Examples Of Magical Realism In The Third Bank Of The River

Jacquelyn Barrett’s spookiest experience was, less than a year ago, she got a call from my oldest sister Hannah saying,”did you hear what happened to Grandpa Barrett?” For over two hours she was stuck inside of Citrus Valley Gym, playing with the boys volleyball team. Right after practice ended, her mom got a call from her dad and the next thing she remembers her mom saying “do you know? Grandpa Barrett passed away about a half an hour ago. “Right away on that day 3 April 2017 at 4:50 her life had changed forever. This scenario relates to Gothic literature and Magical realism because it was a very surreal moment. These genres are similar because both genres blend reality and magical moments in one. Gothic literature is a setting that begins with bleak setting and has an ambiguous ending. Also it has a scary and mysterious feeling and makes you wonder what's going to happen next. It impacts the reader by putting intelligent words and a gloomy setting. A example of gothic literature is in the story “Where is here”. In the story “Where is Here” a stranger appears at the family's house and the family reacted with curiosity and concern(69). Magical Realism is a literary genre, therefore there is a realistic narrative and natural techniques, combine with surreal elements of dream or fantasy. Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is a good example of Magical Realism because both the brother and sister started to hear “noises” coming from a part of the house, so they limited

Magical realism combines two seemingly contrasting elements reality and fantasy. Julio cortazar’s “House taken over” is a good example of magical realism because the house is being taken over by supernatural activity or Natzis. For instance, Cortazar describes the house being old and spacious, “ it kept the memories of great grandparents, our parents and the whole of childhood.”(pg. 37). This is a good example of magical realism because the family seems normal, they’re living in a home where past ancestors also used to live and the house is full of childhood memories. Although he also describes some sort of supernatural activity, “it was eight at night”- “I heard something in the library or the dining room.The sound

Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is a good example of magical realism because the characters have a normal life, they read , they knit, and the do normal people stuff. For example, in the story it says,” once the morning housework was finished, she spent the rest of the day on the sofa in her bedroom knitting (38).” this sentence proves magical realism because it's what people do every day, it contributes to an everyday life, it may not be what everyone does but it's common in the real world. Therefore, “House Taken Over’’ is an example because it includes details of ordinary

In the Latin American story, The Third Bank of the River, written by João Guimarães Rosa, a man leaves his family to live his life sailing back and forth on a river for years to come. His son, the main character, never accepts his father leaving the family. Years later when the other siblings have grown old and have children of their own, the son is still living in the house near the river and when his dad finally acknowledges him after years of ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention, he flees, leaving the story with an open ended conclusion. The use of magical realism is present in this story through symbolism and takes interpretation to understand the meaning behind the text. Magical realism is an author's way of using real world issues by incorporating an element of unearthly events such as magic. In The Third Bank of the River, the author uses symbolism, a warped time frame, and human reaction as metaphors for real life events.

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 the unique mixture of fantasy, yet the factor of reality in the story harmonizes with it rather than clashes with it. Magical elements have the ability to blend and still create a realistic, and ordinary reality in a society.

This way of writing is based on the “rational view of reality” versus the “acceptance of the supernatural” (Moore). Magical realism is usually associated with contemporary Latin American fiction but it is also seen in the writings of authors from different countries (Lodge 114). The unexplained fantasy in these works is used to depict “historical convulsions and … wrenching personal upheavals” that can not be otherwise described adequately in a realistic fashion (Lodge 114). One of the best known magical realism novels is Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. The best known magical realism short story author however, is Jorge Luis Borges. Although Latin American literature was predominantly written by males in the past, it is becoming more diverse now with the voices of females, homosexuals, and Jews.

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.

Latin American literature is perhaps best known for its use of magical realism, a literary mode where the fantastical is seamlessly blended with the ordinary, creating a sort of enhanced reality. Though magical realism is practiced by authors from other cultures, the works of authors Salman Rushdie and Toni Morrison, for example, are notable examples of non-Latin works in which magical realism has been used to both great effect and great celebration, it is in the works of Latin American authors where the style has flourished and made its mark on the literary world. Yet even in Latin American works we can find many different kinds of magical realism, all used to achieve a different end. In the works of the Cuban poet and novelist

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.

Magical realism is a genre that portrays both reality and fantasy. As defined by Faris (2004) in Ordinary enchantments, magical realism is a genre of writing that includes an irreducible element of magic and details that suggest phenomenon (Faris, 2004, p. 7). He describes the irreducible element as: “…something we cannot explain according to the laws of the universe as they have been formulated in Western empirically based discourse…” (Faris, 2004, p. 7). In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, The handsomest drowned man in the world, the facets of magical realism are rife. He uses magical realism to enchant the reader. The story is of a small cliff-side and coastal community

Imagine, every morning you wake up to the sound of the rooster singing. Not to the normal crow a rooster makes, but to a beautiful sonata that wakes your soul up from a deep slumber. It may not sound too realistic in our real word, but to a writer, this can bring special emphases to the story’s meaning. This literary practice is called magical realism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines magical realism, or magic realism as they put it; 1) painting in a meticulously realistic style of imaginary or fantastic scenes or images; and 2) a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. It is the second definition that author Laura Esquivel, incorporates magical realism into her book, Like Water for Chocolate. Many of the themes and emotions in the book are emphasized with the use of Magical realism.

The controversy surrounding Magical Realism makes the classification of what is and what is not Magical Realism very difficult. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a famous Latin American author, has written many pieces of what is generally conceived to be Magical Realism. Marqez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" fulfills every characteristic of Magical Realism..

Latin author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has written many short stories and novels that are considered to be Magical Realism. Some of these works are "The Ghosts of August," One Hundred Years of Solitude," "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," and "Light Is Like Water." In "Light Is Like Water" (December 1978), the use of various fantastic elements along with the realist elements is what defines this story as Magical Realism.

Okri’s story ‘The Famished Road’ includes several features of magical realism. Precisely, instances of hybridity happen often. The character Azaro wrongly believes a character by the river to be the ferry man of the dead, he acquires that she is in fact a hybrid woman, young in body but ‘with an old woman’s face’. The illustration is also a hybrid of ancient custom and ritual. Also, The Famished Road portrays the theme of political corruption and political struggle. The character Madame Koto is implied in the corruption of modern Nigerian politics. She summarizes the new power herself, rather than its transgression, foreshadowing the country’s Civil War to come. Okri has also used ironic distance in this novel..