The Nature of Memory
In his parable ‘‘The Witness,’’ Borges imagines the last man to have witnessed pagan rituals dying in Anglo-Saxon England and remarks, ‘‘with him will die, and never return, the last immediate images of these pagan rites.’’ Because of this, ‘‘the world will be a little poorer,’’ since it will have lost its last link to a vanished historical era. Borges then wonders what images will die with him.
Similarly, ‘‘The Aleph’’ examines the fragile and faulty nature of memory. The story opens with Borges revealing his...
Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
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