The Library of Babel as a Search for Meaning
Who is the narrator in "The Library of Babel" and why is he writing this note? It seems that he has traveled far and wide searching for meaning in the library, and wants to pass on all he has learned in the hope of someone in the future finding meaning. His large exploration of the library and inquiry into its nature for meaning shows that he is very concerned with the meaning of life and the universe (although there is not much else for him to do, it seems). But why would Borges consider such a strange setting to give this tale? I think it is because the absurd nature of the universe in the story, and especially its randomness, is meant to convey that our universe is chaotic in nature and that learning anything from its very structure is not necessarily possible. The books, after all, are not necessarily written by a person, but rather are simply a component of the universe and do not convey much information. Why should we expect that they contain any information oth...