Borges

  It is clear why Borges is deemed one of the most intellectual writers to come out of South America.  His stories are beautifully mastered, and have a very deep meaning under the surface.  Borges was far ahead of his time when it comes to the ideas he was working with.  So advanced that many didn't fully understand or grasp the ideas and concepts he was writing about.  This would explain why he didn't receive the honors and accolades that his contemporaries received.  He must have been the Nikola Tesla of literature, smarter and ahead of everyone else; Borges was too intellectual, even for literary critics of the time.

I could closely relate to his stories and the critiques and ideas he was working with.  Like many author Latino authors he threw his two cents in when it came to the Catholic church.  Being raised Catholic, I understand where Borges is coming from in his critique of the church.  Latinos have seen first hand the corruption and hypocrisy that is the Catholic church, and it must be extremely difficult to see the community be so fixated and attached to a Church that has done everything it could to crush the local culture.  The perfect example of this is in "The Gospel According to Mark", the Gutres hold onto that salvation story so hard that they literally interpret the story and don't see the real message.  The Gutres represent the peoples of the past, those that knew nothing of Catholic Church or Jesus.  They receive this "word of God" and take it for face value while Spinoza is the exemplary Christian.  Of course the exemplary christian will always take the fall from the ignorant literalists.  Borges kills two birds with one stone in this story criticizing both the Catholic Church as well as the ignorance of people and how both can destroy great things when in the wrong hands.