The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges is a narrative that details the journey of a German spy as he awaits execution and discovers more about his heritage. The author describes a large network of actors, all with some sort of influence on the war. This concept is reminiscent of Mark Lombardi’s work where he depicts the connections between actors in specific political events or scandals. The main character and narrator, Yu Tsun, describes his relationship or connection to each person as well as the reasoning behind his actions. He eventually finds himself exploring his late grandfather, Ts’ui Pen’s writing which also serves as a labyrinth. What is different about Ts’ui Pen’s labyrinth is that all choices are possible. The man guiding Yu Tsun through the Garden of Forking Paths, Albert, states, “In all fiction, when a man is faced with alternatives he chooses one at the expense of the others. In the almost unfathomable Ts'ui Pen, he chooses - simultaneously - all of them.” This concept applies to our in class work because describes an alternative way to guide the user through a journey. Not only is Ts’ui Pen’s Garden of Forking Paths a journey, but the entire written narrative is. The narrative shows the traditional way people make choices. For example, Yu chooses to walk rather than ride in a taxi. In Ts’ui Pen’s way of choice making, Yu could simultaneously choose to ride in the taxi and walk. The concept of simultaneous choice making is interesting to consider when determining the navigation of our own interactive websites.
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