How Does Borges Support Cultural Nationalism

orge Luis Borges is a notable Argentine writer born in Buenos Aires and has written many short fictions that connects to our life and their goals. He has also written renowned essays and poems one of them being iconoclastic. One of his oldest fictions he has written was “The South” and “The Shape of the Sword” which was written in 1944. Later on in his life, Borges wrote the “The Captive”, “The Inferno” and “Dream Tigers” in 1960 with “Blue Tigers” written later in his carer in 1983. In 1935, Borges wrote his first book on fiction, “Historia universal de la infamy” (Balderston 654). The first collection of all his stories was “Collected Fictions” in 1998 (Balderston 655). Borges’s writings supported cultural nationalism and he had a deep interest …show more content…
Dahlman from the short story, “The South” has been put into a situation that can lead to an end to his life. The knife resembles his life’s next challenge and obstacle that could leave a permanent mark onto his identity because the “weapon would serve less to defend him than to justify the other man’s killing him” (Borges, 179). The other man wanting to fight with Dahlman is suggesting that there might be no more hope for Dahlman to live. Dahlman wants to find joy in his life and it is as though the knife answers his wish to die while he was in the sanatorium since it “would have been a liberation, a joy, and a fiesta” (Borges, 179). Furthermore, the knife can mean that Dahlmans life situation later on is unknown and his next chapter is a mystery as he “steps out into the plains” to discover his fate (Borges, 179). The knife portrays that he has no knowledge or clue what will happen to him later on and if he will ever find happiness while experiencing the fight. The knife also has him feel like he is preparing himself to die and how he wants to die in a place that makes him happy in contrast to a place that brings him sadness which is the Sanatorium. Since Dahlmans journey in life is mostly fate based, his fate says that there is a likely chance that he will die in this situation. He tries to undergo this last challenge in his life with positivity and …show more content…
Dahlman faces torture in the sanatorium because “his head was shaved, he was strapped with metal bands to a table…a man in a surgical mask stuck a needle in his arm” (Borges,175) He is going through pain and humiliation that he can not escape during this frightening time. Dahlman cannot be the man who he was in the past and he will not be able to abandon the person he has become. Dahlman feels disgust and hurt when “he awoke nauseated, bandaged, in a cell” (Borges,175) Dahlman could not compare his experience to any other since he felt like he was going through so much torment; however, he was able to go through it. This situation negatively affects Dahlman since he “hated every inch of himself; he hated his identity…his humiliation” (Borges,175). His struggles are never ending and he feels like he is going to face death and “he stoically suffered the treatments administered to him…” (Borges,175). Dahlman will not be able to forget this period of his life since it will always follow him wherever he goes. Thus, this critical period shapes his identity and he will forever be living in trauma from it. During the story, the character tries to live a happy and positive life but he will always remember his painful experiences from the sanatorium. The characterization of Dahlman will either be the optimistic man living on the