Theme of the traitor and the hero by jorge luis borges essay

. Ryan finds that, in 1814, James Alexander Nolan, the oldest of the hero’s companions, had translated the principal dramas of Shakespeare into Gaelic; among these was Julius Caesar. He also discovers in the archives the manuscript of an article by Nolan on the Swiss Festspiele: vast and errant theatrical representations which require thousands of actors and repeat historical episodes in the very cities and mountains where they took place. Another unpublished document reveals to him that, a few days before the end, Kilpatrick, presiding over the last meeting, had signed the order for the execution of a traitor whose name has been deleted from the records.

This order does not accord with Kilpatrick’s merciful nature. Ryan investigates the matter (this investigation is one of the gaps in my plot) and manages to decipher the enigma. Kilpatrick was killed in a theater, but the entire city was a theater as well, and the actors were legion, and the drama crowned by his death extended over many days and many nights.

Summary: A story is told of a few Irish rebels. While plotting their newest campaign, the leader of the rebels is killed by one f his subordinates, one of his most trusted fellow rebels. Consequently, another one his friends tried to give him a message of his pending doom, but the message was ill received. Borges notes that the careful reader will notice the similarity between this story and that of Julius Ceasar. This is no coincidence.

In gact, every event is history has its parallel in literature, ang vice versa. All of history is simply a combination of repeating themes; in this case the theme of the traitor and the hero. What we perceive as free will is nothing of the sort; we are all just characters acting out one more predetermined themes.