Magic Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“Mary, however, is not alone among the “fog people” – the three men also have their reasons for withdrawing into night” (Brustein 1021). Each of these men is haunted by his individual past and this

“But afterward the townspeople, theretofore sufficiently unfearful of each other to seldom trouble to lock their doors, found fantasy re-creating them over and over again—those somber explosions that stimulated fires of mistrust in the glare of which many old neighbors viewed each other strangely, and as strangers.”

Camus’ Siddhartha and Herman Hesse’s The Stranger have recurring experiences of solitude. Whether it be physical or mental, solitude plays a major role in allowing each protagonist reach a point of enlightenment. Through solitude, each protagonist goes through rebirth, their lowest point, and awakening, revealing things about themselves in the process. Although the two protagonists reach enlightenment in the end, the two have very different outlooks, Meursault is a reserved person who goes with the flow while Siddhartha is the opposite. The two works show that no matter what the initial outlook on life is, points of solitude are key to reaching a point of enlightenment in the end.

The initial three passages are committed to setting the scene‐describing Myop ("...her dull darker hand...") and placing her in setting ("...her family's tenant farmer cabin...", "...the spring, where her family got drinking water..."). Compelling portrayal gives believability to the earth, and makes the later occasions all the additionally stunning: "Myop viewed the modest white air pockets disturb the thin dark size of soil and the dilute rose and slid away the stream."

The lights of the town were veiled in darkness, a mere inverted shadow amidst the gloom of the night. Distant thunderings, as those brought to mind with Dies Irae or the distant chattering of a great blaze could be heard, drawing nigh upon the trembling hands of the people frantically seeking a shade for the lights that would soon propagate should their brilliance stretch to the skies, but found difficulty locating even their hands at arm’s length, due to the cloud over the town, in the streets, as real and thick as the blanket of golden and crimson extending toward the town at a propeller’s rate, silencing the natural beauty of the countryside amid the sounds of death and destruction.

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 the blend of magic and reality, it treats magical occurrences as mundane. In Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya a young boy, Tony experiences magical events when an old curandera, Ultima comes to live with his family. As Tony experiences death, magical healing, and fulfillment from a non-catholic god, he starts to contemplate his religious beliefs and direction in life. Magical realism is used throughout the book with symbols like the golden carp, the owl, and water. The symbolism enriches the text by adding depth to magical realism.

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

In conjunction with the symbolic representation of Elisa’s life, the dramatic description of the environment can also be seen as a unique representation of the relationship conflict between husband and wife. Steinbeck’s foggy description demonstrates conflict through the following statement, "a time of quiet and waiting." This description is interesting because the fields are personified as waiting for rain, however, “rain and fog do not go together” therein lies the conflict just as Elisa waits for a positive change in how her husband treats her (Palmerino, Gregory J). Gregory P. further points out that, “The natural elements of the foothills ranch seem as unwilling to confront each other as the characters that inhabit its environs. Hence, fog and rain can be seen as the female and male equivalents to Elisa and Henry.” This only further solidifies the deep rooted troubles within Elisa and her relationship with her husband. The setting of the story is personified to act as a symbolic representation of the couple’s relationship (Steinbeck, John 337-338).

In the story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez intertwines the supernatural with the natural in an amazing manner. This essay analyzes how Marquez efficiently utilizes an exceptional style and imaginative tone that requests the reader to do a self-introspection on their life regarding their responses to normal and abnormal events.

Identical to the Sublime's characteristic of accumulation in "The Circular Ruins" is Magical Realism's characteristic of an extensive

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..

Gabriel Garcia Marquez has dealt with historical themes in several of his fictions, but in One Hundred Years of Solitude, the author makes a statement about history and the importance of historical consciousness. In this paper, the view of history expressed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude will be the focus.

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.

Again the description is bleak, (‘the sun beats .......the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief.’ ) Life-giving water is again absent, (‘the dry stone no sound of water.’ ) And moving transversally forward to section 5 brings the reader into the desertscape where there is an intensification of the oppressiveness . The absence of water is emphasised through repetition: