Discovering a Culture through Magical Realism Every culture has a memorable type of literature. When one thinks of English literature, one thinks of William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens. The American writers Thoreau, Clemens, and Emerson bring to mind the days when America was still proving herself to be equal to the European countries. France had her own artists, such as Voltaire and Hugo, as did Spain with Cervantes and Dante. However, when one thinks of Latin America, what writers come to mind? Very few of these authors are as well known as those mentioned. However, through the concept of a previously unknown literature, the world is viewing Latin America in a new light. Magical Realism seems to have flourished in the warm, tropical climate and has bloomed so beautifully that scholars are at a loss to fully explain this concept and where it originated. Many opinions exist as to the true origins of Magical Realism. Flores has claimed that Borges, with his accomplished writings, began the movement. Flores also believes The Metamorphosis, written by Kafka, greatly influenced Borges, while other theories support Franz Roh as the source of this new movement. It seems the phrase was first coined by Roh while describing a new method of artwork in the 1920’s. This new artwork combined reality with a small addition of a nonrealistic aspect. For the most part, the general idea follows the theory of Roh’s creation. Each culture carves its own notch in the world of literature. America had to create her own new world of literature and still was criticized for not being like the other countries. It seems that when something is different, it is outcast and criticized to a much larger extent than should be. This situation... ... middle of paper ... ... actually originated. The allure of this literature and the controversy concerning it will keep it on a steady rise in popularity through changing times because it is capable of change itself. Magical Realism reminds one of the beauty and the magic that can be found in everyday life. Works Cited Flores, Angel. “Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction.” Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 109-117. Leal, Luis. “Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature.” Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 119-124. Roh, Franz. “Magical Realism: Post-Expressionism.” Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 15-31
Faris, Wendy B. Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2004. 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. 21
Newsom, D., Turk-Vanslyke, J., & Druckeberg, D. (1996). This is PR: The realities of public relations 6ed. United States: Wadsworth Publishing
Delbaere-Garant, Jeannie. "Variations on Magical Realism". Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkison Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham" Duke U.P., 1995. 249-263.
Theim, Jon. "The Textualization of the Reader in Magical Realist Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. 235-247.
Magical realism is a genre in which extraordinary events are incorporated into the ordinary world, usually referred to as realistic fiction. In Latin American culture many authors use this type of literature to describe phenomenal events that occur within our ordinary world. Magical realism can be analyzed through different novels, short stories and movies, for example, Bless me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, “The Night Face Up,” by Julio Cortazar, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the movie Big Fish by Tim Burton. Magical realism is a style of writing used to link the abnormal with the ordinary.
Flores, Angel. "Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction." Magical Realism. Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 109-116.
With the fall of the Empire after the death of Theodosius, Italy was then attack from neighboring civilizations in the north and west. These invasions soon lead to the rising of power in individual city-states (Defusco). The citizens of the cities abolished the ideas of feudalism and searched for their own identity. Their searching lead to violent acts amongst themselves in determining who should govern, but despite the fighting, each city contributed greatly to the economy and helped to raise the cultural energy of Rome (Defusco).
Magical Realism supposedly began in 1935 with its golden age occurring between 1940 and 1950.The Magical Realism of Spanish and Latin America can be somewhat attributed to the social, political, and European influence. During the golden age of Magical Realism, Spanish and Latin American writers produced works that would, by some, be considered to be at the same level as the great Italian, French, and English works. Two people have been credited for coining the term Magical Realism, Dudley Fitts and Franz Roh. Which one gets the actual credit would be very difficult to state. However, it is not important who did the deed; it is important the deed was done. Professor Angel Flores remarked that "A Universal History of Infamy," written by Jorges Luis Borges marks the birth Magical Realism (Flores 109-117). Jorges Luis Borge's works are similar the works of Kafka. Both Kafka's and Borge's works reflect a collaboration of realism and fantasy. Before all the greatness of Magical Realism was realized, it was thought that the Spanish and Latin American fiction couldn't produce anything beyond simple works. However, times have changed, an abundance of great works and attributes are derived from the Latin American culture and its writings.
The first jazz was played in the early 20th century. The work chants and folk
In 500 A.D., western civilization began to emerge from the period known as "The Dark Ages," a time in which many invading forces ruled Europe and brought an end to the Roman Empire. For the next hundred year, the newly emerging Christian Church would soon govern Europe, administering justice, initiating the Crusades against the East, creating Universities, and for the most part dictating the destiny of music, art and literature. Pope Gregory I is believed to have collected the music known as Gregorian Chant, which was the approved music of the Church. Later, Notre Dame in Paris was accredited, with the creation of a new kind of music called organum. Which was created by much more melodic phrases then Gregorian Chant, organum was also the first type of music too utilize fourth and fifth intervals, which would become one of the building blocks of modern musical theory. Music in the church had not changed much during this time as said by Charles Burney in A General History of Music Volume I, “Music in the church, however, appears to have undergone no other change at this time than in being applied in some parts of the service…”(57). A type popular music began to erupt and was sung all over Europe by the troubadours and trouvères of France. The troubadours and trouvères played mainly lutes (a primitive guitar) and sung songs, which everyday people could appreciate and identify with. And it was during the middle Ages that western culture saw the arrival of the first great name in music, Guillaume de Machaut. De Machaut polyphonic style did not catch with many during the middle ages, but would later influence a flood of composers during the Renaissance.
Marquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" fulfills every characteristic of Magical Realism. His short story contains magic that exists in a realistic background. One can easily see why Marquez is such a forerunner in the field of Magical Realism.
By 1980s it had become a well-established ‘label’ for some forms of fiction. It has been applied, for instance, to the work of Luis Borges (1899-1988), the Argentinian who in 1935 published his Historian universal de la infamies, regarded by many as the first work of magical realism. The Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez is also regarded as a notable exponent of this kind of fiction, especially his novel ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ (1967). The Cuban Alejo Carpenter is another writer described as a magic realist.’ ‘Experiments in magical realism affects and techniques’ are to be found in the fiction of Italo Calvino John Fowler, Gunter Grass, Emma Tennant, Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie and Ben
Cutlip, Scott M., Allen H. Center, and Glen M. Broom. Effective Public Relations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Print.
In order to see how Magical Realism is found in this treatment, one must first consider at least one of the identifying marks of Magical Realism. Among the characteristics that identify Magical Realism is the feeling of transcendence that the reader has while reading a Magical Realist text (Simpkins 150). During transcendence, a reader senses something that is beyond the real world. At the same time, however, the reader still feels as if he or she were rooted in the world (Sandner 52). After the reader undergoes transcendence, then he or she should have a different outlook on life.
Magical realism is clearly present throughout Gabriel-Garcia Marquez's novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Magical realism is the juxtaposition of realism with fantastic, mythic, and magical elements. A secondary trait was the characteristic attitude of narrators toward the subject matter: they frequently appeared to accept events contrary to the usual operating laws of the universe as natural, even unremarkable. Though the tellers of astonishing tales, they themselves expressed little or no surprise.