Unraveling the secrets of The Aleph (Essay Sample)

Unraveling the secrets of The Aleph
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"Truth cannot penetrate a closed mind. If all places in the universe are in the Aleph, then all stars, all lamps, all sources of light are in it, too." CITATION Jor12 \l 1033 (Borges) It is to such degree of substance that Borges’ pieces are made of. Indeed so, The Aleph is one which even to its close leaves its audience still thinking about it. Borges creates a fantasy setting which virtually represents the ambiguity of man’s perception towards the universe and the inevitable – as well as meaningful - union between life and death.
The protagonist presents himself from a first person point of view; hence, he is assumed to be an extension of the author himself, Borges. In any case, through the story, he is exposed to the Aleph which is the ‘…the only place on earth where all places are -- seen from every angle, each standing clear, without any confusion or blending…’. Upon witnessing it, he was enlightened, so to speak. Incidentally, before him, another character has come across the Aleph. And though both characters have encountered practically the same thing, the experience for each was distinct. Their realizations were after all reflections of who they are. Altogether, their experiences were curious thereby, triggering a series of queries for the readers.
Borges has indeed marked his place in literary history for his ability to transcend his interpretations of whichever inspiration strikes him without much ado and at the same time, leave his audience at a trance for the significant implications that are brought about. His style is placed within the literary genre of Magic Realism, in which ‘fantastical’ subjects are represented in a realistic manner CITATION Lou11 \l 1033 (Zamora, 2011); in point of fact, this genre was greatly inspired by Borges’ himself. Alongside, he incorporates a detective fiction element through his works; however, his take on this aspect is somewhat different from its initial impression. Borges’ use of detective fiction in his stories does not completely follow through with the initial pattern of this style, that is the emergence of the problem, sleuthing, and so on. Instead, he mainly features a similar construct that only goes so far as to developing the climax and suspense around the plot and more importantly, maintaining its ability to keep the readers guessing all throughout. It’s more an abstract form of the original detective fiction – the expected sequence of events is absent but the tone is set and the puzzle is there which in itself serves as the foundation of detective fictions on the whole. And so it is evident in The Aleph.
Relative to this is the author’s take on death; unlike the regular products of detective fiction which portrays suspense through cases of violent deaths, Borges’ version of it stands at a deeper depth of meaning as it is depicted with profound relation to life itself â...