I studied some of Borges’s works in high school, so it was nice to revisit them again. I always enjoyed his writing and the way he plays with reality. He explores time, memory, language, and perception through his short stories.

One of my favorite stories was “Funes the Memorious.” I always wish I had a perfect memory, I think every student does. But Borges takes a photographic memory and pulls it to its extreme. Funes is unable to think. All he can do is remember. Sure his memory is impressive, but he fails to understand the reasoning behind why things are the way they are. He creates his own counting system, which doesn’t make any sense. It just requires memorization, as opposed to actual numbers which rely on math and patterns. He names things differently depending on the time of day and which way they’re facing. He fails to understand the reasonings and patterns of the world and instead relies solely on his memory. He lives entirely in his own head and not in the real world. I thought the exploration of how a perfect memory could drive someone mad was well done and interesting. Memory isn’t the thing people should value. We should value understanding and common sense and being able to recognize the patterns that dictate our world.

My favorite Borges story is “The South.” While it wasn’t included in Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings, I still felt the need to revisit it. The story is another example of Borges playing with perception. I enjoy westerns, so maybe I’m biased in thinking the story is one of his best. The story can be read in two ways: either the events actually happened or it’s the imagination of a dying Dahlmann. While he’s dying in a hospital to a frankly embarrassing injury, he conjures up an honorable death for himself, so he can pass on peacefully. He uses this alternative death to regain some self-respect and to go out fighting. It honestly could be read as either a true telling of events or a fever dream, and that ambiguity makes the story so interesting to read.

“Borges and I” is an interesting piece comparing the author with the actual person. I think it holds up really well, especially now when social media and the internet are so integrated into our lives. No influencer or creator is who they appear to be on social media. Everyone has a mask that they put on just for the camera. That is what “Borges and I” is about. He writes about how Borges and himself have a lot in common, but Borges tends to over exaggerate. The ending conclusion is that he will eventually lose himself to Borges as Borges will be the only one out of the two to persist through time. The author will live on through his works, but the actual Borges will fade from memory. It’s an interesting commentary that is still relevant to us nowadays, although in a different form. 

Question:
Why do you think Borges was chosen as one of the mandatory authors?