StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Magic Realism - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
Order#: 521564 Abstract: Magical realism is the art of infusing the supernatural in the mundane. Many Latin American authors exploit the power of magical realism in their novels, in which characters have regular encounters with the spiritual world. This capacity equips them with a 'sixth sense' so that they have superhuman insight, see apparitions unseen to natural eyes or communicate with spirits or spirits of the departed…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.9% of users find it useful
Magic Realism
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Magic Realism"

Download file to see previous pages

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is a text peopled by characters with magical capabilities. Characters, such as Clara, are endowed with uncanny, spiritual ability such as clairvoyance, interpretation of dreams, and telekinesis (moving objects with the mind). In the novel, writing is not a mere activity. It becomes a spiritual affair in which the writer undergoes a catharsis or inner purging, wielding the power of the pen. Clara records her dreams and spiritual encounters to be passed down to future generations.

In this world, “conventional resources were not everything” (Conniff 1990). Spirits aid man in a mutually beneficial relationship. She relates well with the good spirits and they abide in her home, giving her a contentment that nothing material could bring. Characters can see the apparition of ghosts and experience comforting spirits participating in daily life so much so that the residents of the home accept them as normal. The paranormal constantly takes place in the novel. For example, Clara miraculously finds the lost head of her mother who accidentally gets decapitated.

The spirits reveal to her the head's exact location when no one could retrieve it. The punctuation of the novel with magic and surreal occurrences impresses on the mind the intersection of the spiritual world (embodied as Clara) and the material (embodied as Esteban).  In Monkey Beach, Lisa, the protagonist equally has phenomenal spiritual ability to foresee events through dreams before they come to pass. In the Haisla culture in Canada, the Native Indians cherish the culture of supernatural consciousness and communication with dead ancestors.

Ma-Ma-Oo, Lisa’s grandmother, appreciates Lisa’s unusual gift and teaches her how to sharpen and control it. In magical realism novels, the presence of older generations is indispensable because the work “is the simultaneous impetus of atavism and modernism” (Gish 1990). Lisa learns about her sixth sense and later ‘sees’ a vision of her dead brother relaying an urgent message to her. Lisa also receives a vision that her best friend has died. Magical realism is woven into Monkey Beach not only through Lisa, but also through the old witch, Screwy Ruby, Sasquatch (an fabled animal from another world) and a strange little man who appears to Lisa whenever something imminent is about to take place.

These personas are gifted with premonitions and foretelling. Some of Lisa’s family members also have strains of her spiritual gift but choose to deny it. Setting is key in structuring a text with magical realism. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, the setting is a fantastic, timeless village called Macondo, whose inhabitants are immortal. Setting not only signifies space, but also time. Time laws in magical realism works operate outside of the normal sphere. “Time is curved and coincidental in a whole moment that is outside of clock time” (Rabassa 1973).

Marquez’ title emphasizes a timelessness which also points to an otherworldliness. Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes the Macondo village as a place untainted and uncorrupted by

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Magic Realism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/family-consumer-science/1415761-magic-realism
(Magic Realism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/family-consumer-science/1415761-magic-realism.
“Magic Realism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/family-consumer-science/1415761-magic-realism.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Magic Realism

What is the function of magic realism in Jorge Luis Borges's literary works

Magic Realism can be considered as a fictional method that merges flight of the imagination with physical, and societal reality in an attempt to obtain the truth further than the truth that is presented on daily life.... hellip; What Is the Function of Magic Realism in Jorge Luis Borges's Literary Works?... Magic Realism can be considered a fictional method that merges flight of the imagination with physical, and societal reality in an attempt to obtain the truth further than the truth that is presented on daily life....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Myths and Utopia and Utopic or Dystopic Ideas in the Book El Reino de Este Mundo

Name Instructor Course Date Myths and utopia and utopic or distopic ideas in the book El rieno de Este mundo Magic Realism is a term that has gained popularity in both nonacademic and academic circles and hence the proliferation of this term has gained it its popularity.... This resulted in the development of what was known as Magic Realism by theorists who managed to formulate the definitions that surround this phenomenon.... The first instance of the usage of the Magic Realism was used by a German critic Franz Roh to explain the art of inter war in the Weimer republic....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

The Use of Magic Realism in 100 Years of Solitude

In the essay “The Use of Magic Realism in 100 Years of Solitude” the author analyzes the setting which blurs the connection between the fantasy and the reality in the Marquez's novel.... hellip; The researcher states that the use of Magic Realism in the novel may be the constant source of amusement, novelty, and delight.... (Williams 85) The use of Magic Realism in the novel are may be the constant source of amusement, novelty, and delight....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Magic Realism and how it differs from surrealism

Magic Realism and Surrealism are both movements in literature and art.... The paper "Magic Realism and how it differs from surrealism" focuses on the realism and surrealism.... In contrast, a film using Magic Realism leaves the viewer feeling alive and appreciative of the world around him.... Magic Realism gives a "fresh presentation of the everyday world we live in.... "Magic Realism presupposes that the individual has a bond with traditions and the faith of the community, that s/he is historically constructed and connected....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As a literary and artistic genre, Magic Realism is apparently plagued by its insistent use of supplementation as a literary strategy for the improvement of the realist text.... The boundaries framing realism so constrained many artists and burdened them with the nagging difficulty of how to compromise between realism and their own creative desires and inclinations that the movement towards Magic Realism was instigated.... Magic Realism supposedly overcomes realism's boundaries and limitations and seems to displace its predecessor's shortcomings through the conveyance of textual apparitions, ephemeral and ambiguous themes and images which cast a confusing and somewhat dark shadow over everyday life and its most mundane tasks....
21 Pages (5250 words) Essay

Theme of Violence in The House of the Spirits

Set in a background of political turmoil of the late 20th century in Latin America, the novel explores and evaluates the theme of violence and its consequent effects… Both political and domestic violence constitute part of the plot in ‘The House of the Spirits'.... A candidate of the Conservative Party for the presidential election, and a patriarch, Esteban act of violence and torture on the peasant women of his hacienda, and sometimes on his wife, Clara reflects the greater violence afflicted on the people by the military regime after the election....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Usage of Myths and Utopia in the book El Rieno de Este Mundo by Carpentier

Magic Realism is a term that has gained popularity in both nonacademic and academic circles and hence the proliferation of this term has gained it its popularity.... The attempts to thee formal characteristics it exhibits has acted as a revelation by the fact that it helps us… This resulted in the development of what was known as Magic Realism by theorists who managed to formulate the definitions that surround this phenomenon.... The first instance of the usage of the Magic Realism was used by a German He explained that the use of Magic Realism was more than an expression that was abstract in nature....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Coping with Change and Magic Realism

This paper ''Coping with Change and Magic Realism'' tells that coping with change is difficult.... hellip; In the novel, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” Gabriel García Márquez shows different ways of coping with change through Magic Realism....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us