It is with such a unique, magical realism story that Gabriel García Márquez is able subtly convey themes involving the foils of mankind to his audience. His story invites the reader to search for those deeper aspects within the text and try applying them to their own lives. Whether they discover that they should strive to be more compassionate, avoid being stereotypically superficial individuals, or do not read anything into the writing, the audience will undoubtedly enjoy Márquez’s superb skills as one of the best storytellers of the twentieth…
Aynne McAvoy’s childhood was unlike any other. Growing up in a family of five, her family moved closer to her grandparents for extra support as her father was often away for business. Quite a lot of history was left within the 50 year old house. In this article, McAvoy goes into depth of the mysteries encountered at the house, such as: apparitions, mysterious noises, and furniture shaking. As many people believe the paranormal are false accusation, McAvoy’s article shows a great amount of pathos, background evidence, along with an extraordinary amount of well-structured language and composition that draws you into believing her stories as you continue to read.…
Jorge Borges and Julio Cortazar use magical realism to aid the reader reveal new aspects of reality. In the tales “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Borges and “Letter to a Lady in Paris” by Julio Cortazar.The use of magical realism aids the reader develop deeper understandings of the subjects in the work.…
8. After his first interactions with the natives, Columbus believes that “they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means”, and mentions that they mean even readily accept Christianity as they appear to have no religion.…
Bartolome de las Casas came to the Indies for the same reason as all the other conquistadors: money, fame, and gold. It is what he did and who he chose to become after the arrival that made him different from the others. He went through a great transformation and devoted his life fighting for equality of the natives. For this reason, I do not agree with the idea that Bartolome de las Casas was just as negative of an impact on the Natives’ lives as the worst conquistadors.…
To underline another significant point, these native Indians are totally defenseless, and vulnerable to every single dangerous attack by the Spaniards. When Indians flee to mountains, these inhuman, cruel Spanish captains pursue them with fierce dogs to attack and tear them into several pieces. In addition to that, if Indians kill only one Christian, they would kill a hundred Indians in return. This is the misconception of our modern times that one individual feels himself superior to other, this one to that, that one to this; thus there occurs hierarchical relationships which can not be changed easily.…
Imagination, Reason, and Fear Everyone has been introduced to fear at least once in their life. In “House Taken Over,” Julio Cortazar explains the outrageous precautions the narrator and his sister, Irene, go through due to his imagination complicating a noise he hears in his house. Imagination overcomes reason when one is full of fear.…
Magical Realism is the acceptance of magical elements The magical realism genre contains a plethora of underlying themes, it subtlety depicts how society treat the unknown and third world countries. Reading the stories is as if the reader is a pair of eyes in the sky watching the plot unfold, it seems that the view of the people can often be swayed by the view of a person in a higher class or level of respect. All these ideas can be found in the magical realism genre. Stories such as, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Marquez, and The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami cover large topics, such as, the treatment of third world countries and the unknown.…
After reading the short text called “A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” by Bartolomé de Las Casas, I was surprised at the brutality and coldheartedness of the Spaniards towards the Indian natives. I knew that they did some horrible things from previous history classes and what not, but actually reading about some of the specific things they did was a bit hard to take in. An example of this is the following quote: “And thus pregnant and nursing women and children and old persons and any others they might take, they would throw them into the holes until the pits were filled, the Indians being pierced through by the stakes, which was a sore thing to see, especially the women with their children.” Throwing defenseless and harmless…
My immediate response to Las Casas’ account was one of sorrow, dread, and horror. I cannot even express in words the emotions that ran through my mind and soul as I read this terrifying report exposing the truth of our country’s beginnings. My voice cracked as I read aloud Las Casas’ words, and I felt myself holding back tears as a roar against injustice raged within me. I wish I could believe Las Casas was a liar, but his brutal honesty wipes away every possible doubt.…
The genres are different because the houses and setting are not similar. Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the house of Usher” an old friend of the Ushers’ come to visit them in their mansion. But when he does visit, something strange happens. For instance, “And now, some days of bitter grief having elapsed, an observable change come over the features of the mental disorder of my friend.” (24) This is different than Julio Cortazar's “House taken over” because the characters do not go crazy. This is proven when the house is getting taken over the sister says,”In that case,” she said, picking up her needles again, “we’ll have to live on this side.”(40)…
The word “fantasy” conjures images of free-spirited pixies, magical creatures, new worlds, and ideas of magic that do not exist in the world as we know it. Our association with fantasy lumps it together with escapism, the idea that we can leave our world for a fantastic one. But as literary theorist Rosemary Jackson points out in her work, Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion, the realm of the fantastic is often a mirror of our own, dealing with the social and political issues that we are faced with today. However, she argues that many works of popular fantasy literature often fail to highlight the social and political issues within them because they provide an ending that does not…
In the story the author used both reality and fantasy ( the supernatural being that took over the house) to create a sense of eeriness. The characters spend their days doing normal things like cleaning and knitting, and acting like absolutely nothing is wrong, which is an example of a recognizable character. Everything in the house is according to the narrator, “nothing special”, which is a great example of one of the key elements, a realistic setting. While the characters are acting as nothing is wrong, a supernatural being is beginning to take over the house, and eventually completely takes over the entire house. Throughout the entire story the characters keep an uninterested tone, they always seem to be calm. The author’s use of these elements in the story helps it to be an excellent example of the Magical Realism…
‘The lure of the real’ (Bogan,A.2006) and the ‘power of the fantastic’ (EA300,Block 4) are used to create dramatic effect and depth to narratives, in interesting and diverse ways. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive. When the real and the fantastic combine, truly delightful and often informative, stories are created. Novels differ in their proportional use of realism and fantasy. Realism is commonly used to convey a sense of believability, to give gravitas to characters and to enable a child reader to understand through the presentation of the familiar and recognisable. Fantasy can be viewed as a “departure from consensus reality.” (Hume cited in EA300. Block4.p169). This could exist in the form of imaginary play, dreams, unworldly creations or literal impossibility. This essay will concentrate on Swallows and Amazons and Tom’s Midnight Garden. Each text has different approaches to the use of reality and fantasy. However, they convey similar themes and messages through various presentations of ‘the real’ and ‘the fantastic.’…
Throughout the plot there are many instances where Alyson Noel brings fantasy genre elements into her writing. First, fantasy is characterized by supernatural elements in the construction of the plot or the configuration of characters (Gaydosik). In the story, a girl named Ever endures a traumatic event that changes her life forever. She loses her family in a car accident that leaves her in the hospital. When she wakes up in the hospital, she notices that everyone around her has an aura, that every live being has swirls of colours emanating from their body. Before the accident she did not know they existed and definitely could not see them. "But from the moment I woke in the hospital, I noticed colour everywhere...And by the time I started hearing thoughts, getting life stories by touch, and enjoying regular visits from my dead sister, Riley, I knew better than to share" (Noel 11-12). Ever wakes up in the hospital with new abilities. Throughout the story Ever has to learn to deal with her new abilities and has to learn to adjust to her new life without her sister and parents. Second, in…