A Progressive Discourse on Magical Realism
Creative Connections
In Conclusion
Before taking this class, the term magical realism was a name distant to my learned knowledge. Throughout the course of eight modules, I have had the pleasure to see and read such magical realist works of art. After reading “The Nose,” by Nikolai Gogol, my mind could not come to terms with a central theme…
Eight- It’s a Wonderful Life
In the memorable Christmas film It’s A Wonderful Life, by Frank Capra, the audience follows the story of the charismatic small town hero, George Bailey, and his supernatural intervention of George’s guardian angel. George has a reputation of helping people and looking out for those who cannot always help themselves. After taking up his father’s…
Seven- Seasons
In the short story “My Life With the Wave,” by Octavio Paz, the reader observes a passionate love story between a man and a wave. Although the relationship between the narrator and his wave is never clearly stated throughout this story, it is evident by the first few paragraphs that this man has fallen in…
Six- The Empty Bucket
When reading “The Bucket Rider,” by Frank Kafka, we begin to see magical realistic stories written with intention and societal implications. This narrative divulges into story of a poor beggar desperately in need of coal to fight off the perniciously freezing air. While the identity of the narrator is never imparted to the reader, he…
Five- Time
When reading “Journey to the Seed,” by Alejo Carpentier, I was puzzled and flooded with thoughts. This story begins with a group of workers hauling away valuables from an abandoned house. A dark old man later that night begins waving his stick and then suddenly we are immersed into the story of another man’s life.…
Four- Childlike Faith
In the short story “Light is Like Water,” by Garcia Marquez, two brothers, Toto and Joel, learn to how to utilize light as a current like water and navigate its streams. In this story, the two boys ask for a boat, and upon winning their class prizes, their father buys them a boat to play…
Three- The Glass Tank
Dualism is defined as the division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects. When reading “Axolotl,” by Julio Cortázar, it was easy to see the dualistic phenomenon occur as the narrator imagines himself living as the axolotl to the point that his consciousness shifts from the perspective of the man to the axolotl…
Two- Direction
In the short story entitled “The Nose,” by Nikolai Gogol, the reader follows a sequence of implausible events starting with the barber, Ivan Yakovlevich, who discovers a nose cooked within his freshly made loaf of breakfast bread. Upon the initial unearthing of this nose within his bread, Ivan attempts to rid himself of the nose…
One- The Mirror
In the short story “The Aleph,” by Jorge Luis Borges, the reader follows Borges himself as he attempts to describe a supernatural event that took place in the basement of Carlos Argentino’s house. The majority of the story is spent explaining exactly how Borges came to be acquainted wit Argentino in the first place. This…
A Brief Introduction to Magical Realism
Magical realism is a term used to describe stories in which an author seeks to exhibit implausible or even supernatural events within the context of a realistic setting. This expression was first coined by Literature Nobel laureate, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Magical realism first gained acknowledgement in literature in 1954 by Angel Flores when describing the…
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Magical realism: A Creative Connection Project 