The Purposeful Death or Murder
Baltasar Espinosa, the tragic protagonist in Jorge Luis Borges' "The Gospel According to Mark," is elaborately designed by the author to have many similarities with Jesus Christ, yet their journeys to death differ. The purpose of Jesus' crucifixion is the theme of four gospels, and it represents the salvation of all human beings. Similarly to Jesus, Espinosa is also nailed on a cross; however, his ultimate death at the end of "The Gospel According to Mark" tells the fanaticism of wrongly interpretation of religious ideal. From the title of the story, it has shown that Espinosa's fate is connected to Jesus, and his death is inevitable Espinosa, a current medical student, involves in the Gutres' religious hallucination and dies as Jesus did just because he accepts his cousin's invitation to spend the summer months at La Colorada ranch. Throughout the story, Jorge Luis Borges elaborately designs many details that reflect Jesus on Espinosa. Espinosa is described as a person who has "an almost unlimited kindness and a capacity for public speaking" (524). Those are also Jesus' characteristics; he is kind to the poor and the sick, and he also has the ability to convey his messages in the public.
Then when a pet lamb of Gutres' daughter is injured, these three country folks try to help this animal with a cobweb. He even educates the three Gutres the particular gospel with superiority and delight in his heart. It seems that he lives a careless life at La Colorada ranch. Therefore, they determine to create their own "Jesus" and their own salvation. (522)Such random thoughts jump in and out in Espinosa's mind, and it seems that he does not have a steadfast point of view of the world. Throughout human history, different cultures interpret God differently, and those differences cause misunderstanding, stereotypes, wars, hatred, and enormous amount of death. Although these events are not explicitly depicted then, it has revealed the time that is around the Good Friday. Then his death surely carries certain meaning of purpose. " The word, gospel, was "used for various happy announcement, such as a military victory, a birth of a son, or a wedding" (The New Oxford Annotated Bible 3NT). Then Jesus even died for his belief. Death never pops into his mind not until the Gutres treat him as the dying Jesus. Espinosa understood what awaited him on the other side of the door" (524). Most of people in the world do not know when their death will arrive, yet Jesus knew when, where and how he would be crucified, yet he intentionally went toward this significant ending---die for whole humanity. Moreover, the story indicates that the Espinosa's death happens at age thirty-three (524), as the same age when Jesus dies.
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Acceptance Essays
