The Babylon Lottery (original Spanish title: La lotería en Babilonia) is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It first appeared in 1941 in the journal Sur, and then was included in the 1941 collection The Garden of Forking Paths (El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan), before being included in Ficciones, part one. The title also appears as The Lottery in Babylon.
It describes a fictional society in ancient Babylon in which...
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The Babylon Lottery (original Spanish title: La lotería en Babilonia) is a fantasy short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It first appeared in 1941 in the journal Sur, and then was included in the 1941 collection The Garden of Forking Paths (El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan), before being included in Ficciones, part one. The title also appears as The Lottery in Babylon.
It describes a fictional society in ancient Babylon in which all activities are dictated by an all-encompassing lottery, a metaphor for the role of chance in one's life. Initially, the lottery was run as a modern lottery would be with tickets purchased and the winner receiving a financial reward. Then, it had the usual material rewards; later, punishments and immaterial rewards were introduced. Further, there was no need to voluntarily participate. Finally, it simultaneously became so all-encompassing and so secret that no one could tell whether the lottery still exists to alter people's fates, or...
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