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.