Borges

In all honesty, I was not as big of a fan of Borges as I was of Cortazar and Marquez and therefore, I will certainly not be writing my literary critique on him! I could definitely sense that he was much more of an intellectual rather than an emotional writer in comparison to the other two. I do have a few things to say on his behalf though, and I do find it interesting that he worked with concepts of meta-awareness.
I enjoyed the aspect of time being multifaceted as conveyed through his story, “The Garden of Forking Paths”. The idea of a parallel universe has always both intrigued and bemused me. An old friend of mine once introduced me to the topic of quantum mechanics, and having somewhat of a base of knowledge on the matter (which later made its resurrection in class), that much more appealing to me. I can’t help but to agree with Borges when it comes to the multiplicity of possibility, the concept of all sorts of happenings, happening simultaneously. I liked the general mirage of the story (especially after having reviewed it in class) but I must admit that after the first run-through I felt doltish.

The other concept to be touched on regarding “The Garden of Forking Paths” is the notion that ignorance can destroy greatness. Clear examples of this (in my personal life) were exhibited in my past as an inadequate student. My inexperienced, childlike behavior prevented me from succeeding in my classes. The thought of such a brilliant, innocent man being sacrificed for such a petty, useless end, is tragic.

The theme of ignorance is revisited in Borges’ story “The Gospel According to Mark,” particularly when the people of the Catholic Church are unwilling to analyze and interpret the readings literally rather than metaphorically. Also, the phrase "blind faith wins" is relevant because Borges is arguing that ignorance always wins.

I agree with Baltasar Espinosa and his belief that science and faith should be able to coexist peacefully. I’ve never understood why the evolution vs. creationism debate has always been so intense. Isn’t “God created the Earth… and then it evolved” a valid option?

Coming full circle, back to the field of a parallel universe, the final reading Borges, “Emma Zunz” surfaces. This is a brain buster, let me tell you. I read the story of Emma Zunz five times over and could not figure out the twist. The underlying theme of “humans creating their own reality” most certainly exists in this story. Emma creates a new past and therefore, everything in her conscious universe continues on as if this false past is true.

I really admire Borges’ abstraction and notion that people decide different meanings of things and travel different trails. The idea of reinventing paths to create a past reality is truly disturbing- for people have no solid base anymore. Appreciating the fact that Emma’s false story becomes her reality is arguably evidence that she is, in fact, slipping into a different universe.