Magical Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay Example

Magical Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude Paper Examples of Magical Realism Latin American roller where the enchantment of magical concepts Is Incorporated with realistic Ideals. It Is a genre In which magic and reality are not two separate and autonomous types of literature. Instead, the two seemingly conflicting writing styles are merged to make a unique and unwonted, yet familiar style of literary work. Various magical ideas ranging from flying carpets to floating up into the heavens are inputted into the daily lives of the Bundies as well as those who they interact with in Gabriel Garcia Marquezs book One Hundred Years of Solitude. It is not unusual to encounter the supernatural in this novel. Neither is it uncommon to find people, and even animals losing their sanity over what to us may seem like something not worthy of even bothering about. However, Macon, along with the Bundies, does not lose its sense of reality In such a way that the town and Its people retain their earthiness despite all of the unrealistic happenings In the story. Garcia Marquee starts off his novel with a flashback of the time when the town of Macon was still young. Gypsies, who are generally considered to be a magical people, annually return to this town to show its few citizens their inventions. They bring in items such as metal ingots that attract metallic items unseen for a period of time. Unheard of to the very first citizens of the town of Macon, it was definitely and invention that did not cease, but instead increased their curiosity. Nowadays, however, it is known that these two metal ingots were magnets. Still in the very first chapter of One Hundred Years of Solitude, a boy by the name of Aurelian Is born to Ã'Å¡Ursula Agrarian and Joss © Arcadia Buena. We will write a custom essay sample on Magical Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Magical Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Magical Realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He Is the first person to be born In Macon. Aurelian Is said to have wept while he was still In his mothers womb, and he Is also said to have been born with his eyes open. Babies cannot really cry whilst soul In their mothers womb. Babies also cannot be born with their eyes open. However, Gabriel Garcia Marquee is able to make it seem like it is actually possible to have these things happen in the real world. Perhaps one of the most commonly used examples of magical realism that can be found in this book is one of the existence of ghosts in the lives of the townspeople of Macon. Numerous times, the ghost of Pronounced Jugular Is seen by both Ã'Å¡Ursula Agrarian, and her husband, Joss © Arcadia Buena. At first, Joss © Arcadia Buena says that these encounters are Just because they cant stand the weight of their conscience, since Pronounced Jugular was killed by Joss © Arcadia Buena out of anger. This soon proves to be too much for Joss © Arcaded Buena. This final night that Joss © Arcaded Buena ever sees the ghost of Pronounced Jugular, he says, Its all right, Pronounced, were going to leave this town, just as far away as we can go, and well never come Dock. Go In peace now. (25) I Nils Is want set Tontine excursion AT several f Joss © Arcadia Bandits friends and their families. Ghosts are not unheard of to many, yet they are not a part of peoples live either. Many people do not even believe in ghosts or anything that has to do with the supernatural. Unusual to many of us these days, the idea of ghosts may be one that scares us or is even downright absurd. In the town of Macon, however, it may Just well be that ghosts are the townspeople. When the ghosts of Maladies and Joss © Arcadia Buena, along with the other ghosts are seen in the town, nobody seems to mind them, Just like no one else really minds the other citizens of Macon that are alive. The only ghost that is really paid any attention to in the story is the ghost of the gypsy, Maladies. Prior to the encounters with these ghosts, however, there was no death in Macon. People lived for quite a long time during those days considering the state they were in. It is this idea of the extremes that really allows for the reader to grasp the concept of magical realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Aside from living for quite a long time, the people of Macon also encounter the extremes brought upon them by nature. They go through a seemingly endless downpour of rain as well as a terrible heat wave that drives many mad. A plague of insomnia also causes the townspeople not to be able to sleep and in its more advanced stages, causes a loss of memory. Furthermore, outsiders, who the townspeople call gringos, shoot down more than three thousand of the people who work for their banana company. Yet, not one person in the village of Macon remembers this massacre. This is the magical part of the term magical realism. It is not really the enchanted fairy tale idea that many have conceived magic as, however. The magic, in this case, is how seemingly everyday occurrences (aside from the massacre) are made to be more than they really are. Maybe during the early years of the world, when the story of the Bundies happened, these occurrences were really plausible. But, being read many, many years after the story of the Bundies supposedly occurred, a great number of things has changed about the world we now live in. Rains do not last for five years. Heat waves do not necessarily drive people and animals insane. People do not Just forget about a massacre. It is this feeling of unusual, yet valid occurrences being larger-than-life that gives the reader a sense of something fantastic in their own world, as well as in the world of the Buena family. Where, and how, then, does Gabriel Garcia Marquee incorporate reality into the story? Reality can be found in the town of Macon itself. Although its citizens may react differently to situations that one might expect, the town itself is as close to reality as it can possibly get. The sense of community in the town is generally now different to practically every real community in the world. It is what holds its people together even when the people are tearing themselves apart. Reality in One Hundred Years of Solitude is also found in the lives of the townspeople. People in Macon are just like most people in the real world. They have a family, friends, work which allows teem to soups TN art messes. I nee nave run, out teen also nave times AT solemnity and sadness. Being this realistic, One Hundred Years of Solitude furthermore engages its readers, because they can relate, even Just partially to what is happening to the characters in the story. The success, then, of the use of magical realism in the story can be found through the various extremes of occurrences and their being relatable to its readers. It is because the happenings in the story are somewhat grandiose compared to what any may experience in their everyday lives that makes the fantastic so appealing. It is also how these fantastic experiences are made relatable by the sense of community and togetherness. Magic and reality are two seemingly opposing and contradictory words. Yet, when put together by a very capable author, stories familiar and unfamiliar at the same time can be presented to use. It is this intermingling of two genres that makes for an even more interesting plot in One Hundred Years of Solitude. What more can be said about the success of a book that has won the Nobel Prize?