The Library of Babel
I thought I understood Borges until I read this story. He seems obsessed with this idea of infinity to refute all of the limits of society while also defining them. In The Form of the Sword and The Garden of Forking Paths Borges uses the idea of infinite possibilities to justify murder while also supporting the idea of a finite end to every story like in a maze. However, in The Library of Babel, Borges is claiming that the 'library of the universe' is limitless and periodic but also useless. I am left wondering how Borges defines infinity.
Another point of confusion came from trying to define the significance of the books. Do they represent knowledge? If so, why does he continue to say that it is useless but all men look for their book? Perhaps they represent power, and the librarian who has read this magical book is God. Using the common phrase that knowledge is power could explain that every man is in search of his own power but limited by his capacity to obtain it. Maybe the books are allowed to represent everything in our world, which is both limited and infinite and sought after by every man.
Lastly, why does he continue to define the alphabet with 22 letters and a comma, space, and period? Which of the 26 letters of our alphabet are unnecessary?
Another point of confusion came from trying to define the significance of the books. Do they represent knowledge? If so, why does he continue to say that it is useless but all men look for their book? Perhaps they represent power, and the librarian who has read this magical book is God. Using the common phrase that knowledge is power could explain that every man is in search of his own power but limited by his capacity to obtain it. Maybe the books are allowed to represent everything in our world, which is both limited and infinite and sought after by every man.
Lastly, why does he continue to define the alphabet with 22 letters and a comma, space, and period? Which of the 26 letters of our alphabet are unnecessary?
If every possible book exists in the library, then I think the irony is that that infinity guarantees that everyone has a destiny written, but no one will ever find their Vindication because the probability is basically zero, making a search useless.
ReplyDeleteI think he might have left out Q and Z (plus 2 more letters) but I think the point is that his language is at least a little different from ours which could make his intended meaning different from what we think.
Oh that's true I didn't think about the books as destiny but it makes sense that everyone has their own destiny.
DeleteI also talked to my friend about it, and he explained the bible story in the Bible. God's creation of different languages to stop people from building a bridge to heaven may explain this difference in alphabet.