Big Fish Magical Realism

Realism can be defined as view in which the author tries to depict life as truthfully and accurately as possible. The use of realistic or lifelike settings described by the author or narrated by a character, add a layer of realism to the story, even if the story itself is fictitious. The characters themselves are often portrayed as believable as possible, to the point that the character being described could actually exist; they are often depicted as very average people, void of extreme wealth, influence, or astounding abilities. The reason characters and settings are often

Magic Realism appears when a character in the story carry forward to be alive ahead of the normal length of life. Also where magical or unreal aspect of a natural part in a different realistic environment and character fracture the rules of our real world. Characters that are portrayed as magical or surreal has a statement that is behind it. An example is Gregor in the Metamorphoses and not only did he turn into a bug but he sent a larger message about human experience. The two stories, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings and the Metamorphosis, both have a symbolic mean to humanity and realism.

Magical Realism is a genre of narrative fiction including magical elements that characters treat as normal. Although there is magic in the movie, Pan’s Labyrinth is not an example of magical realism in film because anything that happens does not affect the real world, no one except Ofelia can see the magic, and most of the “magic” can be explained.

Wouldn’t it be fun if we had Magical realism in every book we read to make us more intrigued to what we are reading about? Without magical realism a story would be numb and have no expression. Magical realism is a narrative fiction and it includes different elements to actually express a real life view of the world. For instance in the book Like Water for Chocolate, the author Esquivel includes magical realism. By using magical realism, she shows the expressions that Tita the main character has to face and the emotional barriers she also faces. Esquivel incorporates magical realism in each chapter and it signifies something in the novel and connects to it. Esquivel effectively uses magical realism in her novel by the tears of Tita,

Through viewing Big Fish, by Tim Burton and reading both of Marquez’s stories (Handsomest Drowned Man In The World and A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings), it becomes apparent that while both novels vary greatly in plot and storyline, they are also both centered around the concept of magical realism. For example, Big Fish is a story about a young mAn who visits his dying father, but throughout the story, is introduced to various ‘magical’ entities, which introduce an almost fantasy-like theme to the story. In Marquez’s stories, one is about a handsome drowned man and the other is about a dirty, raggedy angel. We are similarly shown this sense of an ordinary reality, with a certain twinge of magic/fantasy. So while this film and these novels are completely different in the terms of context and storyline, they share these elements of fantasy, that seamlessly blend together to create a realistic, yet magical atmosphere that provides the reader with a unique and capturing experience.

-Every day occurrences are stressed, but they are changed by the extreme, unnatural state of mind. (This makes it differ from fantasy.)

Some great examples of magical realism are: Mrs. Gregg's bizarreness, Alice Conroy Flashback, and Bobo demon eye. Mrs. Gregg had such an extreme stutter that she could not be understood unless she spoke to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus." In this example, her stutter is a realistic narrative, and "Santa Claus had broken her chains and set her free," (page. 17). Santa Claus had not literally allowed her to speak, but for some odd reason, thinking and speaking to that specific tune allowed her to be understood.

Bless Me Ultima fits the description of "magical realism" because the story talks a lot about a curandera named Ultima. As we all know, a curandera is a healer. Rudolfo Anaya portrays Ultima as this old lady who has magical and spiritual powers. She seems to bring life to things around her.

The wedding of Rosaura and Pedro is a good example of magical realism in the book. Tita, saddened by the soon to be married couple, cried as she made the wedding cake and a tear fell into the mix. This tear causes the monumental wedding disaster. On page 39 the magical realism of accentuated detail begins, “The moment they took their first bite of the cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing.” The people eating the cake felt Tita’s longing for the wedding, but that's not the pinnacle of the detail. The greatest moment of magical realism is on the next page, “She struggled to control her nausea, but it was too much for her! Her only concern was to keep her wedding dress from being fouled by the degradations of her relatives and friends; but as she crossed the patio she slipped and every inch of her dress ended up coated with vomit. She was swept away in a raging rotting river for several yards; she couldn't hold back anymore, and she spewed out great noisy mouthfuls of vomit, like an erupting volcano, right before Pedro’s horrified eyes.” As shown in this excerpt, the vomiting and ruining of the horrid wedding wouldn't have been as revolting as it is without magical realism. I the author decided not to use magical realism this “raging rotting river”

Magical realism is a type of writing where two views of reality come together. There are numerous of ways magical realism is expressed in Latin American writing. A very common one amongst stories is open-ended conclusion in which we the readers just have to accept it. Usually magical realism is used as a metaphor for something more meaningful. One story that conveys a lot of magical realism is The Third Bank of The River by João Guimarães Rosa. The story is about the narrator's dad who was quite the quiet man, who one day bought a boat fit for one. He entered the river and never spoke a word to another soul again. The son is the only one who stays at the house in case of the father's return. He leaves food out for him so that he will survive, until one day he makes an offer to his father, and ends up fleeing in terror.

As one should understand, mean has the capability to be found in what one perceives as factual as well as fiction. This becomes apparent when viewing the film Big Fish, which accurately goes on to portray the connections between fiction, non-fiction, and truth through the recounting of a man's life story. Upon watching the film, one delves into the life story of Edward Bloom in both its glorious fiction with bizarre and outlandish occurrences and it's boring mundane truth. As the plot progresses one will be able to understand this divide between what is true and what never happened, allowing for a thorough understanding of both the film’s protagonist Edward Bloom and his son. Edward Bloom tells of his life as a work of fiction, while his son

Transformation plays a role in stories meant to scare us by playing with our imagination safety and mood of a story. Imagination appears in both Edgar Allan Poe’s, gothic fiction story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Usher’s isolated environment and in Joyce Carol Oates gothic literature story “Where is Here?,” by foreseeing who people are. Transformation also plays a role by it assists knowing our own selves are safe in a scary situation. This is shown in, “ Why do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?,” by Allegra Ringo and in “ House Taken Over,” by Julio Cortazar. Transformation plays with our imagination and our safety it also plays a role in the mood and setting. This appears in , “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Dream Collector,”

However the central theme of the masterpiece “The Metamorphosis” is change. The novel illustrates the idea of change and transformation through its main character Gregor Samsa who transforms into a large insect. The real

Magical Realism is, by definition, a story composed of primarily realistic events which are enhanced by supernatural or magical events. Catch of a Death Foretold, a novel by Gabriel García Márquez, holds several occurrences that would classify the book as magical realism. The realistic points of the book are easy to point out of course, a small town, two angry brothers, a devastated fiancee etc… However, the magical realism lays in the details of the book. In the crevices of his storyline, Marquez hides multiple magical components that he uses to remind the reader of the magic within reality. For example, Bayardo San Roman returning to Angela after not opening a single letter from her, Santiago dreaming of the rain that falls at the moment of his death, and most protruding, everyone in the town knowing of Santiago’s fate, besides himself. The idea of anything like this happening is so unrealistic, that it blends seamlessly together to form an interesting and wildly intriguing novel.

Magic Realism in art refers to a twentieth century movement which was initiated by European artists after World War I and which was followed by a second stage that began in North America a decade later. The earliest phases of Magic Realism began around 1919 and preceded Surrealism by several years. Together the two phases spanned approximately four decades, with residual works after 1960.