Jorge Luis Borges, author of Ficciones, is known for his profound intellect of fantasy and creation of labyrinths through his works and writings. Readers often experience a journey through his complex mind, but the way that he achieves this is through his unique and carefully crafted frameworks that include reoccurring motifs and symbols. One of his seventeen short stories is a narrative of a Chinese spy of the German army named Yu Tsun, who is trying to send a message within a limited time interval. “The Garden of Forking Paths” shows conventional ways of telling a spy story; however Borges disguises the actual philosophical story with its conventional techniques. The story itself is nothing like the predictable story due to the fact that the structure of the story and the characters face mazes in different forms. What makes “The Garden of Forking Paths” so distinctive are Borges’ writing qualities through the motifs, primarily labyrinths and time and his framework of the story.
Borges is quite the intellect; it would be unusual for him to follow the conventions of the traditional story. He disguises the story as detective story. From the beginning to the end Borges tries to play games with the readers by predicting their predictions. When Yu Tsun is constructing his plan he finds that there is only one bullet that is left in his revolver. As a result the readers would guess that the last bullet is for Captain Richard Madden, however it is actually used to kill one man with the name of the city (Albert) to send a message. This way he is able to deceive his readers into thinking there is structure once again .Another twist that Borges includes is the series of events that happen at Dr. Stephen Albert’s house. The story behind Th...
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...the readers to understand the different viewpoints on the philosophy of time. The structure of the story is constructed to be complex and unpredictable. Borges incorporates labyrinths; and one labyrinth that becomes an allegory for time. Borges states that “The Garden of Forking Paths” is about “A crime whose purpose will not be unknown to them [readers], but which they will not understand…until the last paragraph” (Borges 15). Through the analysis of the story it is evident that there is a vast amount of information that is revealed at the very end of the story, information that becomes interconnected to every detail of the story which mimics the labyrinth of The Garden of Forking Paths. Borges’ brilliance in his use of the labyrinth and idea of time, which are used within his developed framework, demonstrates the complexity of his mind and unique narrative skills.
This book is a Modern Criminal Fiction novel story that produces suspense, tragedy and mystery. It brings a gloomy kind of mood mixed with action and suspense.
In three dynamic pieces of literature, the desperate yet hopeful characters gallantly endure the struggles of achieving their dreams as they experience the pain of desolation and the life-fulfilling happiness of a friendly companion. Through hostile resentment, the intense repulsion created by generations of territorial disputes tears apart two vengeful foes, Ulrich and Georg, in Saki’s captivating tale. Whereas in Remarque’s gory war novel, the pure terror of battle brutally slaughters the once innocent minds of soldiers as they undergo changes in their heart and soul within themselves. Although impervious to the influence of the reclusive residents tied to the ranch, as they quest for their shared aspirations, George and Lennie forge an invincible friendship in Steinbeck’s calamitous novelette.
Ficciones, a collection of short stories written by Jorge Luis Borges, contains several works in which the motif of fantasy is repeatedly incorporated into the storyline. With this, Borges plays with the idea of fantasy being reality and reality being fantasy. He accomplishes the incorporation by setting a realistic plotline and relatively easy to follow story and releases whimsical, yet minuscule, symbols and ideas into the plot to create a fantastical twist. A prime example of such work is “The South”, a narrative about Juan Dahlmann, a librarian who seeks out the pleasures of The Thousand and One Nights on his trip to his ranch to Buenos Aires; however never achieves such due to a head injury he receives upon reading the novel. From the concussion forward, Dahlmann’s reality shifts back and forth to fantasy. Borges shows the unreality of the trip by his characterization of Dahlmann and references to his true reality throughout the short work.
The complexity of the plot starts when the reader is introduced to a man lost in a cave and his source of light goes out and continues when the man realizes that “starving would prove [his] ultimate fate” (1). Readers get a sense of hopelessness the man is feeling, and this is where the tensions begins to build. Alt...
The short stories of Ted Chiang are written in a way such that the overarching structure help to give a deeper meaning to the stories. The rationale for why Chiang writes in this way is to help vary his writing style and help give the story more meaning without writing more words. Ted Chiang manipulates the structure of one of his works, “Story of Your Life,” for the purpose of augmenting the meaning the story and its underlying themes, while also using it to build a stronger relationship to the audience.
In life, people experience different situations and live different realities. It is not illogical to say that the different journeys in life sometimes give us different ways of viewing the world. This was evident upon a closer examination and analysis of Wu Cheng’en’s “The Journey to the West”, and Mary Shelly “Frankenstein”, where the two main characters of the book, a Monkey and a creature, each have a different way of viewing life. The monkey see’s life as a journey that should be explored, while the creature has no way of exploring and sees life as something he cannot enjoy. In the end, what can be taken away from the works of literature is that no matter the journey taken, it is important to remember that one’s subjectivity, built on our experiences, determines reality.
In the title “In This Strange Labyrinth”, the labyrinth is symbolic of love’s maze-like qualities. The speaker describes her predicament by saying, “In this strange Labyrinth how shall I turn/Ways are on all sides” (1-2). A different path on every side surrounds her, and every way seems to be the wrong way. She is confused about which way she should go. Wroth is conveying the theme of love in a decidedly negative way, for according to myth, the Labyrinth was where the Minotaur lived and before it’s demise, death was evident for all visitors of the maze. The speaker is struggling with every choice she may make and cannot rest or find aid until she finds the best way: “Go forward, or stand still, or back retire;/ I must these doubts endure without allay/ Or help, but travail find for my best hire” (10-11). She has several choices and each one is confusing and leaves her feeling helpless.
When authors set out to impact the lives of readers, a diverse utilization of literary aspects is often required. It is easy to come across many differences and similarities between literary aspects when one delves into a plethora of works. In the book Life of Pi author Yann Martel harnesses the use of a varied first person point of view in order to accurately portray the sense of panic and urgency in given situations; adversely, in the short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, a detached third person point of view is taken into account in order to drag the reader along on the drawn-out, suspenseful journey that the families involved had to endure. Despite the difference in narrators amongst Life of Pi and “The Lottery,” the points of view of both of these works are exercised in order to drive the plot of two very effective literary gems.
Saboteur, written by Ha Jin exposes a difficult period of China: the Cultural Revolution and its consequences on people’s life. Through the author’s skillful use of setting, symbolism and the main character’s dynamism, the reader is able to understand the theme of the story that is revenge.
Juan Rulfo utilizes the experience of the reader as they progress together through Pedro Paramo as an allegory for Juan Preciado’s journey and as a mechanism to emphasize the meaningless of time. Reader response enhances the effect of structural peculiarities, setting, and time distortion in order to more completely convey the message of the novel. This interaction between reader and text brings the town of Comala to life far more effectively than a standard, chronological narrative could.
García Márquez has effectively used magical realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold with the blending of the supernatural and reality being the key element that allows for magical realism within the novel, with the structure and unreliable narrator being less significant elements. Within these elements, the omens; the circular structure of the novel; and the state of the narrator during the consummation of Santiago’s murder are key points in García Márquez’s use of magical realism within the novel, and his proficiency in writing in the genre of magical realism certainly makes Chronicle of a Death Foretold a more captivating read by far.
While there may be some debate as to whether the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges was technically a Magical Realist, some may feel that his works definitely do have some of the characteristics of what is considered Magical Realistic literature. Among his various types of works are poetry, essays, fantasies, and short fictions. Often referred to in essays that discuss the history and theory of Magical Realism, "The Garden of Forking Paths" is probably Borges' most popular short story. Published in 1964 in a collection of Borges works entitled Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings, his short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" appears to have several of the elements of Magical Realism.
A sudden intrusion disrupts Joseph's peaceful life and brings him in a battle of life and death. Unlike usual warfare, Joseph is combating the enemies who can neither be seen nor can fight back. Begin with the arrest and end with an execution, what judges the main character is not merely the invisible power but also the decaying law.i[i] One of the main ideas, "A Battle with Invisible Enemies," in The Trail could be applied to the situation of Joseph as it applies to the theme of the fiction. Secondly the main character's action in the novel also brings out the idea of his struggling. The theme either appears in the dialogue between Joseph K. and the inspector. Moreover, the structure is under the influence of the idea. Finally, variations of the idea show some profound implications of human society.
...es it easier for their audiences to picture what is taking place. Borges manipulates fact and fiction in his stories to vividly and clearly describe events that occur in his mysterious novels and to make them seem more captivating.
In a novel where the plot continues to change, through new information being layered over old, the reader questions the believability of the main characters, Kristof’s audience may have difficulty grasping the values presented in a story such as The Third Lie. Despite the chaotic method in which the plot is written, Kristof communicates meaningful ideas to her audience. Three of which will be discussed in the following paragraphs.