The Circular Ruins

The development of an individual's identity is not up to them. No matter who or what a person is, their identity is predetermined from the beginning, and that is something a person cannot change. Readers can see how identities are predetermined by looking at the lives of the phantasm/son and the protagonist/sorceror. There are many instances in "The Circular Ruins" that shows how the sorcerer's identity is predetermined. For example, "he knew that this temple was the place that his unconquerable plan called for," (Borges 97). This man had slipped out of a boat and just so happened to land right in front of this temple, where his life goal will be bestowed upon him. This quote also suggests that the man is drawn to this temple, and that it was not just coincidence. Also, "The goal that led him on was not impossible, though it was clearly supernatural: He wanted to dream a man. He wanted to dream him completely, in painstakingly detail, and imposed him upon reality" (Borges 97). This example infers that the protagonist has specifically been made to perform this…

“Life is very mysterious and there are many things we don’t know. And there are elements of magic realism in every culture, everywhere. It’s just accepting that we don’t know everything and everything is possible” by Isabel Allende. Relevantly, magic realism was practiced in Latin America, it goes beyond reality to express impossible ideas. During the mid-1900s, an Argentinian author, Jorge Luis Borges, wrote the short story “The Circular Ruins”, this story illustrates the dreams of light and…

also used fictional ways of writing to tell stories that were actually true. Imagination, visions, and dreams were all used to shape his writing (“Literary Notes”). His short story “The Circular Ruins” is one of the best examples, because the whole story is told through a dream. There were many factors that played a part in shaping Borges into the writer that he became. The politics he was involved in, the sudden death of his father, his severe head trauma, and completely losing his vision, is…

Mark Wallace writes that the stories that Borges writes “are based on genuine dread of the endless time and space and a wise skepticism, but for the most part that dread happens on the level of ideas and not in the narrative itself as such… the dread comes from contemplating the philosophical puzzle the stories present.” Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius makes the reader contemplate mankind’s need to make connections and see order in a seemingly orderless world. The narrator states that “any symmetry,…

Technology Dependency The internet is negative in many ways. The internet can keep people from being socially active in personal communication. People’s identities are ruined by social media. A girl or guy may send out a personal picture of themselves naked and it may spread worldwide. This happens quite often. Cyberbullying happens on the internet. If you think about it, getting harassed and put down can possibly ruin your life. However there are positives. Some people can use the internet to…

terrifying Bill. This event is explaining that since Bill is terrified of the boy now, he doesn't want anything to do with him and wants to take the boy back. Along with the little boy terrifying Bill and ruining the plan, Sam also helped ruin the plan. Sam has helped connected to the theme because he had listened to Bill and went way over price to fifteen hundred dollars. If they stayed with the plan of two thousand dollars, then Mr. Dorset would have probably accepted the deal. Based on the…

Always Win,’ a high school student “Good Guy” has the opportunity to share the History exam with his peers, which could ruin his dream of going to college. Both Good Guy and Mrs. Kittredge have to choose between two tough decisions, however I believe…

Exeter Book Before we get into the poems that consist in the Exeter book, let’s discuss about what the Exeter book is. To start off, it is an anthology. An anthology is a collection of different writings by different authors, like our literature book (hymnal as Mr. McGee calls it). This is the Anglo-Saxon Anthology of poetry. There are three poems in this Exeter book, consisting of The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament. These poems are dramatic monologues, which means there is…

People all over the world are continuously making advances in technology every day. Young adults are growing up in a world full of this technology and seem to know more about it than older adults. Most children spend countless hours of the day in front of a computer screen and are missing out on all the joys of being young. They are wasting their days away playing video games and scrolling through social media. Modern culture is making children lethargic because they are so corrupted by…

painting with its broad views. Romantic paintings from this era were defined by their use of light and color to convey emotion. Another aspect of Romantic works was that the scenes were often glorified to depict a more beautiful and perfect world than the present one. Romanticism was a way for the painter to show the world how they wanted it to be seen rather than by what was actually present. Robert’s work is atypical of his own personal style due to the fact that it is not a clear ruin like…