Dr. Devries

Eng 3150 TuTh

2 October 2009

Borges

In Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Garden of Forking Paths” there is an issue of what an individual may or may not know which is witnessed throughout the short story.  This issue of knowledge expends into other issues that go along with knowing such as time, do we actually know the people around us, and why is there a need to be accepted?  The issue of time is examined through the dialogue of Yu Tsun and Dr. Stephen Albert which as individuals bring different ideas about this issue.  Dr. Stephen Albert believes that there can be parallel universes that our various decisions are like the different paths in the garden.  On the other hand, Yu Tsun is a believer in the present time, and that there are no parallel universes that can be experienced.  The other issue is if an individual may actually know the true intentions of someone, such as Yu Tsun.  Yu Tsun actions are not fully recognized by Albert by any means, only the character does know is Richard Madden.  Who is briefly touched upon but offers an interesting contrast to both characters.  Mainly Madden knows of Tsun’s true intentions throughout the story.  The last issue deals with Richard Madden and Yu Tsun attempting to gain acceptance from leaders of countries through recognition of their actions.  Borges story deals with how an individual perceives the world and how it affects them.

The issue of time is expressed throughout the story, especially with Albert and Yu Tsun.  These two characters bring different thoughts about time because of the way one was raised and the other is his occupation.  Firstly, the character of Dr. Albert is interesting because of the stance he takes with parallel universes and conflicting views with Tsun.   Dr. Albert is a sinologist of Chinese culture that studies various aspects Chinese life through their literature, art, etc.  Mainly he studies the works of Ts’ui Pen which deals with parallel universes, as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that Dr. Albert’s work is his life.  Mainly Dr. Albert interest is based upon Pen’s works of parallel universes merely based on assumptions with no actual proof.  In doing so, Dr. Albert describes how the garden can be a metaphor for life and how various paths within the garden relate to life’s decisions.  The metaphor starts with entrance of the garden as the beginning of life, the paths that are within the garden are the possible decisions and consequences that an individual may make during their life.  The different selections of pathways show the decisions, with some ending before the actual ending is meant.  When this occurs the individual begins again at the point where that decision was made which is seen through Pen’s novel.  As the individual is reaching the end of the garden, it is the final years of life, then the individual dying as the final result or reaching the end.  Dr. Albert elaborates on the various paths, “In most of those times, we do not exist; in some, you exist but I do not; in others, I do and you do not;…but I am an error, a ghost” (127).  This explanation gives insight into Dr. Albert beliefs because his life has revolved around examining the works of Pen’s work and thinking about parallel universes.  Dr. Albert is doing his job on the opposite side because he is supposed to examine literature but throughout the story it seems that the works are more apart of his life than anything else.  It seems that he is an individual consumed by his work and allows for nothing else to happen to him which is seen at his death.

The Character of Yu Tsun is established much earlier in the story, as an individual that does not care about parallel universes which allows for an interesting contrast to Dr. Albert.  Yu Tsun is an individual rooted in the present moment and belief that a person leads only one life.  Tsun also does acknowledge the position of fate simply for the events that occur throughout the story especially when dealing with Dr. Albert.  Throughout the story Tsun gives insights into his beliefs about the issue of time which is interesting by itself.  When Tsun is about to end his mission he begins to worry about his death and consequences for his possible actions, “Then I reflected that all things happen to oneself, and happens precisely, precisely now.”(120).  The quote reflects that Tsun does in fact live in the present moment, emphasizing that everything that happens occurs to just one person, with there being no other realities to experience.  Also, it highlights that Tsun does not completely understand what is meant by now or present time until this moment in his life.  That being he lived for the future until this moment, going to kill a man.  There is another interesting element to the quote that oneself is in italics because it emphasizes that just one individual experiences what is happening and there are no other possible ways that one can live their life.  This part of the quote reinforces the belief that Tsun has, that there is only one way to experience the world with only one possible life to live.  One possible life being that his decisions made and consequences that follow do not give way to other universes that deal with the other possible lives.  Another interesting part of the quote is that now is also in italics because it also, reinforces that there is only the present moment that an individual experiences and there are no other universes.  The consecutive precisely further emphasizes that there are no other universes that an individual only experiences life at the present moment.

There is an interesting aspect that occurs which has to do with fate.  This is fascinating to consider because the person that adores Tsun ancestor’s work is Dr. Albert.  It is fated that Tsun kills Dr. Albert because he is possibly the only person that knows what is happening in his ancestor’s work and has researched it extensively.  It seems that it was a twist of ironic fate that Tsun found out more about his ancestor’s work from the man he is supposed to kill because he and his family possibly know who the leading researchers are and where they live.  This is intriguing because it as though Tsun has exhausted every resource that would allow him to succeed at his mission.  The main reason that it seems to be fate is because of the name of the researcher Albert which is the same name of the town going to get bombed.  Another interesting point to consider about Tsun killing Dr. Albert is that he is exacting revenge on his ancestor for leaving his family.  Tsun is getting revenge through Dr. Albert is that Tsun’s family feels betrayed by Pen because he left a comfortable position in the government, to write a no-sense book.

What was also interesting was the fact that Dr. Albert was so quickly accepting of Tsun, a complete stranger, even though he is an ancestor of the man he admires in the middle of night.  Although Tsun is Pen’s ancestor, Dr. Albert is far too trusting of individuals that he just met which shows how he is completely engrossed with his work.  What is troubling is that Dr. Albert makes no attempt to truly know why Tsun is visiting him especially in the middle of the night.  What should have arisen in Dr. Albert’s research is that the family of Pen did not care about his work which should be the first warning signal.  Dr. Albert is so enthusiastic that someone from Pen’s family is visiting; he is blinded to the fact that there should be suspension of this occasion.  Dr. Albert is an individual that is absent minded and focused completely on his work which allows for him to be murdered.  Although this happens, there are warning signs that Dr. Albert does not notice such as “To this day, we who are descended from Ts’ui Pen execrate that monk. It was senseless to publish those manuscripts.”(124).  At this point it should send a warning sign to Dr. Albert that Tsun’s intentions are that of malicious intent because Pen’s family detested the person that published the work of Pen, even after their protest.  Dr. Albert hardly notices this comment which he should because if the family were not too eager about Pen’s work being published, they probably do not care about this research.  Dr. Albert should be asking himself certain questions about the situation but does not pay any attention to what is happening.  The questions would have to revolve around what is happening with Tsun suddenly appearing.

Lastly is the issue of the Tsun and Madden seeking acceptance from leaders at a time of war.  Tsun only seems to be a spy in order for his country to gain acceptance from other country leader and prove the country’s worth.  Throughout the story Tsun only acts on the behalf that his country will be accepted after he succeeds with his mission.  It seems that he personally is seeking acceptance for actions especially the end, where he is alone thinking of what he has done.  Madden is an interesting character because he is Irish and seems to be constantly seeking acceptance through his work and usually capturing the people is attempting to arrest.  The way that Madden is talked about by Tsun, allows one to gather is that Madden does not stop until he captures the individual he is after.  Generally Madden captures the individual before any harm is done which can gathered from Tsun’s comments.

In Jorge Luis Borges “The Garden of Forking Paths” deals with an individual perceiving the world and how it affects them.  The story’s issues show how it reflects people’s everyday life such as dealing with time, acceptance, and knowing someone’s true intentions.  The issues presented reflect what an individual may be thinking or doing in real life because these are possible questions that someone may ask themselves.  There are people that are completely focused on their work and miss out on life such as Dr. Albert.  There are people that strive to be accepted and are willing to do anything for that such as Yu Tsun and Richard Madden.  The story is a cautionary tale because each individual thinking they are living their lives for their country’s acceptance.  In reality they are not living for themselves but for someone else’s gain.

Work Cited

Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Garden of Forking Paths”. Trans. Andrew Hurley. New York: Penguin, 1998

do people just focus one literary theory or a couple?  In doing so, do they use that theory or theories for every text that they read or does it depend upon the text that they are reading?  what are considered the must read literary theory texts that we supposed to read?

Dr. Devries

ENG 3150 TTh

15 November 2009

Theory Essay

In Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men the story of a man, Llewelyn Moss, finding a bag with two million dollars after a drug deal ended with everyone dead.  Then Moss goes on the run from a haunting figure, Anton Chigurh while a sheriff, Ed Tom Bell attempts to help Moss.  Within these interactions the characters of Anton Chigurh, Ed Tom Bell is given certain characteristics that interact with pure evil and unrelenting hope, respectively.  The character of Anton Chigurh stands out from every other character for the simple fact that he more than a typical psychopath killer, more as an evil force.  Throughout the novel this is witnessed by his actions and first hand interactions with other characters from past experiences.  One level he is interesting character to see as an archetypical character of pure evil because he feels no pain but is harmed a few times and is able to disappear fairly easily with no trace.  Chigurh possesses pure evil but there is far more going on within the character.  What the character of Chigurh embodies is death because he has no concern that he is killing but is doing his job, he does not go out seeking to kill people it happens that way.  I plan using the Archetypal/ Myth criticism that was explored Joseph Campbell.  Mainly The article written by Lydia Cooper is what will be primary used, along with common motifs from Archetypal criticism.  Anton Chigurh is an enigmatic character for the simply reason that he is believed to evil, the devil, shadowy figure but rather he fits the archetype of being Death.

In Lydia R. Cooper’s paper “He’s a Psychopathic Killer, but So What?” addresses some of the issues that have been brought up already that go along with Anton Chigurh.  Cooper uses several scenes or small sayings to address what Chigurh may possibly be.  Cooper’s paper addresses that Chigurh does not fit any one model of evil but can be fitted into a few with his actions being the way they are.  Cooper points out that “Chigurh is a terrifying character primary because he does not kill out of malice.” (Cooper 12).  There are several key scenes that this is extremely emphasized which will be addressed later on.  Cooper also puts emphasis on that Chigurh can possibly be some form of fate or Native American trickster (13) which is also apparent throughout the novel.  Chigurh does posses all of these traits but there is more to the character than being evil, he is Death in human form.

Anton Chigurh is characterized as “Living prophet of destruction” from the beginning of the novel which sets the tone of his actions to follow (McCarthy 4).  As the story begins Chigurh is introduced with being apprehended by a deputy, that his skills of mayhem and escaping are completely recognized.  This starts with him getting his hands in front of him with a move that was effortlessly, possibly practiced before, and then attacks the deputy with the handcuffs biting into both his wrists and deputy’s throat.  Chigurh runs water over his wounds and leaves in the police car then proceeds to kill another person but how it is done and what he says “I just didn’t want you to get blood on the car, he said” that give him an evil presence (5-7).  It also outlines the destruction that will follow him throughout the novel.  What is give by this brief but haunting scene with Chigurh is that, he feels no pain or hardly any which is apparent with the handcuffs digging into his wrists.  The other is that he has no issue with taking a human life which is seen when he killing the deputy and pulling harder with the handcuffs.  This is also seen when he kills the man in order to take his car.  Chigurh takes in order to fuel his destructive ways that allow him to escape from any true harm that will come to him.  Lastly his escape shows the emphasis that he can get away from anyone especially the laws that society have placed in front of everyone.  He holds no value for what is going around him that has to deal with society and conforming to the norms.  His outlook comes across that he going to do what it takes to get his job done and kill anyone that gets in his way.  Another view that arises with Chigurh is that he moves ghost like which can be seen somewhat with this scene but later on this far more apparent.

One intriguing aspect about the character of Chigurh is that he decides certain individual’s fate by flipping a coin with them picking either side.  With this notion is becoming a personification of being Death.  That being, he is deciding whether people die or live depending on if the coin is the side that they chose.  This is shown through Chigurh’s interaction with the store owner which is long but very interesting for several reasons by itself.  The scene begins with Chigurh stopping to get gas but is pestered by the owner, which sends Chigurh into a clam fury that he operates under.  Eventually the coin toss occurs with the owner having no idea what is happening “I don’t know what it is I stand to win.  You stand to win everything,” Chigurh said, “Everything,” (55-6).  What is occurring is that he is reinforcing the idea that he is the personification of Death.  The reinforcement of this is seen through this interaction because it is the individuals’ actions that are leading to his possible demise.  Another captivating view of this is the near death experience that occurs because this can happen to anyone, at any moment in their live.  That being a near death experience for the owner is because Chigurh is Death in person and the presence of death does not have to seize a life, in order for it to be felt.

Another thing occurs in the interaction with the store owner and Chigurh that is he will not call the side of the coin for the people involved.  This is seen “I can’t call it for you.  It wouldn’t be fair.  It wouldn’t even be right. Just call it.” (56). Although Chigurh is a character that has no problem with killing, there moments where it shows that the other characters are deciding their fates by engaging with him.  Also, for the most part he is not going out of his way to kill people but there are moments where he does kill for no purpose.  This interaction emphasizes that he is not seeking out to kill certain people but will not let an opportunity pass when it presents itself.  Death can be seen as taking life at unnecessary moments in life, where they are no explanations.  At the same time Chigurh is allowing the other characters choose their fate without him picking for them which he thinks would be “unfair”.  He acknowledges the fact that he can only kill if it meant to be which is why the coin is used for certain moments.

The coin is interesting by itself just for the fact of what it represents when Chigurh is going to kill someone.  The coin toss suggests that fate is involved whether the individual is killed or not.  The coin is the deciding factor when Chigurh is going to kill someone which puts more emphasis that he is Death rather than an evil entity.  The coin toss highlights that the individual’s live may have either come to an end with their death or still have plenty of life ahead of them.  The reason that Chigurh is more characterized as Death is than the Devil or an evil figure are shown through these interactions.  The reason he is not the devil because throughout literature the devil is seen as one that will try to tempt people into doing something that they normally would not do or selling their soul.  A perfect example for this would be Paradise Lost where Adam and Eve are tempted by the Devil to try the fruit.  Throughout No Country for Old Men Chigurh does not tempt any character at all, the only time he comes close to this is when he is talking to Moss about giving the money back to him (182-85).  Chigurh tells Moss that he is going to kill him and his wife unless he returns the money which Chigurh has a proposition for Moss to think about, give him the money and wife live or they both die.  Chigurh’s attentions do not seem to have malicious of getting back at someone like the devil but rather lives by a set of rules that nobody follows or understands.  The key scene that shows this is when he returns the money to the kingpin (250-3) because he is only doing his job which is killing and getting the money back from people who stole it.

Also Chigurh is not an evil entity but the death.  The reason being is that he does not only kill the “good” people but also, the “bad” people throughout the story with inclination of who he kills as long he gets the job done.  Chigurh is seen as evil because of the destruction that follows him where he goes which is reasonable.  What stands out is that society is already evil itself in the novel which is seen by the aftermath of a shot out in the beginning (112-9) and when Moss is killed which do not have Chigurh in them at all.  These scenes have good verse evil and greed depicted them which give an interesting contrast to what Chigurh truly is.  To show that Chigurh has no preference to which he kills the scene where Carla Jean (Moss’s wife) is killed is a great example because of what she represents.  Carla Jean is the embodiment of innocent people that get dragged into meaning affairs which they ultimately pay with their life.  Her death shows that anybody can be harmed at any moment for truly nothing other than being life and being at the wrong place, wrong time.  To show that Chigurh kills the “bad” people can be witnessed through several scenes but the scene where he kills the two business men in the desert is far most interesting.  It is the most interesting especially when it is being compared to the other scenes because they have Chigurh deal with the lower level people in the gang which no one will care if they are killed.  The lower level people are no concern whether they are killed is because they supposed to be killed no matter what is occurring in the story, only a slight obstacle for Chigurh.  Chigurh killing the two business men sets a different tone otherwise unseen throughout the novel by any character.  It is that no one is same from dying and anyone that may interact with Chigurh at any point may possibly die or appreciate life far more than they did previously.

Anton Chigurh is a complex character especially when trying to explain what he is and why he acts the way he does.  Chigurh is Death for several reasons which are, he kills anyone that gets in his way for any reason, no matter who the person is.  He uses fate as a way to kill people because it was their time with a flip of a coin which is how fast life can be taken away from anyone.  His intentions are not malice at any time, he is doing his job by retrieving the money stolen.

Works Cited

Cooper, Lydia R.. “He’s a Psychopathic Killer, but So What?” Papers on Language & Literature. EBSCOhost. CSU Stanislaus Lib., Turlock, CA. 23 Nov. 2009

McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for old Men.  New York: Vintage Books, 2005.

I started this looking to edit certain clips into one movie but as this process unfolded, I found out that i have no idea how to do that.  Instead I decided to do a storyboard with pictures from the movies that I was going to use.  There is no audio because I wanted to have the story being told as the pictures were going but the audio would be to long and i couldn’t find one already established.  I wanted to come across as a storyboard that directors use when they are outlining their movie.

Another theory is Existentialism also, because of his speeches that given throughout his various interactions.  His actions also show that he follows a strict code that he laid out for himself and won’t divert from this code at all.  The character is completely extreme but the extent that he is willing to go to accomplish his mission complements his codes and outlook on life.

I’m still thinking about the thesis and what exactly I’m going to explore.

Books by themselves are helpful because they have abundance of information that may focus on one subject of era that goes into great detail.  Usually are reliable but as any other medium one may use, there may biased involved but not as bad as some webpages on the internet.  Also, the basic pen or pencil with paper are helpful because it allows for brainstorming, notes, and other means if that is helpful to the individual.

The theory that i think could be used is biographical because of the ending where “lord Bryon died in Missolonghi, in Greece, April 19, 1824.”  Studying Lord Bryon’s life might give insight into the story and how it truly reflects his life.  I have briefly encountered Lord Bryon with hardly any information about his life so would seem as one way to go about using of the theories.  Another theory that i think could be use is psychoanalysis depending on how the individual uses the theory.  I think it would be a good theory to because of want to going on throughout the story of the possible relationships going on.

Dr. Devries

Eng 3150 TuTh

2 October 2009

Borges

In Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Garden of Forking Paths” there is an issue of what an individual may or may not know which is witnessed throughout the short story.  This issue gives way to various other issues that go along with knowing such as time, do we actually know the people around us, and why do individuals need to be accepted.  The issue of time is examined through the dialogue of Yu Tsun and Dr. Stephen Albert which as individuals bring different ideas about this issue.  Dr. Stephen Albert believes that there can be parallel universes that our various decisions are like the different paths in the garden.  On the other hand, Yu Tsun is a believer in the present time, and that there are no parallel.  The other issue is if an individual may actually know the true intentions of someone and their actions such as Yu Tsun.  Yu Tsun actions are not fully recognized by Albert at all, only the character of Richard Madden, who is briefly touched upon but has his own troubles as well, knows of Tsun’s true intentions.  The last issue deals with Richard Madden and Yu Tsun attempting to gain acceptance from other countries leaders through their deeds.  Borges story deals with how an individual perceives the world and how it affects them.

The issue of time is expressed throughout the story especially with Albert and Yu Tsun.  These two characters bring different thoughts about time because of the way one was raised and the other is his occupation.  Dr. Albert is a sinologist which studies the Chinese culture through literature, art, etc.  Mainly he studies the works of Ts’ui Pen which deals with parallel universes which are the main concern of Dr. Albert.  The character of Dr. Albert is interesting because of the stance he takes with parallel universes.  Mainly Dr. Albert interest is based upon Pen’s work with no real proof of there existing parallel universes.  In doing so, Dr. Albert describes how the garden can be a metaphor for life and various paths that an individual may take during their life.  The metaphor starts with entrance of the garden as the beginning of life, the paths that are within the garden are the possible decisions and consequences that an individual may make during their life.  As the individual are reaching the end of the garden, it is the final years of life, then the individual dying as the final result.  Dr. Albert elaborates on the various paths, “In most of those times, we do not exist; in some, you exist but I do not; in others, I do and you do not;…but I am an error, a ghost” (127).  This explanation gives insight into Dr. Albert beliefs because one level his life has revolved around examining the works of Pen’s work and thinking about parallel universes.  Dr. Albert is doing his job on the opposite side because he is supposed to examine literature but throughout the story it seems that the works are more apart of his life than anything else.  It seems that he is an individual consumed by his work and allows for nothing else to happen to him which is seen at his death.

The character of Yu Tsun is an individual rooted in the present moment and a person leads only one life.  Tsun also does acknowledge the position of fate because of the events that occurs throughout the story especially when dealing with Dr. Albert.  Throughout the story Tsun gives insights into his beliefs about the issue of time which is interesting by itself.  When Tsun is about to end the mission he begins to worry that his death and the consequences for his possible actions which are expressed, “Then I reflected that all things happen to oneself, and happens precisely, precisely now.”(120).  The quote reflects that Tsun does in fact live in the present moment, everything that happens is to just one person or only one individual to experience what happens and no other possible realities.  Also, it highlights that Tsun does not completely understand what is meant by now until this moment in his life.  There is another interesting element to the quote that oneself is in italics because it emphasizes that just one individual experiences what is happening and there are no other possible ways that one can live their life.  This part of the quote reinforces the belief of Tsun that there is only one of him to experience what the world has to offer and has only one possible life.  One possible life being that his decisions made and consequences afterwards do not give way to other universes that deal with these other decisions and possible lives.  Another interesting part of the quote is that now is also in italics because it reinforces that there is only the present moment that an individual experiences and there are no other universes.  The consecutive precisely further emphasizes that there are no other universes that an individual can experience life at the present moment.  The Character of Tsun is established much earlier in the story as an individual that does not care about parallel universes and is an interesting contrast to Dr. Albert.

There is an interesting aspect that occurs which has to do with fate.  This is fascinating to consider because the person that adores Tsun ancestor’s work is Dr. Albert.  It is fated that Tsun kills Dr. Albert because he is possibly the only person that knows what is happening in his ancestor’s work and has researched it extensively.  It seems that it was a twist of ironic fate that Tsun found out more about his ancestor’s work from the man he is supposed to kill because he and his family possibly know who the leading researchers are and where they live.  This is intriguing because it seems that he has exhausted every resource that would allow him to succeed at his mission.  The main reason that it seems to be fate is because of the name of the researcher Albert which is the same name of the town going to get bombed.  Another interesting point to consider about Tsun killing Dr. Albert is that he is exacting revenge on his ancestor for leaving his family.

What was also interesting was the fact that Dr. Albert was so quickly accepting of Tsun, a complete stranger, even though he was an ancestor of the man he admires in the middle of night.  Although Tsun is Pen’s ancestor, Dr. Albert is far too trusting of individuals that he just met which shows how he is completely engrossed with his work.  What is troubling is that Dr. Albert makes no attempt to truly know why Tsun is visiting him especially in the middle of the night and seems that the family of Pen did not care about his work.  Dr. Albert is so enthusiastic that someone from Pen’s family is visiting; he is blinded to the fact that there should be suspension of this occasion.  Dr. Albert is an individual that is absent minded and focused completely on his work which allows for him to be murdered.  Although this happens, there are warning signs that Dr. Albert does not notice such as “To this day, we who are descended from Ts’ui Pen execrate that monk. It was senseless to publish those manuscripts.”(124).  At this point it should send a warning sign to Dr. Albert that Tsun’s intentions are that of atrocious because him and his family detest the person that published the work of Pen even after their protest.  Dr. Albert hardly notices this comment which he should because if the family were not too eager about Pen’s work being published.  This issue Dr. Albert would have came across during his research but truly does not know or care about that part of Pen’s life.  Dr. Albert should be asking himself certain questions about the situation but does not pay any attention.

Lastly is the issue of the Tsun and Madden seeking acceptance from leaders at a time of war.  Tsun only seems to be a spy in order for his country to gain acceptance from other country leader and prove its worth.  Throughout the story Tsun only acts on the behalf that his country will be accepted.  It seems that he personally is seeking acceptance for actions especially the end where he is alone thinking of what he has done.  Madden is an interesting character because he is Irish and seems to be constantly seeking acceptance through his work and usually capturing the people is goes after.  He

In Jorge Luis Borges “The Garden of Forking Paths” deals with an individual perceiving the world and how it affects them.  The story’s issues show how it reflects people’s everyday life such as dealing with time, acceptance, and knowing someone’s true intentions.  The issues presented reflect what an individual may be thinking or doing in real life because these are possible questions that someone may ask themselves.  There are people that are completely focused on their work and miss out on life such as Dr. Albert.  There are people that strive to be accepted and are willing to do anything for that such as Yu Tsun and Richard Madden.  The story is a cautionary tale because each individual thinking they are living their lives for themselves.  In reality they are not livng for themselves but for someone else’s gain.

Work Cited

Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Garden of Forking Paths”. Trans. Andrew Hurley. New York: Penguin, 1998