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Magical realism. Magic Realism is a genre of fiction in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality.
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Magic Realism is a genre of fiction in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality. • These magical elements are explained like normal occurrences that are presented in a straightforward manner which allows the "real" and the "fantastic" to be accepted in the same stream of thought.
Think of it as "what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something 'too strange to believe'".
But isn’t it just Fantasy?! • Prominent English-language fantasy writers have stated that "magic realism" is only another name for fantasy fiction. • However, magical realism is different from fantasy literature based on the perception of the fantastical element: • In fantasy, the presence of the supernatural is perceived as odd or different, whereas in magical realism the presence of the supernatural is accepted. • In magical realism the author presents the supernatural as being equally valid to the natural.
Characteristics • The extent to which the characteristics listed below apply to any given magic realist text varies; every text is different and will employ a smattering of those listed here. However, they do serve as a good judge of what one might expect from a magic realist text.
Characteristics - Fantastical elements • As recently as 2008, magical realism in literature has been defined as "a kind of modern fiction in which fabulous and fantastical events are included in a narrative that otherwise maintains the 'reliable' tone and draw upon the genres of fable, folk tale, and myth while maintaining a strong contemporary voice. • The fantastic attributes given to characters in such novels — levitation, flight, telepathy, telekinesis — are among the means that magic realism uses in order to discuss the often phantasmagorical realities of present day issues.
Wait a Minute! • Definition of PHANTASMAGORIA • 1 • : an exhibition of optical effects and illusions • 2 • a: a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined b: a scene that constantly changes • 3 • : a bizarre or fantastic combination, collection, or assemblage • Examples of PHANTASMAGORIA • He saw a phantasmagoria of shadowy creatures through the fog.
Characteristics - Hybridity • When the plot lines utilize multiple layers of reality taking place at the same time. Such opposites as urban and rural, and past and present.
Characteristics - Authorial Reticence • Authorial reticence is the "deliberate withholding of information and explanations about the disconcerting fictitious world".[ • The narrator does not provide explanations about the accuracy or credibility of events described. • Note that the act of explaining the supernatural would immediately reduce the legitimacy of this world in comparison to the natural world; the reader would consequently disregard the supernatural as false.
Characteristics - Sense of Mystery • Something that most, if not all, critics agree on is this major theme. Magic realist literature tends to read at a very intensified level. • You have to be open to the crazy, zany, and wacky stuff going on in these stories. • "If you can explain it, then it's not magical realism."
Characteristics - Political Critique • Magic realism contains an "implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite".
Major Authors and Works • Although there is much debate among critics and writers regarding who and/or which works fall within the genre of magical realism, the following authors tend to be regarded as most representative of the narrative mode.
Major Authors and Works • Franz Kafka, writing in the 1920s, is arguably the founder of the genre. • Within the Latin American world, perhaps the most iconic of magical realist novelist is Nobel Laureate Gabriel GarcíaMárquez, whose novel One Hundred Years of Solitude was an instant worldwide success. • English Author Salman Rushdie, African American novelist Toni Morrison, English author Louis de Bernières and English feminist writer Angela Carter
Major Authors and Works • The first woman writer from Latin America to be recognized outside the continent was Isabel Allende. Her most well-known novel The House of the Spirits is arguably quite similar to Marquez's style of magical realist writing.
Isabel Allende • Isabel Allende (born 2 August 1942) is a Chilean-Americanwriter. • Allende is one of the best-known female novelists in Latin America. • Allende has been called "the world’s most widely read Spanish-language author". • In 2010 she received Chile's National Literature Prize. • Allende's novels are sometimes based upon her own personal experiences and often pay homage to the lives of women, while weaving together elements of myth and realism.
Isabel Allende – Controversy: what do you think? • Despite or perhaps because of her commercial success and "being compared to Gabriel GarcíaMárquez," Allende has been the subject of negative criticism from other authors and literary critics. • Bolaño writes that Allende's literature is anemic and compares it to a person on his deathbed.Bolaño has been one of her harshest critics, saying that it is to give her credit to call her a writer and that she is rather a "writing machine". • Literary critic Harold Bloom concurs with Bolaño that Allende is a bad writer, and adds that she only reflects a determinate period and that afterwards everybody will have forgotten her. • Allende recognizes that she has rarely had good criticism in Chile and that Chilean intellectuals "detest" her.
Isabel Allende – Controversy: what do you think? • Novelist Gonzalo Contreras says that "she commits a grave error, to confuse the commercial success with literary quality”. • Allende disagrees with these assessments of her, and she has also been quoted as saying: The fact people think that when you sell a lot of books you are not a serious writer is a great insult to the readership. I get a little angry when people try to say such a thing. There was a review of my last book in one American paper by a professor of Latin American studies and he attacked me personally for the sole reason that I sold a lot of books. That is unforgivable.
Isabel Allende – Controversy: what do you think? • Alternatively, "Allende's impact not only on Latin American literature but also on world literature cannot be overestimated.” • The Los Angeles Times has called Allende "a genius,“and she has received many international awards, granted to writers "who have contributed to the beauty of the world.“ • She has recently been called a "literary legend" by Latino Leaders Magazine, which in its 2007 article named Allende as the third most influential Latino leader in the world.
“Two Words” • First, choose a phrase or sentence from the text that best describes the theme: “The Power of Words”. • Then, write your quote on the white paper. • Listen to the song and create a visual representation of your quotation. Use your entire page.
“Two Words” • Then, work in groups and explain your images. • Why did you draw what you did? • Did the words or music influence you? • Did anything regarding magical realism influence you? • Now, write a journal describing your experience. • How does your drawing and representation of a visual compare to your peers? • What images and colours did you choose differently or similarly? • Why is it important to represent words in all different manners of art?
