Alyson Bernero

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

Michael Lampasona

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

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

tung

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

Katherine Tesi

In Borges’ The Lottery in Babylon, the idea of chance overwhelms the entire text. Within the story the entire population of Babylon is consumed with the lottery which is set up initially with only prizes in mind. Over time, the lottery comes to include both prize and consequence for all of the people involved. The Company which comes to run the lottery is an all powerful and knowing body completely unattached to the people. Overall this story seemed to have portrayed the idea that blindly following authority is taking a chance in itself, and over time the chances of the outcome being positive lessen.
In The Garden of Forking Paths, displays both the themes of deceit and of the recurring labyrinth. Tsun realizes that like his ancestor had hinted at, the “labyrinth in which all men would lose their way” was actually the novel itself in its unfinished state. Borges has the novel within the story use time as the means for his labyrinth, making the labyrinth never ending and never solvable. I found it interesting that Borges related Tsun to the author of the unfinished novel; however chances are I’m missing a point of some kind.

Julie Morvitz

I liked The Garden of Forking Paths. It was a little difficult at the beginning, but after the first couple of pages I started to get into the story. The whole idea of the book being a labyrinth reminded me of a type of book I used to read when I was younger. This type was where there are many endings, and the reader picks the path the characters continue on. The readers can then go back and read the other endings to the stories after they finish each one. These books are just like the labyrinth talked about in the story- there are endless possibilities of what can happen in Ts’ui Pen’s novel, and every different even that can happen, does. I like this idea and it makes me think of what would happen if real life was like that. People make decisions all the time that lead to different things, and if they had made a different decision their whole life could have been different. I wonder what it would be like if, like the book, someone in real life could just make a different decision or play each decision out to see what would happen.

Natalya Gornopolskaya

Blog by Natalya Gornopolskaya
“The Garden of Forking Paths”

This story is very distinct and unlike the others it contains new elements, further than just the concept of a labyrinth. It begins with a man who is on the run from his enemy Captain Richard Madden. Though it is not stated explicitly, the narrator must have committed some sort of desperate war crime which has forced him to go into hiding until he can mitigate the threat posed by Capt. Richard Madden. While wandering on his escape path he comes across a garden that reminds him of his ancestor Ts’ui Pen. Ts’ui Pen dedicated the last thirteen years of his life to seclusion inside the Pavillion of Limpid Solitude. He wanted to create both a novel and a labyrinth. The narrator remarks that his labyrinth was never found and his novel was published but made no sense. Within the garden the narrator encounters a man named Stephen Albert, who uncovers the mysteries of his ancestor Ts’ui Pen. It turns out that Ts’ui Pen did in fact fulfill his life’s goal; his nonsense novel was actually “the garden of forking paths”, a labyrinth within a book. The novel contains various paths in which the main character either dies, lives, meets his enemy, kills his enemy or even coexists with his enemy. The possibilities are endless, because the story always ends the same way it began, taking you on a new path each time. The narrator realizes that his ancestor’s novel applies to his current predicament, and with that in mind he shoots Albert with a revolver just as Madden enters the room. The story ends just as it began with the narrator on the run from his enemy. Perhaps the next path will involve the narrator confronting Madden or maybe he will be captured and killed. There’s no telling what’s going to happen next. This story was thrilling to say the least and I believe Borges has truly outdone himself. The message here is that life is simply a labyrinth of limitless intersecting paths.

Victoria Gornopolskaya

“The Garden of Forking Paths” was very sophisticated and suspenseful, something I did not expect from Borges. It offers an innovative philosophical explanation for the “path” which we call life. According to Borges, life is full of twists and turns, all leading up to the same path. In other words, life is analogous to a labyrinth, because once we find our way through the tangled labyrinth one life has ended and a new life has begun. By choosing the right path to follow we navigate our way through the labyrinth until we reach the forking paths. Just as the narrator in the story fulfills one path of his life, he begins anew, and will continue doing so until he reaches his final destiny. Life has a way of working itself out until the ultimate path is completed; once you have achieved this sort of path then your life has satisfied its meaning. I admire the attitude that Borges holds towards life, he is indeed an author who connects with his work.

Carly Cooper

I actually really liked this story. While the connection between the main character running away and meeting this man who has discovered a secret in one of the main characters ancestor's works is vague it is also powerful in regards to the end of the story. The parts of the story about him running away for his life were interesting to read and captivating as I was also wondering if he would escape or be caught. However the discovery about Ts'ui Pen's book and what it means was even more interesting and really give you something to think about. The way that if time were ignored and events could be repeated the outcomes are infinite and anything is possible is certainly something that can occupy the mind for hours on end. I could probably sit and wonder what could have happened in anyone situation of my own life and that is why the discovery is so amazing. while I didnt understand where Madden came from, I thought it was very interesting the way the spy knew he would die and therefore, in order to get his information to his people, killed the man with the name of the city he was to warn them about.