The Lottery in Babylon

The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges employs realistic and fantastic elements in conjunction to represent and explain common ideas. Following the traditional form of the other magical realism texts, Borges uses the first person point of view. This has the consequence of engaging the reader; involving them in the plot and evoking genuine emotions and feelings about each situation. This is how Borges connects his work with real, well-known notions. When reading The Lottery in Babylon, there is a sense of familiarity yet distance from the concepts in the story to those in real life. Following one of the major characteristics of magical realism, there are obvious binaries which Borges blends together. The erosion of these borders is subversive to common beliefs and forces the reader to rethink what is supposedly known. Examples of those that are challenged in The Lottery in Babylon are power and helplessness, rich and poor, luck and misfortune, and infinite and definite.

The institutions Borges is criticizing are political systems in general for their faults and inability to satisfy. Being written directly after World War II, Borges is expressing his views on how individual people and whole governments act during times of pressure and terror. Everyone was manipulated into thinking differently, like they had control even though they did not. Everything was swallowed up to become part of the Aryan nation, though it is by chance that those people were drawn into the war. It is like they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the very first sentence, Borges states “Like all the men of Babylon, I have been a proconsul; like all, I have been a slave”. This shows the strong contradictions that dominate the Babylonian society. The lottery, which began as a game played by commoners, was like a simple form of gambling. Because of lack of interest, some unlucky draws were entered too, which was enticing to the public. When people began to disobey these unlucky draws, the Company was forced to intervene, make consequences, and change the rules. These consequences, good or bad, seem to be based on complete chance. The chance that a name was chosen seems completely out of anyone’s control except the Company. This forces the audience to question if it really is chance, or fate.

He incorporates a labyrinth to explain how it is like a maze, easy to get lost. There is a way to get out but it is very hard, just like in reality. The lottery is a labyrinth in itself – where people are trapped and must conform to its changing rules. No one is exempt from the consequences.

The Company is the mysterious authority that is in control of running the lottery. It seems as though the Company is like a government and the citizens of Babylon are like the citizens of a country. The Company shifts in its rules and policies over time, much like that of the different political ideologies. Just as a government must respond to the needs of its citizens, “The Company had to protect the interest of the winners…indeed, the Company was forced by its players to…” (pg 102). Each time there was overall dissatisfaction with how the system was running; the Company had to listen to the people and change to please the masses. For example, on page 103, the Company resembles Socialism, “The Company was forced to assume all public power…the Lottery was made secret, free of charge, and open to all.” On page 104, it transforms into what looks like Communism: “To penetrate hopes and innermost fears…they called upon spies…there was talk of favoritism, of corruption…the Company did not reply directly…is it not appropriate that chance intervene in every aspect of the drawing?”. Borges continues, evolving the Company to reflect capitalism and democracy. The Company also resembles a sort of God, where the lottery is like his decided fate for the people. No matter what they do, the consequences can be good or bad, and it’s out of their control.

In a sense, just as the Company is like different governmental systems, the lottery is like the policies and laws that are enacted by them. The lottery determines how the society runs, who can participate, and to what degree. Because the Babylonians obeyed these new regulations imposed by the Company, it gave the Company power. Borges explains on page 102, “From that gauntlet thrown down by a few men sprang the Company’s omnipotence – its ecclesiastical, metaphysical force.”

Eventually, there was a dispute between the upper class and the poor, because they couldn’t participate in the lottery - “The fair and reasonable desire that all men and women, rich and poor, be able to take part equally in the Lottery…” (pg 103). It caused violent, bloody demonstrations, and eventually the masses won. This has a striking resemblance to revolutions in countries. Usually when the rich, upper class dominate the larger, poor class; there is a violent revolution for equality. Examples of this have occurred in Russia, France, and Mexico, among many, many others. Borges also reflects on other actions of the Company that seem to represent different governmental actions. He speaks of the terrors of war, “There are also impersonal drawings, whose purpose is unclear…sometimes the consequences are terrible” (pg 105). Borges hints at the ever-changing nature of politics, “In reality, the number of drawings is infinite. No decision is final; all branch into others”.

At the end, the unknown history of the Company parallels the truly uncertain history of our civilization. History, as we learn it, has been written by the winners and is constantly being disputed, disproven, or changed. Borges states on page 105, “Besides, there is nothing so tainted with fiction as the history of the Company…No book is published without some discrepancy between each of the edition’s copies.”