Literary Analysis of Jorge Luis Borges's The Aleph

Structural Techniques in The Aleph

Borges's stories are characterized by great structural originality, which is based on the following characteristics:

• Essayistic Form: They are sometimes confused with an essay, as they often take the form of an argument to begin referring to studies, classical myths, legends, and historical events.
• Mixture of Reality and Fiction: Imaginary apocrypha or authors are cited and mixed with real authors. In some stories, the protagonists are historical, while others are legendary characters or invented.
• Intertextuality: Some stories star characters from existing books.
• Narrative Puzzles: In all his stories, Borges grabs the reader by presenting a series of puzzles that, ultimately, always have an unusual and surprising denouement.

The Fantasy Genre and Magical Realism

Borges is one of the leading representatives of fantastic literature, whose work constitutes a precedent of magical realism. His stories mix unusual events, dreams, and imaginary worlds that reveal hidden aspects of existence, yet maintain a vicissitude not far from reality.

Principal Themes of El Aleph

• Human Identity: Personality consistency or inconsistency, its consequences, and the possible identity of all men—does it include one or more?
• The Destination of Man: Borges's meditations lead to some uneasy questions about the fate of civilization or fatality.
• Time: Past, present, and future are intertwined in these stories often enough to call into question the fate of man and the sense of history.
• Eternity and the Infinite: Is eternity a salvation or a condemnation? Is infinity a comfort or a nightmare?
• The Absurdity of Existence: The universe could be created by a God or be coincidental. If there is an order, it responds to divine laws, not human ones.
• Death: The coronation of man's destiny. Is it a curse or a relief?

Characteristics of the Borgesian Universe

For Borges, the coherent world governed by reason does not exist: it is an invention of theologians, scientists, and philosophers with the intention of concealing the true reality, which is absurd. Therefore, the author is pleased to invent other books and civilizations. To symbolize the inconsistency of reality, he frequently uses symbols such as mirrors, which break down the man, and the labyrinth.

Space and Time in El Aleph

From a philosophical standpoint, Borges plays in his stories with the idea that time is an illusion and welcomes the idea of circular time.

Space has a relationship