Magical Realism
Magical Realism What is magical realism and how is it interpreted through the readings of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”? “Magical Realism combines elements of both to present a matter-of-fact world in which the extraordinary exists side by side with the mundane realities of everyday life (Latham)”. The author of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he has written a few other short stories that deal with magical realism. The main topic of choice for magical realism will be “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. Magical Realism is a term referring to creative writing that integrates realistic essentials with supernatural or incredible experiences (Quinn). “The term was originally used in the 1920s in art circles in Europe and America to describe a kind of realist painting less interested in representing the art object than in capturing its aura, as, for example, in the paintings of Henri Rousseau (Quinn)”.
Latin American writers later employed the term to characterize the "marvelous real," seeing everyday life as if for the first time. The most celebrated example of magic realism is Gabriel García Márquez 's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1971), an extraordinary blend of realism, myth, comedy, and history, rendered in lush, poetic language. Other sources of magic realism are the stories of Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Julio Cortazar. The technique is artfully represented in European literature by Milan Kundera 's The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984). In American literature, magic realism, evident earlier in the stories of Bernard Malamud and in John Cheever 's short story "The Enormous Radio," has become a prominent feature in contemporary works by Toni Morrison (Beloved, 1987), Donald Barthelme (The Dead Father, 1975), Alice Walker (The Color Purple, 1982) and William Kennedy (Quinn 's Book, 1988). The appeal of magic realism lies in its effective resolution of the tension between realism and experimentation,
Latin American writers later employed the term to characterize the "marvelous real," seeing everyday life as if for the first time. The most celebrated example of magic realism is Gabriel García Márquez 's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1971), an extraordinary blend of realism, myth, comedy, and history, rendered in lush, poetic language. Other sources of magic realism are the stories of Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Julio Cortazar. The technique is artfully represented in European literature by Milan Kundera 's The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984). In American literature, magic realism, evident earlier in the stories of Bernard Malamud and in John Cheever 's short story "The Enormous Radio," has become a prominent feature in contemporary works by Toni Morrison (Beloved, 1987), Donald Barthelme (The Dead Father, 1975), Alice Walker (The Color Purple, 1982) and William Kennedy (Quinn 's Book, 1988). The appeal of magic realism lies in its effective resolution of the tension between realism and experimentation,
Cited: 1. Goodwin, J. (2006). Marquez’s A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS and bambara 's THE LESSON. The Explicator, 64(2), 118-121. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216783358?accountid=11137 2. Latham, Don. "The Cultural Work Of Magical Realism In Three Young Adult Novels." Children 's Literature In Education 38.1 (2007): 59-70.Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Mar. 2013 3. Reinholtz, Eric L. "Infobase Learning - Login." Infobase Learning - Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. 4. Quinn, Edward. "Infobase Learning - Login." Infobase Learning - Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.