your worth.

We went on to listen to a few songs that were relevant to the days’ lesson. “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel was about a poor young man living in New York City. He says “I am just a poor boy and my storys seldom told”. This line expresses how ones’ story goes untold if the individual is classified under a certain group, leaving a feeling of insignificance. Those who are seemingly unimportant to society are not included in history. We then listened to a song that was in great contrast with this one called “Where do you go to my Lovely” by Peter Sarstedt. This song is about a rich woman in France who the singer grew up in poverty with. This woman came to be rich and honorable on her own despite starting out with nothing. He hopes she will remember who she once was and who she truly is despite the fact that she has probably forgotten him.

In a general sense, we learned that history is not just the past. History can be a song, a novel, or just a recollection of an event. History is simply a story; it may be my story, your story, an author’s story, or an artists’ story. History can entail millions of stories but no matter how many are out there they all somehow intertwine. History is what we choose it to be just as literature is what the reader chooses it to be. We are all characters in a story that is our history.

Julie Morvitz

Prior to these chapters, I was enjoying the numbered chapters more than the named chapters, but now I have changed my mind. I think that as of now, the named chapters are more enjoyable because they only last for that one chapter and although you don’t know the end of the story, it isn’t confusing at the time. I am finding the numbered chapters the confusing ones now, because the story keeps changing and I find myself wondering who is talking and what is going on. I found the chapter ‘looks down in the gathering shadow’ the most interesting one yet, and I actually did want to know what happened next. I felt the frustration of the narrator for the first time, and although now I am enjoying these chapters more, it also makes it more annoying when I finish the chapter and know that there is no end to the story.
Questions:
1. Are the two types of chapters equally important, or is one more important than the other?
2. Does the whole story about Marana have to do with anything else in the book at all?

Kristy Medina

I really can't figure this book out. It's like there's a lot going on but yet I'm frustrated because the book is so small and simple it really shouldn't be. All I know is that their are missing manuscripts because the titles of the books aren't complete. Calvino discusses how the reader (or a reader) reacts to the missing manuscripts of the books and alludes it to the fact as that's how we should be reacting. I'd really like to go over and review the book before we read any further.

Questions: What is going on in the stories?

Alyson Bernero

I'm still pretty confused with all of the different stories taking place throughout the novel although I will admit that I enjoy the format of the book. The main story of the reader and Ludmilla is just about the only one i can keep up with at this point. The reader has just realized that while he reads the manuscripts he becomes attatched to Ludmilla. Another thing I find interesting about the book is the introduction that Calvino used to get the reader ready to begin the novel. I found myself trying to get comfortable and sit back in my chair the way he recommended and then moving the book to see that I was reading in the best way possible. Unfortunately though because I am a little confused with the book at this point I have a lot of questions?
1) Will we ever be introduced to more characters by name?
2) The suitcase story never really resolved so will we learn more about it?
3) Is there a reason Calvino uses so much detail in certain parts of his stories?