One of the primary concerns of the short story The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges is that of choice. The various choices the main character is faced with creates a web of ‘forking paths’ that encompasses almost infinite directions the story could take and myriad different endings. Due to the length restrictions inherent to short stories, The Garden of Forking Paths is limited to exploring only one narrative outcome even while containing the potential for many different stories. Thus, in order that the literary structure of Borges’ story reflects the story’s emphasis on choice and alternate realities, my digital project will be creating a virtual Choose Your Own Adventure book based on The Garden of Forking Paths.
Being curious about the various alternate timelines and realities discussed in the short story in question, I decided to create my own various paths and endings for the story. The format of a Choose Your Own Adventure book was the most appropriate choice, as it allowed for both an increased accessibility to a complicated work of fiction and for multiple narrative threads to be contained in a single work of fiction. The process for this project was fairly simple; after writing the various ‘forking paths’ and multiple endings for the story, including the original, I created a Powerpoint presentation wherein each slide contained both a small piece of a narrative thread and a choice that the reader would have to make. The reader would begin on slide one and diverge among the slides according to the choices they make, with each choice indicating which slide the reader should continue to. In this way the reader would be able to explore a distinct narrative thread to its conclusion, then go back to the first slide and begin again with different choices, in the spirit of the story itself. Pictures and quotes from the Garden of Forking Paths corresponding to the action would also be on select slides. The slides are also set up in such a way that reading them in order would produce an incoherent story, much like Ts’ui Pên’s
labyrinthine In this format, without the literary restrictions of short stories, the spirit of choice and possibilities could be more thoroughly explored in Borges’ work.
Discussion Questions:
* What is lost in this project by adapting Borges’ story to the simplistic, almost childish writing style of the Choose Your Own Adventure genre?
* There are over twenty different endings to this story. How do the endings written specifically for this project compare to the original ending of Borges’ work?
* Why does Borges end his short story the way he does? What does the narrator’s ultimate choice say about them? What ending would you have preferred?
Bibliography
“3363077143 fbe01fe051 bSkull” by Otis Historical Archives of “National Museum of Health & Medicine” (OTIS Archive 1) –http://www.flickr.com/photos/medicalmuseum/3363077143/in/photostream. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3363077143_fbe01fe051_bSkull.jpg#/media/File:3363077143_fbe01fe051_bSkull.jpg
“Ant-C Binnen”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ant-C_Binnen.jpg#/media/File:Ant-C_Binnen.jpg
“Beach Wedding” by Nick Karvounis – http://www.greekweddingphotos.com. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beach_Wedding.jpg#/media/File:Beach_Wedding.jpg
“BISR FL Red Barn02” by Ebyabe – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BISR_FL_Red_Barn02.jpg#/media/File:BISR_FL_Red_Barn02.jpg
Borges, J. L. (1941). The Garden of Forking Paths. New York: W.W. Norton and Company
By Tognopop (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“Colt1991A1ORM-01” by Ca.garcia.s – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colt1991A1ORM-01.JPG#/media/File:Colt1991A1ORM-01.JPG
“NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii” by Abderitestatos – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii.png#/media/File:NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii.png
“Stamp BVI 1917 war tax cover” by British government for BVI –http://www.pennymead.com/images/WINSC0591.jpg. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamp_BVI_1917_war_tax_cover.jpg#/media/File:Stamp_BVI_1917_war_tax_cover.jpg
Being curious about the various alternate timelines and realities discussed in the short story in question, I decided to create my own various paths and endings for the story. The format of a Choose Your Own Adventure book was the most appropriate choice, as it allowed for both an increased accessibility to a complicated work of fiction and for multiple narrative threads to be contained in a single work of fiction. The process for this project was fairly simple; after writing the various ‘forking paths’ and multiple endings for the story, including the original, I created a Powerpoint presentation wherein each slide contained both a small piece of a narrative thread and a choice that the reader would have to make. The reader would begin on slide one and diverge among the slides according to the choices they make, with each choice indicating which slide the reader should continue to. In this way the reader would be able to explore a distinct narrative thread to its conclusion, then go back to the first slide and begin again with different choices, in the spirit of the story itself. Pictures and quotes from the Garden of Forking Paths corresponding to the action would also be on select slides. The slides are also set up in such a way that reading them in order would produce an incoherent story, much like Ts’ui Pên’s
labyrinthine In this format, without the literary restrictions of short stories, the spirit of choice and possibilities could be more thoroughly explored in Borges’ work.
Discussion Questions:
* What is lost in this project by adapting Borges’ story to the simplistic, almost childish writing style of the Choose Your Own Adventure genre?
* There are over twenty different endings to this story. How do the endings written specifically for this project compare to the original ending of Borges’ work?
* Why does Borges end his short story the way he does? What does the narrator’s ultimate choice say about them? What ending would you have preferred?
Bibliography
“3363077143 fbe01fe051 bSkull” by Otis Historical Archives of “National Museum of Health & Medicine” (OTIS Archive 1) –http://www.flickr.com/photos/medicalmuseum/3363077143/in/photostream. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3363077143_fbe01fe051_bSkull.jpg#/media/File:3363077143_fbe01fe051_bSkull.jpg
“Ant-C Binnen”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ant-C_Binnen.jpg#/media/File:Ant-C_Binnen.jpg
“Beach Wedding” by Nick Karvounis – http://www.greekweddingphotos.com. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beach_Wedding.jpg#/media/File:Beach_Wedding.jpg
“BISR FL Red Barn02” by Ebyabe – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BISR_FL_Red_Barn02.jpg#/media/File:BISR_FL_Red_Barn02.jpg
Borges, J. L. (1941). The Garden of Forking Paths. New York: W.W. Norton and Company
By Tognopop (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“Colt1991A1ORM-01” by Ca.garcia.s – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colt1991A1ORM-01.JPG#/media/File:Colt1991A1ORM-01.JPG
“NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii” by Abderitestatos – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii.png#/media/File:NuerensdorffZH-20120903iii.png
“Stamp BVI 1917 war tax cover” by British government for BVI –http://www.pennymead.com/images/WINSC0591.jpg. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons –https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamp_BVI_1917_war_tax_cover.jpg#/media/File:Stamp_BVI_1917_war_tax_cover.jpg