The Lottery in Babylon by Luis Borges describes the story of a fictional society in ancient Babylon. The society is based around the concept of gambling. Everything that happens in the town revolves around the lottery. Borges father explained to him (Pg.102) at the beginning of the lottery it used to be where people purchased tickets and won money. As time went on the intensity of the game began to develop. The game changed by giving more material rewards, and then it became a game of rewards/punishment, which sometimes led to death. After that, the lottery became a mandatory part of life and by that time it was like the lottery wasn’t part of the world but the world was like part of the lottery.
The story constantly describes the company who is running the lottery. The company seems almost like a figure of God. It was like the company was running the world, giving people chances at life and death, through a game. It was like the company created a puppet show, controlling the society. The last sentence on page 106 says, “Another, no less despicable, argues that it makes no difference whether one affirms or denies the reality of the shadowy corporation, because Babylon is nothing but an infinite game of chance.” This just further goes to show that Babylon was being controlled by the God like figure called the company. It even says in the quote “shadowy corporation” which makes it seem mysterious and unknown. Babylon was now being run by this power, and it didn’t matter if people denied or accepted it, that power was going to control everything and everyone.
“I have no need for death...” (Pg. 101) This quote shows that he had no need for death because it was not his choice any more whether he died or lived. His life was put to chance because of the lottery. Also on page 101 Borges says, “Once, for an entire lunar year, I was declared invisible—I would cry out and no one would heed my call, I would steal bread and not be beheaded.” He was invisible because his actions were not punishable. The lottery was running society and the only way to be punished or killed was by chance. You would get a ticket and either die or live. If someone stole bread, they can’t die because it is up to the chance of the lottery to decide their fate.
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(Addition) The entire story could possibly be a metaphor for World War II. Borges talks about how the commoners at first liked the company because they believed it was good for them. After the company initially gained their trust, it slowly became more and more powerful. It took control of the society and turned the game into a game of fate. Out of fear or being brainwashed the commoners still played the game, even though they knew their lives were at stack. If this story were to be a metaphor of World War II, the company would be Hitler, and the commoners would be all of the people who followed Hitler. Hitler originally seemed like a good man but with his gain in power, he quickly became evil. He brainwashed the people and forced them to comply with his demands, and if they didn’t, the punishment was death. The only controversy with this metaphor is there is no direct evidence that the company forced the people to comply with its demands, but it is well known that Hitler forced people to comply with his rules.
ReplyDelete(Addition) In the city of Babylon, the government’s law was called the Code of Hammurabi. The code basically stated that for every time a corrupt or unlawful action takes place, the person must be punished for the crime he has committed. In the story the punishment for stealing a lottery ticket, would be very similar to the code of law. For instance Borges says, “A slave stole a crimson ticket; the drawing determined that that ticket entitled the bearer to have his tongue burned out.” (Pg. 103) This law could possibly be a part of the code of laws used in ancient Babylon. The people were not forced to play this game but maybe out of fear they played. Maybe the commoners felt more comfortable being able to basically choose their fate by getting a lottery ticket. Borges says, “A luck draw might bring about a man’s elevation to the council or magi or the imprisonment of his enemy (secret, or known by all to be so), or might allow him to find, in the peaceful dimness of his room the woman who would begin to disturb him, or whom he had never hoped to see again; an unlucky draw: mutilation, dishonor of many kinds, death itself. The consequences were incalculable.” (Pg. 103) The chances of winning at the lottery were great but the chance of losing could result in death. The people must have felt such fear from the company to want to buy a ticket because they knew by playing they could possibly die. The people must have felt if they didn’t buy tickets, the company would somehow control them; so to control their fate, they bought the ticket to choose their own fate for themselves.
(Addition) The company may have made it seem like the people were choosing to buy the tickets, but they were really trapping them into playing this game of fate. Borges says, “The mercenary sale of lots was abolished; once initiated into the mysteries of Baal, every free man automatically took part in the sacred drawings, which were held in the labyrinths of the god ever sixty nights and determined each man’s destiny until the next drawing.” This discusses the binary between Labyrinth and the infinite. The people thought they were choosing themselves to be in the lottery but in reality the company was controlling them to do so. This is explained when Borges says in “the labyrinths of the god,” meaning the person is trapped.
(Addition) The entire story is a binary itself because there is not written documentation of the Lottery every happening. In all of the archives of ancient Babylon, there is no evidence to support the “Lottery in Babylon” actually happened. Borges’ story brings up the binary of reality and fantasy. Is this story just some concoction Borges came up with for entertainment, or is it in some unknown written history that this actually happened? If this is fantasy it could have just been used as a metaphor for World War II. If it is reality, maybe it is a way of saying history repeats itself, referring to the Lottery in Babylon and World War II.