The Guardian of the Books
By: Andrew Navia and Cassie Iljin
Jorge Luis Borges
“To
be immortal is commonplace; except for man, all creatures are immortal, for
they are ignorant of death; what is divine, terrible, incomprehensible,
is to know that one is immortal.”
The Book of
Sand
and The Book of
Imaginary Beings
Table of Contents
I. Biography
II.
Overview of The Book of Imaginary Beings
III.
Overview of The Book of Sand
IV.
Identification
of Author Style Elements
V.
Feminist Read
VI.
Formalist Read
VII.
Reader-Response
Read
VIII.
Historical
Read
IX.
Biographical Read
X.
25 Question AP
Style Quiz
XI.
Bibliography
XII.
Links
Biography
Borges was born into an old, Argentine
family of soldiers and scholars in
There he joined with the avant-garde
Ultraists, who combined elements of Dadaism, Imagism, and German Expressionism;
and began his writing career by publishing reviews, essays, and poetry. Borges
returned to
The period that followed was when Borges wrote what
are regarded as his “masterpieces.” Though he spoke of his disdain for
politics, Borges was always politically outspoken - he opposed European fascism
and anti-Semitism, and the dictatorship of Juan Perón
in
Overview of The Book of Imaginary
Beings
The Book of Imaginary Beings is a
collection of stories gathered from an assortment of cultures of the world;
Borges merely gathered the ones that he found to be the most interesting. So
unlike in Borges' fictional works, one cannot analyze this book as being
strictly the creation of his mind. Each being in the book is described in one
to four pages from various sources, the most famous of the creatures being the
Sphinx, the
Overview of The Book of Sand
The Book of
Sand
is also a collection of stories; however, most of them are from Borges’ own
imagination. As one of his last and most famous works, it covers the larger
issues of morality and life’s purpose. The stories are extremely convoluted and
mind bending – in the words of the author himself, his work is a “blind man’s
exercises… variations on favorite themes… combining a plain and at times almost
colloquial style with a fantastic plot.” While they are entertaining on the
surface, like all of his works, the stories all have a deeper meaning that is
not easily determined. At the end of most of them, the reader is left to wonder
exactly what it was that Borges was trying to accomplish, not realizing that it
is those thoughts themselves that are exactly what he was trying to provoke.
Identification of Author Style Elements
The stories of Jorge Luis Borges are
characterized by their “labyrinthine structure, surreal imagery, and
metaphysical speculations” (Bloom vi); which all come
together to form Borges’ overarching style – that of magical realism. This term
comes from the mix of fantasy and reality that makes up most of Borges’
stories. One of the biggest elements of his style is the fact that great parts
of his works are just written versions of myths and legends from cultures all
around the world (Borges, Imaginary).
Borges also likes to play with time and consciousness, bending reality and the
timeline to better fit the storyline; in the short story “The Other,” Borges
meets himself across a span of forty years and thousands of miles (Sand 3). Most of his stories also
include some sort of unreal being, from beings as well known as the dragon to
as unheard of as self-multiplying rocks (Imaginary
64; Sand 105). Borges usually
tends to question knowledge as well, thinking outside the box and analyzing the
mores of the world. In “The Congress” for example, Borges tells the story of a
“world congress” that tries to gather the whole world’s knowledge into one body
and ultimately fails (Sand 17).
Lastly, like any good fantasy author, Borges fills his stories with symbols;
such as the Book of Sand, which explores the thought that knowledge can lead
not only to power, but to pain as well (Sand
89). Conclusively, these many fantasy elements come together to form magical
realism, which Borges himself created.
Feminist Read
Where Have All
the Women Gone?
Women are now viewed as equals to
men, but it took many years of struggle and effort to achieve this. Unfortunately, some cultures still believe
women to be inferior to men, and it is most prevalent in writing. Women are portrayed as subservient characters
or they are not present at all in the stories.
In his books entitled The Book of
Sand and The Book of Imaginary Beings,
Jorge Luis Borges demonstrates a severe lack of powerful female presence. Most of his stories do not even include
women, but if they do, the women are either submissive or only present for male
sexual satisfaction.
The biggest issue with male authors
is that they seem to only include masculine characters, leaving no need for
females. In The Book of Imaginary Beings, the creatures are all referred to
with the words “he” and “him”, such as the Centaur, the Chinese Fox, and the
King of Fire. Borges writes, “Most like
a mighty king he was, […] as a white flame his visage shone” (Imaginary
137). The beings are great men that can
“save the world” with their muscles and a dragon, with no reference to wives,
sisters or mothers. The absence of these
crucial female characters causes the reader question how the men came to be and
if they respect women, or if they merely just see them as objects.
Borges writes in a sexist manner
that portrays women as submissive and ignorant.
In the story “Ulrikke” in The Book of Sand, the character Javier takes Ulrikke
alone to a cabin in the woods, after just meeting her he says to her, “‘We can
go out alone together […] to Thorgate […] there is no
other person on earth I want beside me’” (Sand 13). Willingly, and without question, she goes
with Javier, unaware of what he plans to do to her. In most of the other stories, the women are not
the main characters; they have “supporting” roles, but never actually do
anything. The men receive all of the
action and credit, while the women are simply passive bystanders.
Many of the male characters use the
women purely for sexual favors, rather than for their intelligence and
instinct. In the short story “The Night
of the Gifts” in The Book of Sand, a
young Indian girl runs from a raid and ends up with a man alone in a room. As soon as she sees him she takes off her
housecoat and says to him, “‘I’m here to be of service’” (Sand 52). This is a natural reaction for her because
that is what she was taught- to give sexual favors to men no matter whom they
are or what they want. Sadly, the man
takes advantage of her in the situation, teaching the young woman that it is
her job to do that. In “Ulrikke”, as Javier retells his story, he mentions that “I
(Javier) never learned her last name, and perhaps never will” (Sand 12). He slept with Ulrikke
and never bothered to learn her last name, nor did he ever plan to see her
again. The men view the women as sexual
objects that are not worth the time to get to know or speak to.
Both The Book of Sand and The Book
of Imaginary Beings display strong anti-feminism ideals that are carried
throughout the short stories. The most
prevalent concept is the lack of female presence; the stories, especially in The Book of Imaginary Beings, contain
male characters that show no need for a wife nor for a
mother. In The Book of Sand the stories depict women that only serve the
purpose of granting sexual satisfaction for the men, or women that cannot stand
up for themselves. Borges writes in a
truly degrading and sexist manner, which is offensive to any woman that does
anything besides cater to her husband.
If nothing else, these books should make readers realize how biased
Borges is and what a male chauvinist he is.
Formalist Read
The Other Borges:
A Formalist Look at the Master of Imagination
Jorge Luis Borges once wrote: “it is
not the reading that matters, but the rereading” (Sand 68). Ironically, this statement is especially true for Borges’
own stories, which require at least two full readings to be able to completely
understand not only the face value of the story, but the deeper meaning as
well. In order to identify any sort of literary device, a separate, even more
in-depth look at all parts of Borges’ stories is necessary. Under the veil of
entertaining plots and mind-bending values, Jorge Luis Borges is a master of
the writing craft – using with amazing skill such literary elements as
allusions, symbols, and many others, all with a uniquely Borgesque
style.
Though The Book of Imaginary Beings is mostly made up of works that did
not come from Borges’ own mind, it did not stop him from taking what he heard
and then exquisitely crafting the stories on paper with his own flair. The most
obvious device in The Book of Imaginary
Beings is allusion, since all of the tales are myths and legends that are
common among most races, such as the unicorn, the dragon, or the angel (Imaginary 14, 47, 156).
The tone of the collection of stories is, overall, close to that of a textbook.
For the most part, the stories are extremely short – most are two pages or less
– and therefore need to be direct and to the point. However, Borges does add in
the occasional personal observation or opinion on the creature being discussed,
if only to add flavor to an otherwise bland, nonfiction (sort-of) compilation.
The beings that Borges writes about are, on the whole, not human; and yet mankind
can still learn from these stories through Borges’ symbolism – a nymph might be
compared to an uninhibited woman, for example (Imaginary 174). Personification also plays a role in beings that
may not normally be considered animated, such as self-replicating rocks, and of
course the biggest element is that of the imagination from whence these beings
came (Sand 111).
The
Book of Sand is so different from The
Book of Imaginary Beings that one might believe they were written by two
completely different authors. It is in The
Book of Sand that the other Borges becomes apparent, as not only are the
short stories he is known for enthralling, but they are also partially
inconceivable in reality and filled with literary devices. The tone of these
stories is very pensive, and at times morbid, for as Borges grew older, he
began to contemplate the deeper issues of life, mainly knowledge, love, and
death. Symbols run rampant in The Book of
Sand, from a “world congress” that represents all educated men, to an
unknown being that rules in nightmares and scares man as much as… himself (Sand 21, 39). Also, there are just as
many allusions in these stories as The
Book of Imaginary Beings, though in The
Book of Sand, the allusions relate more to the real world, such as Ibsen, Sigurd and Brunhild, Shakespeare,
and the Bible (Sand 14, 15, 126, 90).
Since The Book of Sand is wholly of
Borges’ mind, it is much easier to identify his style and certain favored story
elements, like the bending of time and unraveling of consciousness. According
to Borges however, “writing is nothing more than a guided dream,” which, if
true, means that he must have had some very interestingly intellectual dreams
in his lifetime (Sand 94).
It is these many literary elements,
perhaps unnoticed at first, that help create the atmosphere and outcome that is
so unique to Borges’ stories. While it may take several readings, and rereadings, to fully comprehend not only the story, but
what makes up the language of the story as well, it is a worthwhile effort that
will leave the reader more satisfied than just a short browse. Ultimately, it
is up to the reader to decide to fully enjoy and analyze each story, for as
Borges himself said – “I doubt that the hurried notes I have just dictated will
exhaust this book, but hope, rather, that the dreams herein will continue to
ramify within the hospitable imaginations of the readers who now close it” (Sand 95).
Reader-Response Read
· Jorge Luis
Borges’ stories vary greatly in their ability to identify with readers.
· The myths and
legends that he merely transcribed onto paper, for example, will probably only
identify with those whose cultures spawned the stories.
· His own short
stories, however, are masterfully created and explore most of the themes that
are common to all of mankind; mainly love, death, and time.
· One of the
major draws of Borges’ works is probably the fact that even though they are
considered worthy of Cannon standards – which usually means they are boring –
his works are still very entertaining.
· Also, since most
of his stories bend time and the conscious, they are similar to a puzzle, which
engages most people more than a dry story.
Historical Read
- World War
I forced Borges to have an elongated stay in Europe, away from his home in
- The
Ultraist and Modernist movements that came about after the First World War
also helped to shape his disenchantment with reality and focus on fantasy.
- Later in
his writing career, Borges joined many other Latin American authors in
their exploration of existentialism and began to toy with magical realism.
- The
Second World War affected him as well, in overall disillusionment with
normal life, but also closer to home. Borges opposed the dictatorship that
was forming in
Biographical Read
· Borges was
greatly affected by his experiences with European and Latin existentialists,
which helped to form his magical realism style.
· Borges’ father
died in 1938, which, combined with his near-death experience on Christmas Eve
of the same year, significantly changed his outlook on life and writing.
· With the
uprising of the dictator Peron, Borges lost his job, and unfortunately began to
lose his eyesight at the same time. His writing began to explore human rights
and politics, and he had to have others write his stories for him, no doubt
affecting their outcome.
· He won many
international and Argentine awards between 1960 and 1980, and started to
lecture as well, picking up knowledge from all the places he traveled that
might later enter his stories.
25 Question AP Style Quiz
1) What literary
genre considers Jorge Luis Borges its founder?
a) Fantasy
b) Magical
Realism
c) Non-Fiction
d) Spanish
2) What sort of
works is Jorge Luis Borges best known for?
a) Poetry
b) Epics
c) Musicals
d) Short Stories
3) What phrase
begins many of Borges’ titles?
a) The Book of…
b) In the House of…
c) The Stories of…
d) The Dummies Guide to…
4) Some of
Borges’ stories are taken from:
I)
Myths
II) TIME Magazine
III) Legends
IV) Mark Twain
a) I, II, III, IV
b) II, IV
c) I, III
d) II, III
5) Jorge Luis
Borges was born in…
a)
b)
c)
d) Ulrikke
6) Borges was
against…
a) The Military
dictatorship in
b) The War in
c) The
Mexican-American War
d) Women’s Rights
7) Borges liked
to play with…
a) Books
b) Dragons
c) Time
d) Get your head
out of the gutter
8) Borges was
deeply affected by the death of…
a) His cousin
b) His father
c) Pablo Picasso
d) Princess Diana
9) As Borges grew
old, he began to lose…
a) His hearing
b) His
imagination
c) His mind
d) His sight
10) The only
animal picture in this report is of…
a) A dragon
b) A woman
c) A tiger
d) A platypus
11) Borges wrote
in English and…
a) Portuguese
b) Spanish
c) Mandarin
d) Swahili
12) What is
present in this statement: “I am not a believer in the methods of realism, an
artificial genre if ever there was one”?
a) Anaphora
b) Metaphor
c) Irony
d) Litotes
13) What literary
device is present in the following quote? “The Stoics teach that we should not
complain of life–the door of the prison is open.”
a) Alliteration
b) Satire
c) Assonance
d) Metaphor
14) Besides
Borges, who is the other character in “The Other”?
a) A dragon
b) Zorro
c) Himself
d) Caboose
15) What word best
completes this sentence: “Inside the mosque, it occurred to me that God and
_____ are two names for a single, inconceivable Being…”?
a) Borges
b) Allah
c) Mary
d) Eva
16) Borges’
stories treat women either as nonexistent or as…
a) Tools
b) Gods
c) Equals
d) Bill Clinton
would (while this might be true, make sure you always look for the most correct
answer)
17) What movement
did Borges join in
a) Cubist
b) Realist
c) Feminist
d) Ultraist
18) What are the
central themes in Borges’ work?
I)
Love
II) Death
III) Time
a) I only
b) II only
c) I and III
d) I, II, and III
19) What dictator
forced Borges to quit his job at the National Library?
a) Peron
b) Cabron
c) Ramon
d) Castillon
20) Borges’ books
are like…
a) Brick Breaker
b) Puzzles
c) Tacos
d) Epics
21) Later in life,
Borges began experimenting with what form of literature?
a) Science
Fiction
b) Non Fiction
c) Stream of
Consciousness
d) Existentialism
22) Borges’ father
died in…
a) 1947
b) 1856
c) 1938
d) &n