Ib World Lit Ii Rewrite - "theme Of The Traitor And Hero"

Gedney 0262-033 Statement of Intent: For this assignment I examined the short story “Theme of the Traitor and Hero” from Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges. I aimed to take the basic plot of the story, where the character Kilpatrick was exposed as both a hero and a traitor, and twist it so that the protagonist, Nolan, is exposed to the reader as the traitor instead. In my version, Nolan, secretly dissatisfied with how Kilpatrick directed the revolution yet publicly acting as an advisor to the leader, decided to take matters into his own hands. First he attempted to betray Kilpatrick as an informant. Before long, Kilpatrick not only suspected that there was a traitor in his midst but had also been struck by an incurable illness which would slowly degrade his mind and body, bringing an early death. These two secrets he confided to Nolan who then took this opportunity to get rid of Kilpatrick. Nolan invents a plan to which Kilpatrick readily agrees, but the latter does not realize the true intentions of his advisor. To do this, I chose to write in the third person. Although writing in the first person would allow the reader to understand Nolan’s reasoning behind his actions, the time span is too large to cover without the use of flashbacks or memory recalls. In this assignment I chose to study and mimic Borges’ characters and their actions, however this was not an attempt to imitate Borges’ style of writing. One method used in the story which I also retain in my writing to a small extent is the use of mise en abyme, or the practice of having one story contained within and mirroring another. Borges had placed his tale of Kilpatrick and Nolan in an account of a theoretical situation where a character named Ryan researches and discovers its history. I, however, take the story that the reader is familiar with, turn it into a lie which Nolan tells Kilpatrick, and then place it in the context of the larger scheme of Nolan’s actions.

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Gedney 0262-033 Finally, there are a few specific areas in Borges’ text which make this interpretation of the story possible. Each of them are included and explained within the context of my writing, and they are as follows: -

Kilpatrick’s final words were never quoted.

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Even though Kilpatrick was deemed the traitor to the rebels, he still wanted a successful uprising.

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Nolan was the one reported to have planned the entire project of staging Kilpatrick’s death as a play.

Word Count: 416

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Gedney 0262-033 The country was ripe for rebellion, but Kilpatrick knew that he would not be able to live out its final days. He was ailing. It was a painful, miserable illness which seemed to endlessly eat away at him day after day without mercy. Adding to his agitation, he had just received news that all of their latest attempts towards victory had been thwarted. There was now a traitor among them. Kilpatrick was admired and idolized by a large number of followers. He feared that allowing them to discover his weakened condition would destroy their faith in him. So he called James Nolan, his closest advisor, and in Nolan alone did Kilpatrick confide his two morbid secrets. It was a fortnight before Nolan returned to Kilpatrick with news. He had successfully uncovered the traitor hidden among their ranks. In addition, he had also created an elaborate plot which would reveal the traitor, allow Kilpatrick to die without needing to breathe a word of his weakness, and successfully precipitate the rebellion to action. Nolan related the plan to his leader with as much civil eagerness as his words would allow. And his idea was this: Nolan would make an announcement the following morning to their fellow conspirators that the traitor had been discovered at long last and that it was none other than Kilpatrick himself. In their indignation they would force Kilpatrick to sign his own death sentence. However, if word of their leader’s betrayal became public his fame could jeopardize the entire rebellion. So Nolan had written a performance, based off of the works of William Shakespeare, which involved the entire city and ended with Kilpatrick’s death in an empty theatre at the hands of an “unknown assassin.” Furthermore, Nolan promised Kilpatrick that the assassin would be the true traitor of the rebellion. So it would happen that the leader would pretend to be the traitor,

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Gedney 0262-033 the true traitor would be revealed to Kilpatrick alone, and Kilpatrick would receive an only slightly premature death. Nolan would then kill the traitor, and Kilpatrick’s body would be discovered the following morning, to which the entire country would respond by entering into the much anticipated rebellion. The project began the following morning and unfolded smoothly and successfully over the next few days. Finally, on the fourth day, Kilpatrick stepped into his prearranged theater box and was unsurprised to find Nolan standing before him. Kilpatrick inquired as to where the traitor was hiding. The answer he received however was quite unexpected as Nolan himself raised a pistol and fired the single shot into the breast of the hero, who discovered the truth too late. “You traitor,” Kilpatrick just managed to gasp out with a rush of blood before he fell stiffly to the ground, his eyes already glassy but still wide with surprise. Nolan abandoned the theatre with a slight air of satisfaction. It was over now and he alone would know the truth of what had really happened from the very beginning. It went like this: Everything had been prearranged by Nolan. Everything except that Fergus Kilpatrick becoming the captain of the conspirators. Handsome, young, glorious and brave, Kilpatrick had received from the people the title of a hero in the rebellion which Nolan had secretly initiated. Angry, jealous and patient, Nolan waited until he was settled in Kilpatrick’s good graces before he took an opportunity to strike back with a vengeance. Nolan had by now written a complex play which would naturally end with Kilpatrick’s death. But what he needed was a chance to bring the performance to life. So he began to sell information about the conspirators’ actions. It was a double edged sword entirely in Nolan’s

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Gedney 0262-033 favor. Not only did it forestall Kilpatrick’s revolution, but a traitorous apothecary was willing to give up a few vials of poison in exchange. These eventually found their way into Kilpatrick’s food and drink. When Kilpatrick came to Nolan requesting help, the latter was more than overjoyed to oblige. Nolan took some days to make final preparations for his unusual performance, adding in scenes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Macbeth to add some flourish to the entertainment. When it was finally ready, he presented it to Kilpatrick who sealed his own fate by accepting. Less than a week later, shortly after the discovery of Kilpatrick’s death, the evil deed was done and the country was choked with uprisings. Nolan had the satisfaction of knowing that he was the true leader of the successful rebellion, but it was want of recognition that prompted him to record the script and scenes of the spectacular performance. Unable to boast of his true actions in the deed, he dedicated it to the hero Kilpatrick. He hoped that someone, in the generations to come, would have enough intelligence and curiosity to unravel the clues in this tale, despite the fact that Nolan had practically rewritten the entire story, making the true killer an “unknown assassin” and refrained from documenting Kilpatrick’s true final words, which left it up to the reader to decide who the real traitor and hero actually was.

Word Count: 850

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