The Lottery in Babylon is an interesting short story by Borges that has magical realism hidden inside it. Although it may not be as obvious as Pedro Paramo and Aura, this excerpt has a magical realistic tone to it because of how much fascination there is with this lottery. What seemed at first like a pointless event in Babylon, the lottery swept society by its feet and had everybody captivated. By adding a little risk, excitement, and danger to the lives of the people of Babylon, the author is able to spark interest in the reader about how significant this lottery becomes in the town.
Originally, the lottery originated as a game of chance where the people of the town would occasionally throw some money in and get involved. But as the lottery began to catch on, it continuously got taken further and further. As time went on, people had to avoid picking the ticket that would give them a pretty hefty fine. The stakes continued to get higher as people risked going to jail when they participated in the lottery. By the end, people were even risking death! It sounds like madness, because it truly is, but this madness is how Borges gets his message across to the reader. The town of Babylon became hooked on this lottery, and people would play regardless of the stakes.
The fact that these people would leave their fate up to chance is pretty rediculous, and Borges is trying to get this theme of insanity across. He is trying to draw emotions from those who read the short story because it effectively gets your attention and makes you become interested in how a town of civilized people can turn into madness.
The Lottery in Babylon is an interesting short story by Borges that has magical realism hidden inside it. Although it may not be as obvious as Pedro Paramo and Aura, this excerpt has a magical realistic tone to it because of how much fascination there is with this lottery. What seemed at first like a pointless event in Babylon, the lottery swept society by its feet and had everybody captivated. By adding a little risk, excitement, and danger to the lives of the people of Babylon, the author is able to spark interest in the reader about how significant this lottery becomes in the town.
ReplyDeleteOriginally, the lottery began as a game of chance where the people of the town would occasionally throw some money in and get involved. But as the lottery begins to catch on, it continuously gets taken further and further. As time goes on, people have to avoid picking the ticket that would give them a pretty hefty fine. The stakes continue to get higher as people risk going to jail when they participate in the lottery. By the end, people are even risking death! It sounds like madness, because it truly is, but this madness is how Borges gets his message across to the reader. The town of Babylon become hooked on this lottery, and people play regardless of the stakes.
The fact that these people leave their fate up to chance is pretty rediculous, and Borges is trying to get this theme of insanity across. He is trying to draw emotions from those who read the short story because it effectively gets your attention and makes you become interested in how a town of civilized people can turn into madness. Borges really tries to emphasize the ideas of chance, fate, and chaos in society in this short story, and he does this by creating a town full of people who become more and more obsessed over a dangerous, luck-based lottery.