Spatial Imagery in Borges Essay Example for Free

Spatial Imagery in Borges Essay â€Å"Reality is not always probable, or likely† (Borges), this quote from Jorge Luis Borges, a perfect example of what makes Collected Fictions mysterious and entertaining to read. His readings are not superficial, and must be taken by critical thought and completely different modes of thinking. Borges’ stories use many techniques to express his messages. In select fictions, the idea of geometry, which is simple and exact, is used to convey themes of infinity and perceiving reality, which are hardly exact at all. Whether Borges uses hexagons to explain a concept of infinity and God, or rhombi and labyrinths to prove an order to chaos, these fictions let the reader explore his perplexing and ambiguous philosophy through ideas of spatial imagery. The story Death and the Compass deals with spatial imagery in two ways, one being with geometric rhombi, and the other is the reader’s idea of labyrinths. A rhombus is used in this story to specifically draw the main character strait to the criminal. Borges mentions the rhombus for the purpose of simplifying the story into something that makes sense; the crimes of the story fit into a perfect, known shape. â€Å"I knew you would add the missing point, the point that makes a perfect rhombus, the point that fixes the place where a precise death awaits you† (p. 156). The end of the story proves that the simple idea is not that simple at all, it all represents how this logical order of crimes brings the protagonist to a chaotic sense of himself because of the elaborate scheme that brings him to his own demise, which becomes part of the order. The other way Death and the Compass deals with spatial imagery is the way Borges lets the reader picture what a labyrinth should look like. Labyrinths are a recurring theme in a lot of Borges’ works, but in this particular story the villain sets up a labyrinth inside the main character’s head to set him up. â€Å"†The next time I kill you,† Scharlach replied, â€Å"I promise you the labyrinth that consists of a single straight line that is invisible and endless†Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 56). This I see as spatial imagery because the reader has to decide what kind of labyrinth the protagonist is caught in, the picture is unclear. This quote suggests that there are many realities, and Borges may mean that every individual is caught in a labyrinth of perception that they cannot escape from. What one may seem as a truth may not be even close to what is real. Borges does not just use this concept in Death and the Compass, but in many of his works. The Library of Babel is another piece of well-constructed art using visual metaphors bound with ideas of infinity, God, and unachievable realities. To describe the universe, Borges sets a picture of hexagons attached to more hexagons that make up a library and that continue forever. â€Å"I declare that the Library is endless. Idealists argue that the hexagonal rooms are the necessary shape of absolute space, or at least of our perception of space† (p. 112-113). This quote suggests that Borges believes the universe is infinite, but in a very concrete way. He uses a very unique technique in allowing an unimaginable theme of infinity is described in the very real idea or a hexagon, a finite thing. A hexagon is only a hexagon if it follows certain rules, but infinity has no rules. The hexagons are the order of the universe; it is not just open space, which means there must be a builder of the hexagons. So does this mean Borges believes in a creator, or God in his own philosophy? â€Å"Mystics claim that their ecstasies reveal to them a circular chamber containing an enormous circular book with a continuous spine that goes completely around the walls. But their testimony is suspect, their words obscure. That cyclical book is God. † (p. 113) In this quote, Borges reinforces the idea of a creator as God. It seems that this creator is the master book in the giant library of books that holds everything in. The books that are held in the hexagons of life also point to an interesting idea, â€Å"the Library is â€Å"total†-perfect, complete, and whole- and that its bookshelves contain all possible combinations of twenty-two orthographic symbols† (p. 15), Borges mentions these books because although every combination possible is presented, even if unconceivable to human thought, is still only a finite number. This is an absolute contradiction of the idea of infinite hexagons with books in them. Still another problem arisen by this quotation is that there seems to be no evidence of a creator if every single book in the library is of all possibilities, but these messages expressed in these books have to be endless. Man searching for his purpose in the universe, then is meaningless, and this argument is all because of spatial imagery Borges uses with hexagons. Borges is a mastermind at manipulating the reader’s thoughts into traveling in many directions on the roller coaster of imagination. In Death and the Compass the story leads the reader in a logical direction with spatial imagery and explains alternate reality through labyrinths, and hexagons represent the idea of an infinite universe with the ambiguous existence of a creator in Library of Babel. The technique of spatial imagery can be endless and the messages that are found can be argued and lead to more questions than answers, but the next time I write this essay, all the answers will be revealed to you.

No Solutions Offered in There Are No Children Here :: There are No Children Here Essays

No Solutions Offered in There Are No Children Here  Ã‚  Ã‚      Does your home have a lock on your door, a telephone and working appliances and plumbing? Do you dodge bullets in your sleep, have 13 people living in one apartment or wash your dishes in the bathtub because the kitchen sink hasn’t worked for months? Do you wash your clothes in the bathtub because the laundry room is too dangerous to do your washing? Do you live in an environment with no role models, where the gangs control everything and you can’t trust anyone? You may think these are strange questions for people who live in America in the late 20th century, but some people’s answers to these questions may be very different from yours. Those people are the one’s living in the â€Å"other America†. Alex Kotlowitz tells us â€Å"the story of two boys growing up in the other America† in his book There Are No Children Here. The â€Å"other America† Kotlowitz describes in his book is the public housing complex at Henry Horner Homes in Chicago. By following the lives of two boys, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, we are exposed to the misfortunes, turmoil and death that their lives are filled with. Lafeyette and Pharoah are faced with many hardships in their day to day activities. Their apartment, the once beautiful complex, now has broken appliances, poor plumbing, horrible security and from the basement come smells that one housing manager described as â€Å"foul odors† that â€Å"no equipment presently in use by staff could be used to withstand the odor beyond a minute† (p. 240). The boys wake up every morning in this horrible public housing that would most likely be condemned if it was located in any decent neighborhood. Lafeyette and Pharoah get ready for school, usually putting on clothes which have been washed the night before in the bath tub, and then leave for school. Pharoah, who loves school, is always in a hurry to get there, leaving the apartment before anyone else. School is the one place for Pharoah to stand out and get away from the neighborhood for a while. He even attended a summer school program that was supported by the University of Illinois. Lafeyette, on the other hand, isn’t into school very much; which explains why he has such a large number of tardies. Both boys are always careful as they walk through the streets to school to be alert for gunfire, they don’t want to die young like so many friends of theirs.

Extrinsic Motivation Essay

Extrinsic motivation is directly driven by external factors, as opposed to the internal drivers of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation drives me to do things for tangible rewards such as money or pressures, rather than for the fun of it. In a workplace this motivation would be the most used because most people work for money. I am employed at the Corcoran State Prison and this is an extrinsic motivation because I get paid to watch and protect inmates and control any possible hostile situations. One way where my occupation wouldn’t apply as an extrinsic motivation, but as an external regulation, is if I was forced to put myself in harm’s way for another co-worker in potential danger or inmate in potential danger for the sake of my job. Extrinsic motivation is based on reward; thus, the level of motivation is based on the level of rewards that are received. Extrinsic motivation applies in most workplaces throughout the world; including the Corcoran State Prison where I am employed as a correctional officer. In my situation, I must protect others to get paid. I must get to work on time and do my job correctly in order to keep making money and to keep my job. For example, many times we do cell extractions because of an inmate being disruptive or he might have a weapon. So we go in and remove him. Also, with even simpler tasks like making sure cells are locked or that everything is fine on the yard. It is part of the job and is something I do to get paid. However, there are many situations where my job becomes a greater risk to my well-being than others. Problems that I’m forced to do, that I don’t get paid extra for, and isn’t in my job entitlement. A situation where extrinsic motivation wouldn’t apply is if I was forced to be motivated to put myself in danger to defend the facility, other inmates, or my co-workers. Other circumstances even cause me to defend and protect myself. There can be situations where an inmate may pull out a weapon on me, and I would now be forced to defend myself. This isn’t listed in my job criteria but, I am involuntary responsible to handle the condition properly. Also, my co-worker may be held hostage with a deadly weapon and I must try with all my will to save this person’s life from this antagonistic state. Again, this wouldn’t be in my profession standards but I’m counted on by others throughout the facility. In addition, there could be a brawl out on the yard and I would be forced to go out and put myself in danger and save the lives of possible defenseless inmates or guards and put a stop to the fight. I could risk getting injured severely, or even die. These are examples of not extrinsic motivation but, external regulations where I’m forced to do without getting paid any extra and it is not in my employment title. The situation where extrinsic motivation does not apply is an enormous problem. This poses threat to the employees of the prisons and also the families of these people. This problem disrupts the work force tremendously. If things aren’t changed, then the state prisons will continue to lose money because of the deaths of employees and will lose productivity. However, I don’t believe this problem can be fixed. State prisons give inmates a lot of privileges that are not deserved for what they have done. If these state prisons remain to let these inmates have privileges than, external regulation becomes a greater risk. Creating new theoretical motivations that will help the work place and its employees is crucial and will have positive effects on both personal satisfaction and on productivity. In the Corcoran State Prison, the inmate population is overfilled creating an even greater hazard to the employees. When a prison is overpopulated inmates get put I the gym. They tier bunks and leave hundreds of them to live there. This prison has five buildings where they store inmates and five yards. If more building and yards were created, this would reduce the risk on employees and create more jobs. Also, the prison gives incentives to people with good behavior, but if the Corcoran State Prison condensed the number of inmates allowed to work, it would help the danger risk of employees. The more employees that work, the more that have access to unsafe tools and kitchen knives. These are a couple of examples that would help create safer environments for employees without affecting the overall mood of inmates throughout the prison. When privileges are taken away from inmates, they tend to become angrier which poses an even greater threat to society when they are released from prison. So, there has to be a certain line drawn to where we don’t take too much creating hostile environments for the society and to where we don’t give too much creating a threat to the employees. This can be a possible double edged sword if not figured out properly. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide. However, in many cases, external regulation becomes a huge motivation in the Corcoran State Prison where I am employed. Where extrinsic motivation applies is that I am paid too work there and protect others. Where extrinsic motivation doesn’t apply in situations at work, I am forced to do objectives beyond my job entitlement. This is an on-going problem that must be fixed with new theoretical models of motivation like creating more building and yards for overpopulation in the prison and reducing the number of inmates allowed to work. Every employee of Corcoran State Prison works there to get paid. So, every employee is motivated by extrinsic motivation. However, when tested with external regulation the degree of motivation is based on the level of rewards that are received.

How Sports Can Bring People Together - 589 Words

In Joe Humphreys believed that â€Å"sport has an uncanny ability to make us lose perspective, bring the worst in people, facilitates a decline into gang culture and creation of barriers between groups†. He also believed that sports are not ideal for family relationships. I disagree with his point. In doing this I am going to argue against his believe by making clear reference to Sport as a unifier. There are many positive things which sports bring to the world. But my main focus is how sport can bring different people together. Looking back at Joe’s words he only focuses on the negative which sports brings out of people. All the descriptions he mentions is only a hand full of people. People are there to enjoy themselves and support the team they love. What Joe is describing is the hooligans not the supporters. These people bring out the negative image of what supporters are like. â€Å"Sport is a universal language that brings people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs race or economic status.† As shown in image one, sport brings all kinds of people together. Mandela saw sport as a way to brings South Africans. He knew that people will not automatically change once he was elected president. He knew that it would take time and he believed that through sport the healing will go faster. No one predicted South Africa would make the finals, let alone win the crown jewel of rugby in 1995 a year after Nelson Mandela was elected president. But theShow MoreRelatedHow Sports Can Help Bring Together Diverse Groups Of People1158 Words   |  5 Pagestime for sports. I looked at the world and it’s people through the eyes of a Shakespeare geek, and thought throwing around a ball and cheering for people wearing certain colors was a waste of time. 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One tactic for bringing in more customers can be seen through the use of color among the business’s interior or exterior. Use of wall space also has an important role in catching people’s eye; what is on the walls and how they are used is a common way to lure in people. Another common and great tacticRead MoreDescriptive Essay About Soccer1007 Words   |  5 PagesMore Than Just a Sport Soccer. When most people think about an outdoor adventure, this is probably not the type of sport that pops up in their heads. It is a worldwide sport which requires practitioners with strong psyche and well trained bodies. Furthermore, a positive attitude, endurance, and fighting spirit are important characters to show if you want to survive within the world of soccer. This is not only about a sport; it is about a lifestyle. It is not only about kicking a ball from one