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The Third Bank Of The River

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Throughout Latin American stories there is the element of magical realism that displays the world in a different way. It combines fantastical and realistic elements, which make the reader accept the magical component and make it seem logical. It is a metaphor for escapism, helping people forget their problems for a little while and simply see this alternate world. It displays their real world problems in a different way, so that it seems magical. This idea of escapism is evident in The Third Bank of the River by João Guimarães Rosa, with the theme of a boy who makes up a whole new world when his father takes his own life. He tries to escape the problem by pretending that his father is simply in a boat, simply separated from them, instead of …show more content…

Even though he had a food supply, the father should’ve died during the time he spent on the river from exposure to the elements or from old age, yet he simply continued on. This was a sign that the world might not be real and shows how the son couldn’t let his father go. Whenever he would think about leaving, he would realize “Father, wandering alone and forlorn on the river, needed me”. His father should’ve died since his son was getting old with graying hair, but he didn’t since it was not real. The story distorted time, keeping the father alive even as his own son aged. His mind kept him there for his whole life, the force of his father drawing him in, keeping him where his father died in order to preserve the …show more content…

A river only has two banks, one on each side, and yet the name of the story is “The Third Bank of the River”, implying that this takes place there. The third bank stands for the different world that the father went to when he committed suicide. He crossed the river to the third bank, separated from his family, yet still with them in a way. It is named this because the son thinks that his father is still with him, simply living on the third bank, making the place his father is seem more real. This allows the son to continue with his illusion of a world where his father was still alive. It also shows symbolism, an element of magical realism, through the symbol of death. The symbol of death, the third bank, shows how the son must pretend, but secretly knows that his father is gone. He knows he will never be able to get him back, so his mind creates a story in order to cope with this

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