Supernatural Elements in Like Water for Chocolate and the House of the Spirits

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

The title of this novel, Like Water for Chocolate, is also a simile for the burning passion Tita and Pedro had for each other. In Latin countries, “like water for chocolate” mean to boil water to the right temperature in order to make chocolate milk. Figuratively it is a metaphor for state of sexual arousal. Despite their true love for each other, Tita and Pedro had to restrain their feelings under the eyes of society. Their love is like the boiling point of water.

One of the spookiest moments of my life, was exploring an abandoned warehouse and the door slammed shut, an entire flock of birds started to fly at me. This scenario is similar to the traits of Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because it is a description of the eerie setting and events. Gothic Literature and Magical Realism are similar because they both illustrate ideas of suspense and mystery throughout. Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”is an example of Gothic lit because they have the people of the story have physiological problems and are going crazy.While Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of Magical Realism because it takes place in a realistic setting that includes ordinary details of everyday life.

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.

At first, the protagonist talks about the house that she and her husband were to stay at for a short while. She does not hesitate to describe what her first impressions were on the house because she states that it was rather strange building that had a haunted effect from looking at it. Not only this, but she also introduces her husband and physician, John. John is described as a person with “no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures” (Gilman 364). Not only is the narrator consciously observant of her circumstances, but she is able to think for herself and formulate logical claims. For example, Gilman writes about how the narrator is frequently seen as a schizophrenic, possessed, and absolutely insane individual whose mind only continues to deteriorate rather than an individual who understands the situation and can conscientiously create questions and thoughts about what she is experiencing. Greg Johnson writes, “Her experience should finally be viewed not as a catastrophe but as a terrifying, necessary stage in her

Gothic stories contain supernatural occurrences to incite an imminent feeling of darkness, and mystery. Using supernatural themes helps the reader become entrapped in the story, causing the reader to crave more of the story. For example, in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat in the short story Poe integrates the theme of supernatural by creating a dark and ominous

Lyn Di Iorio and Laura Restrepo in their respective novels have managed to provide an overview that how supernatural and mystical powers and entities can change the life and perspective of individuals. Both of the novels entitled as Outside the Bones and Delirium are having a similar theme of conventionality and ghostliness.

Throughout our time in class, we’ve studied a variety of authors and genres of short stories. One genre in particular that stood out to me is magical realism. Ann Charter defines magical realism in The Story And Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (Ninth Edition) as “fiction associated with Latin America that interweaves realistic and fantastic details, juxtaposing the marvelous with the ordinary.” Although magical realism originally began exclusively apart of Latin American history, it has branched out and become apart of many of our favorite stories and films today. On the other end of the spectrum is realistic fiction. These stories have a very genuine possibility of occurring in real life and are usually just an elaborate or

Charlotte Gilman, through the first person narrator, speaks to the reader of the stages of psychic disintegration by sharing the narrator's heightened perceptions: "That spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don't care--there is something strange about the house--I can feel it" (304). The conflicting

From the very first page of Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate it is clear that the real world in which her characters inhabit shall be greatly exaggerated. When Esquivel's narrator describes Tita as being so sensitive to onions that “when she was still in my great-grandmother's belly her sobs were so loud that even Nacha, the cook, who was half deaf, could hear them easily.” (Esquivel, p. 5) the reader encounters something at once refreshing, as is always the case when one experiences the supernatural where least expected, and yet ancient at the same time. While Esquivel could have attempted to tell her story, really the tale of a (mostly) unrequited love, in a straightforward manner, the casual inclusion of the extraordinary places it immediately in the tradition of magical realism.

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

Supernatural elements is something that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. These elements, such as religious figures and activities, ghosts, witches and anthropomorphized animals have been used to develop themes throughout literature. These supernatural elements are often used to outline the conflict within the plot and creates an atmosphere of mystery and suspense throughout the text, which establishes the gothic. Supernatural components leave us to question what is real and what is our imagination.

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.

Supernatural phenomena can be seen with a side where everything can have a logical explanation, correspondingly in “The Tell Tale Heart” all tormenting sounds and visions can be explained by the insanity the main character contains. An example of this is “It grew louder-louder-louder!and still, the man chatted pleasantly and smiled”(pg.94). This reveals that the clangor of the heartbeat was inaudible, according to the reactions the policemen gave. This is important in creating a horror story because though supernatural has a logical explanation, it increases the horror nonetheless. In addition, “For it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye”(pg.90). This reveals what has caused the homicide was the eye and not the person itself, in reality, the eye could have possessed normal characteristics but the psychotic intents the main character incorporates, perhaps, altered its appearance. This emphasizes the horror because

In her book, “Lies that Tell the Truth: Magic Realism Seen Through Contemporary Fiction from Britain,” Anne C. Hegerfeldt discusses modern authors who display elements of magic realism in their work, Angela Carter being one of the predominant figures. “The Werewolf,” by Carter, opens with a description of the setting, familiarizing the readers of a world occupied by the supernatural. It is described as an otherwise, “normal country… their houses built of logs, dark and smoky within,” however, the people believe that, “the Devil is as real as you or I.” It’s not only the belief of the Devil, but they fear his physical form, “the Devil holds picnics in the graveyards and invites the witches.” The introduction reveals the ordinary existence of the Devil, witches, vampires, and werewolves. It has become so customary that the townspeople, “put out small votive offerings,” to please them. The narrative begins with a young girl being instructed to travel through the woods, which is knowingly inhabited by dangerous creatures, to visit her sickly grandmother, equipped only with a knife for protection. While travelling through the woods, the girl is confronted by a werewolf, but manages to defend herself by cutting off its paw. After arriving at her grandmother’s house, she drops the paw on the floor, but it has turned into the hand of her grandmother, who is then exposed of being a witch. After calling for help, nearby