The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
On Your Reactions
Why do you think Borges was chosen as one of the mandatory authors?
Did you enjoy this read? Was there a trick to understanding it?
And, if you enjoyed this reading…why? What about it pulled you in and held your attention? And if you didn’t enjoy it, why not?
Which was your favorite story from the collection? Which one did you like least?
What about it was so intriguing to you? Otherwise, why don’t you think none of these resonated with you?
Did you get lost in Borges’s stories? Did you dislike or like not fully understanding?
Did you reject or embrace the maze-like confusion within the stories? Were you able to engage in Borges’ playfulness?
What story made the biggest impression on you and why?
What emotions did you feel while reading Borges’ stories? Did these stories intrigue you or confuse you?
And which topic was your favourite?
Have you read Borges before?
Was there a story you think you fully grasped?
Was it a challenging book to continue reading?
Some Philosophical Issues
Did the book affect your perception of the world—or of language or temporality—in any way? If so, how? For you, did the book feel confusing and overwhelming, or creative and imaginative?
Do you think there was an underlying message behind these short stories? And if so what was it?
Do you believe that “existence precedes essence”? This is a central question in Pierre Menard, and I would love to hear what you have to say. Put another way, do you believe that you can “create yourself,” or do you believe that there is a you, a Self, that can be discovered?
In what ways do you all see, feel, or understand this relationship between dreams and reality. Is there an example in Labyrinths that stood out to you?
Where else do people see the concept of infinity in Borges’s writing?
(Dis)orientations
What was an idea or concept that you found particularly interesting (or weird)?
Which themes did you find the most interesting in Borges’ stories?
To what extent does Jorge Borges appeal to the reader’s instinct to solve problems and think critically about meaning; and by contrast, what does the obstruction of our understanding represent?
What metaphorical message did you get from The Lottery of Babylon? Is it wrong to compare modern examples within these metaphors to writings of the past?
What is a genre that you noticed throughout the reading or did you notice any at all?
I do wonder however, if I am alone in feeling an “up and down” pattern throughout the text, whereby some stories fly by and others seem overly complicated and disorienting. Might this have been on purpose? And if so – why?
I personally had to take some time reading some of these short stories, as I found the inconsistencies Borges purposefully creates can be difficult to comprehend. So, what was the most confusing short story you read and why?
Which story from “Labyrinths” do you think will leave the longest-lasting impression on you? It doesn’t have to be your favourite- just the one you think you will remember the most. Why is that story so memorable?
Were there any stories that made you stop and reflect on how it may be relevant within your own life or feelings about the world we create? Can you make any personal connections to his writings that made you look at the memory or information in a different light?
Throughout the story of the Lottery in Babylon, the theme of chance was also present. Chance being someone tightly related to the game and play too. “This doctrinal item observed that the lottery is an interpolation of chance in the order of the world and that to accept errors is not to contradict chance: it is to corroborate it”(43). This line stood out to me because I think it’s saying that unfortunate things in life are inevitable, yet sometimes good things randomly happen too (by chance) and there’s something special about accepting both. My question is what meaning or message do you take from that line?
Why do you think Borges never won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature?
Do you think his stories are outdated? Why or why not?
What does this sense of imagination, irony, and confusion add to the book’s themes?
Do you enjoy magical realism? What is it about this genre that connects it so closely with “lesser” genres like fantasy or sci-fi but at the same time is always associated with literary merit?
Did you connect with the author’s thoughts about human life and agreed with his idea on “the consequences of our actions and decisions”? Why or why not?
Why do you think Borges inserts himself into his writing only to later separate himself from his literary self?
As a reader, do you return to a work if you feel you did not fully grasp the message/theme/plot? Or accept your perception for what it is?
Do you think Borges could have achieved the same maze-like reading journey in a single narrative arc rather than across multiple short stories/essays?
