Is there any deeper significance to the Borges story "The End"?

Question

"The End" is a very short story, not much over 1000 words, in Borges's collection *Fictions*. It describes a paralysed man, Recabarren, who observes an unnamed black guitar player avenge himself on Martin Fierro, the killer of his brother.**Is there some deeper significance or symbolism here?** Many of the other stories in *Fictions* are philosophically interesting or simply wacky, exploring concepts such as language, infinity, imagination, and pattern. This one seems banal by comparison, but perhaps there's something I'm missing.

Answer 1

The point of view character, Recabarren, is paralyzed from what we the audience assume is a stroke. Paralysis is, in Borges' "The End", seen as a theme. The black man is the true protagonist of the story, having what amounts to as a character arc and whose emotions carry the story, despite Recabarren being the point of view for the audience. The black man is, like Recabarren, paralyzed. He stays at the village despite losing a musical contest because he needs to wait for Martin Fierro to arrive in order to get his revenge, and then, after doing so, he is unable to move emotionally forward due to the nature of revenge; as the last line in "The End" states, "...there was neither destination nor destiny on earth for him, and he had killed a man." The revenge is hollow, and he no longer has purpose or the emotional fulfillment he craved. Ultimately, "The End" is a meditation on violence and revenge, relating it to a kind paralysis that needs to be escaped and solves nothing.