The Disk
Encyclopedia
The Disk is a 1975
short story written by Argentinian
writer Jorge Luis Borges
. It appears in the collection The Book of Sand
.
He tells the reader that at one time a man, who asks lodging from him appears at his door.
The woodcutter notes that the man was elderly, as he referred to England as "Saxony", which, at the time, was a sign of age.
The day after the man wishes to leave, but before he does, he says that he is a King and is descended from Odin
. He tells the woodcutter that he is exiled, but that he shall always be a king, because he holds the Disk of Odin, the sole thing in the world that has but one side. He opens his hand and "shows" the disk-the woodcutter sees only an empty palm, but thereafter touches it, feeling a chill in the fingers and seeing a flash. He makes a false claim that he has a full chest of gold and wants to trade it for the disk, because he knows the man will decline. And the man does, to which the woodcutter replies that the man may go. When he turns around, the woodcutter kills the man with an axe.
He then drags the body and throws it into the river. He then comes back and searches for the disk, which he never finds.
1975 in literature
The year 1975 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* August 12 — with the 20-year time limit stipulated by Thomas Mann at his death having expired, sealed packets containing 32 of the author's notebooks were opened in Zurich, Switzerland.* Writing under the...
short story written by Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
writer Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
. It appears in the collection The Book of Sand
The Book of Sand (book)
The Book of Sand is a short story collection by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, published in 1975. According to the author's opinion, the collection, written in his last days , is his best book, an opinion not shared by most critics, who prefer his other works such as Ficciones.Referring to...
.
Synopsis
The story deals with a woodcutter who lives in the midst of a deep wood in old England and who has never seen the sea.He tells the reader that at one time a man, who asks lodging from him appears at his door.
The woodcutter notes that the man was elderly, as he referred to England as "Saxony", which, at the time, was a sign of age.
The day after the man wishes to leave, but before he does, he says that he is a King and is descended from Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
. He tells the woodcutter that he is exiled, but that he shall always be a king, because he holds the Disk of Odin, the sole thing in the world that has but one side. He opens his hand and "shows" the disk-the woodcutter sees only an empty palm, but thereafter touches it, feeling a chill in the fingers and seeing a flash. He makes a false claim that he has a full chest of gold and wants to trade it for the disk, because he knows the man will decline. And the man does, to which the woodcutter replies that the man may go. When he turns around, the woodcutter kills the man with an axe.
He then drags the body and throws it into the river. He then comes back and searches for the disk, which he never finds.
See also
- Bibliography of Jorge Luis BorgesBibliography of Jorge Luis BorgesThis is a bibliography of works by Jorge Luis Borges.Each year links to its corresponding "[year] in literature" article or "[year] in poetry" article .- Original book-length publications :...