Module 3

• Magic Realism

  • originally coined by Franz Roh; German art critic
  • to describe emerging style in painting
  • Magischer Realismus
  • blurs the line between fantasy and reality
  • aligns with the developing genre, New Objectivity
• New Objectivity

  • uses the fusion of magic, reality, and fantasy
  • to make ordinary thing seem odd, eccentric, extraordinary or awesome
• Alejo Carpentier

  • French-Russian Cuban Writer
  • made use of Roh's Definition improvising later as Marvelous Realism
  • Felt the new definition applies to Latin America as a whole
• Angel Flores (1955)

  • literary critic
  • coined term "Magical Realism"
  • as it was possible to combine elements of magic realism and marvelous realism
  • Latin America writers popularized this in contemporary literature
  • e.g; 1915 - The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka;
• Essential Elements of Magical Realism

  1. Realistic Settings
  2. Magical Elements
  3. Limited Information
  4. Critique
  5. Unique Plot Structure
• Realistic Settings

  • reader relates to the story
  • as it took place in a real setting with seemingly real people
  • e.g; Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude
• Magical Elements

  • range from the supernatural ability to talk to spirits, telepathy, talking animals or objects
  • not aging or aging too fast, giants, monsters, extra-terrestrials
  • These absurd and fantastical things are regarded as normal within the story

  e.g; Isabelle Allende’s House of the Spirits

  • two sisters have peculiar, extraordinary abilities
  • Rosa the Beautiful has green hair, can create unusual beast patterns on tapestries.
  • Clara could see the tragic events in the future and refused to talk for a long time.
• Limited Information

  • Authors leave the magical element unexplained
  • may be regarded as a natural thing to occur in one's life

  In The Life of Pi

  • boy trying to survive at sea on a small boat with full-grown tiger
  • hard to believe but reader would want to hold on the probability it is possible
• Critique

  • to criticize social issues
  • Latin americans mostly fueled by prevailing political, economic, and social problems in their countries.
  • highlights miseries, pain and struggle of real people
  • celebrates the triumph of human spirit
  • ability to do what seems to be impossible

  In The Beloved

  • Toni Morrison
  • harrowing effects of apartheid were highlighted
• Unique Plot Structure

  • plot usually not in chronological order
  • unexpected twists and turns
  • leaves readers clueless regarding subsequent events
  • Time is warped, absent or irrelevant

  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

  • F. Scott Fritzgerald
  • Benjamin born with physical appearance and mind of a 70 year old
  • grows older, mind and body retrograde process of being younger
• Allusion

  • reference to someone or something outside of the text
  • but whose symbolic meaning is necessary to understanding or enriching it
  • commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas
  • to layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work.
• Allusion

  • effective only when familiar with the person, place or historical event being referred to
  • useful in developing characters, creating setting and contextualizing a story
  • Most are not directly explained to the reader
  • relies on reader's inferential ability
• Reader's inferential ability may be affected by

  1. cultural or historical familiarity
  2. general knowledge
  3. subtlety of allusion employed by the writer
• Allusions used by Gabriel Garcia Marquez


  • Suggest ideas in a simple and concise manner
  • Call into the story Latin American culture and historical events
  • Create magical but realistic images
  • Blur the line between reality and fantasy