Introduction
The Library of Babel is Jorge Luis Borges’s short story in which the universe is presented in a metaphorical way. Namely, it is illustrated as a series of hexagonal rooms with books containing an endless combination of characters in a seemingly incoherent manner.
Discussion
Due to the fact that the number of books appears to be endless, certain ones are, indeed, coherent and contain information that would help humans. Moreover, since letters of multiple letters are included, the fact that people are limited in their ability to translate facilitates an even deeper confusion. In this paper, the Library will be portrayed from the perspective of the Tower of Babel. Namely, the message in both pieces correlates with the fact that understanding everything is a human desire that can never be fully achieved.
Both the Library of Babel and the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis reflect on the human desire to obtain all the knowledge about the universe. Namely, in the Library of Babel, humans were contemplating destroying the books that were meaningless based on their perceptions (Borges and Hurley) 116). This was done with the intent to filter information and strive for enlightenment. Similarly, people wanted to build a tower that would reach heaven to “make a name” of themselves (NIV Bible, Gen 11:4). Furthermore, the word “Babel”, which is in the title of the short story as well as in the name of the tower, implies confusion generated by the presence of many voices at the same time.
Conclusion
In both cases, people wanted to learn information that, perhaps, was too advanced. Instead of acquiring information that is available and can be obtained, in both pieces of literature, humankind aimed to achieve the impossible. The universe is presented as confusing and impossible to figure out, partly because of the effort people put into dissecting the mysteries. As a result, answers remain unattainable, and humanity becomes even less certain of truths while pursuing the ultimate knowledge.
Works Cited
Borges, Jorge Luis. Collected Fictions. Translated by Andrew Hurley, Penguin Books, 1999.
The Bible: New International Version. Biblica, 2011.