Role Identity Conflict In Borges And I

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“Borges and I”, written by Jorge Luis Borges, is about a writer who is experiencing a role identity conflict. Borges provides many examples in this piece as to his state of mind and the role that he most identifies with. Borges’ opening line to his short story is: “It’s Borges, the other one, that things happen to.” (pg. 28). This statement is indicative of how he feels about not only himself, but the “other Borges”. There is a subtle undertone of resentment throughout Borges’ story, as well as a sort of understanding that one cannot live without the other. As Borges acknowledges and identifies the existence of his public persona as a separate entity from himself, he states the difficulties he has had differentiating between the two, and expresses his desire to prevent his public persona from consuming his private, more reserved one. This piece epitomizes the Structural School’s concept of role identity. It is evident in his literature that Borges believes that his identity is split into two parts. Borges …show more content…

Borges tells the reader, “My taste runs to hourglasses, maps, seventeenth-century typefaces, etymologies, the taste of coffee, and the prose of Robert Louis Stevenson; Borges shares those preferences, but in a vain sort of way that turns them into the accoutrements of an actor.” (pg. 28). This line is very important in that it alludes to the role identity conflict that is the overall theme of the story. The opening line of the piece in conjunction with this one allows the reader to make an inference about the subject of the article. It seems as if the private side of Borges does not like the public side, but the one needs the other to survive. It is the literary contributions of public Borges that allow the private side of him to enjoy those extravagant tastes, thus presenting the reader with the role identity conflict theory that Borges

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