Noah Pfister: Borges

Magical Realism:
                  For The Intellectual


     Specializing in the style of magical realism, Borges explodes with writings that represent a different view point then we have seen thus far in our World Lit. class.  It has become evident that Borges wishes to convey his writings on a more intellectual basis rather than on a wordy, fluffy, beautiful basis. When reading the works of Borges, I found them to be rather dry and straight forward. In addition, the reoccurring theme seemed to be this concept of, Meta-awareness.  I have found the definition of this concept to mean: having thoughts about thoughts or have desires about have desires.
I believe that Borges, through his writings, sought to establish this theory. Borges felt as though since we create realities in our minds that aren't real by physical standards; but yet exists because our minds believe that they are real and we can imagine the connections.

     Through discussions in class and through personal readings, I have come up with several themes presented within the individual readings of two stories.
1) "Garden of Forking Paths"
              Time is multifaceted
              Cowardice leads to useless sacrifice
              Ignorance can destroy greatness
            
2) "Gospel According to Mark"
              Peoples ignorance can lead to destruction
              Blind faith will trump Science
              Separation of faith and science

     All these theme listed are key points to understanding Borges outlook on Latin American culture. Particularly in "Gospel According to Mark", we see his criticise the Latin American Catholic Church for its lack of involvement in the lives of the common individual.

     Unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed Borges as much as I had hoped. I often found his metaphors to be deep and sometimes hard to follow.  It is important to remember that when reading or studying Borges, one must not read concretely, but rather metaphorically.