Magical Realism In Julio Cortazar's House Taken Over

by Julio Cortazar so unique? Is it the characters who do the same thing repeatedly over and over again daily? Or is it the house that was considerably enormous? Maybe the creeks in the house that add scares to the story?

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

“It wouldn’t do to have some poor devil decide to go in and rob the house, at that hour and with the house taken over.” (Cortazar 42). Fantasy elements like this one are widely utilized and encompassed in the short story called "House Taken Over" by author, Julio Cortazar. Cortazar incorporates fantasy in this magical realism selection into the setting and details incorporated, the way the characters act, main events and the unimpressed tone also expresses a magical vibe. He entangles this magical theme into the aspect of realism. Within “House Taken Over’” there is a balanced amount of realistic and mystical events and features.

Alex’s spookiest experience was when she was watching a t.v. show and it actually convinced her that a women could communicate with the dead. This is related to gothic literature because they both have supernatural elements. However, it's also related to magical realism because it was realistic but also contained surreal elements. Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of The House of Usher” is an example of gothic literature because it resembles a dark and mysterious plot. While Julio Cotazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of magical realism because the house gets taken over by Nazi’s, but seems as if ghost’s took over.

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.

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.

Obviously the most concise definition of magical realism is that it is the combination of magical and real elements. The magical elements that

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

Magical realism can broadly be defined as a style of literature in which supernatural or fictitious events occur in a mundane or realistic setting. The use of magical realism is seen frequently in Latin American culture just as it is in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate. This makes one ask "why is magical realism used? There are many extrusive reasons for these supernatural events to occur in a novel. Magical realism tends to immerse and draw the reader more into the novel due to the fact that magical realism makes a story much more compelling. Furthermore, magical realism is a manner in which the writer can easily display the characters emotions. This fictional novel is based on the story of the main protagonist, Tita, and the struggles

Countless works of literature have sentimentalized the house as a space of sanctuary; however, in time the house came to incorporate the mysterious also, as haunted houses allowed the supernatural to dwell alongside the living. Fictional narratives have long since utilized the house as a venue for character and situation to develop, dispersing opportunities for authors to bring symbolism and metaphor to their works. Julio Cortázar drew upon the house setting in his short stories “Bestiary” and “House Taken Over”, not just as a venue for his tales to play out, but as places that echoed the themes, character, and structure for the unusual could enter and abide. Cortázar’s treatment of the bizarre as a part of the natural family life of the house,

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.

In Donnie Darko, magical realism is presented since Donnie acts as if this mythical rabbit he is seeing is real and does not mind the presence of it nor does he feel intimidated by it. Nevertheless, the parents of Donnie find his visions strange and strive for results to end his madness. In Kafka on the Shore, magical realism is one of the most important and well known genres. Throughout the novel magical realism is present, shown in both Nakata and Kafka’s story line. “I know I should be amazed to see them, but somehow it doesn't seem weird at all. It's entirely within the realm of possibility ” (Murakami 221). This explains perfectly the use of magical realism and its appearance in the novel. For instance, when Kafka enters the forest and randomly finds two soldiers waiting for him to make his decision on entering or not. Another example is when Nakata talks to cats, finds answers from them, and makes a job to find the missing cats. Both of these events are impossible, but very realistic to the characters. The events are portrayed in a way that seem

Although there are many more to be named, the perfect example of magical realism in literature is The People of Paper. One reason why The People of Paper is an example of magical realism is through the fantastical events that occur. In The People of Paper an origami surgeon named Antonio creates a women of paper, who would be later known as Merced de Papel. After creating Merced de Papel Antonio dies from papercuts. Merced de Papel lost and clueless gets on a bus to go to El Monte.

The eccentric. The marvelous. These are just a few words used to describe the genre of ‘magic realism’, which is also known as ‘magical realism’ (the usage of the term, as well as its history, has been debated from the beginning, but shall be bypassed as it is an entirely different topic from what is to be discussed in this commentary). Although Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy”, others have also interpreted the genre in various other ways. However, the genre itself has a set of elements and characteristics that make them its own, which helps differentiate it from fantasy, as written pieces in magic realism are sometimes mistaken to