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Elements of Magical Realism

The document discusses magical realism as a literary genre that blends magical and realistic elements in a way that makes the fantastic seem ordinary. It provides background on the origins and characteristics of magical realism, noting that it is associated with postmodern and postcolonial writing from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Key characteristics identified include hybridity, authorial reticence, themes of the supernatural interwoven with the natural, recurring social and political aspirations, and the carnivalesque. The document also summarizes Ron Butlin's short story "Unexpected Events at Four o'clock in the Morning" as an example of magical realism that takes the idea of globalization literally through a street that shakes itself onto other world locations

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685 views3 pages

Elements of Magical Realism

The document discusses magical realism as a literary genre that blends magical and realistic elements in a way that makes the fantastic seem ordinary. It provides background on the origins and characteristics of magical realism, noting that it is associated with postmodern and postcolonial writing from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Key characteristics identified include hybridity, authorial reticence, themes of the supernatural interwoven with the natural, recurring social and political aspirations, and the carnivalesque. The document also summarizes Ron Butlin's short story "Unexpected Events at Four o'clock in the Morning" as an example of magical realism that takes the idea of globalization literally through a street that shakes itself onto other world locations

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Elements of Magical Realism in Ron Butlin’s “Unexpected Events at Four o’clock in the

Morning”

Magical Realism: Historical Background and Major Characteristics

The first impression about magical realism, a literary phenomenon that has undoubtedly
achieved great popularity and recognition nowadays, is mainly related to the term itself. The
synthesis of highly juxtaposed concepts, magic and reality, may pose huge difficulties to both
literary critics and voracious reading enthusiasts. The term itself is, of course, an oxymoron,
whose primary function is to merge seemingly irreconcilable concepts. However, this highly
acknowledged artistic style evidently represents a harmonious blending of these apparently
incompatible notions. As Hancock et al. state, magical realism represents “a narrative mode
where magical as well as realistic elements are merged together to foreground a hidden reality. It
is an unexpected alteration of reality. Here the magical and the fantastic elements appear as real
and day to day affairs” (2016: 19).
Bearing in mind the evident ambiguity in the very term, novice scholars in this field are
generally confronted with many contradictory critical attitudes. Magical realism is usually
regarded as one of the most significant features of postmodernist writing. Simultaneously, it is
frequently related to postcolonial writing due to the fact that it is prevalent in the contemporary
literature of the so called Third World countries (countries with colonial past like Latin America,
Asia, Africa, etc.) commonly distinguishable by exotic narrative tendencies. Though the majority
of literary critics would probably agree that this literary phenomenon points to multicultural
artistic experiences, certain critical views regarding its possible racist inclinations are
occasionally voiced. These discrepancies represent an inevitable consequence of the lack of a
“widespread definitional and theoretical legitimacy” (Warnes 2005: 2) of magical realism. Thus,
Warnes offers a rather plausible definition of this concept “as a mode of narration that
naturalizes the supernatural … a mode in which real and fantastic, natural and supernatural, are
coherently represented in a state of rigorous equivalence – neither has a greater claim to truth or
referentiality” (2005: 2).1
1
Another possible misunderstanding may appear due to the existence of two confusing terms, “magic realism” and
“magical realism” that are mostly perceived as synonyms. However, there is a strict distinction between the two.
Whereas magic realism refers to “to a technique of art and painting that attempts to produce the mysterious
References:
Hancock, Geoff, Franz Roh, Gunter Grass and Gabriel García Márquez. “CHAPTER-I Magic
Realism : The Historical and Conceptual Origin.” (2016), 19-59.
Warnes, Christopher. “ Naturalizing the Supernatural: Faith, Irreverence and Magical Realism.“
Literature Compass 2 (2005) 20C 106, 1–16.
Characteristics of Magical Realism
Hybridity
Irony Regarding Author’s Perspective
Authorial Reticence
The Supernatural and Natural
Themes
The idea of terror overwhelms the possibility of rejuvenation in magical realism. Several
prominent authoritarian figures, such as soldiers, police, and sadists all have the power to torture
and kill. Time is another conspicuous theme, which is frequently displayed as cyclical instead of
linear. What happens once is destined to happen again. Characters rarely, if ever, realize the
promise of a better life. As a result, irony and paradox stay rooted in recurring social and
political aspirations. Another particularly complex theme in magical realism is the carnivalesque.
The carnivalesque is carnival’s reflection in literature. The concept of carnival celebrates the
body, the senses, and the relations between humans. “Carnival” refers to cultural manifestations
that take place in different related forms in North and South America, Europe, and the
Caribbean, often including particular language and dress, as well as the presence of a madman,
fool, or clown. In addition, people organize and participate in dance, music, or theater. Latin
American magical realists, for instance, explore the bright life-affirming side of the
carnivalesque. The reality of revolution, and continual political upheaval in certain parts of the
world, also relates to magical realism. Specifically, South America is characterized by the
endless struggle for a political ideal. (source Wikipedia on Magical Realism)

elements of everyday life as clear representation of reality” (Hancock et al. 2016:21), magical realism is, as seen, a
primarily a literary narrative mode, employed to present “extraordinary occurrences as ordinary and mundane
affairs, by taking help of magical elements” (Hancock et al. 2016:21).
Ron Butlin’s magic realist story takes the idea of globalization quite literally, as a street in
Edinburgh shakes itself onto other world locations. But with this surreally inflected setting
comes troubling questions, about how Scotland is insulated from world events, how geology and
climate determine behaviours and psychologies and how much we can change before we are
unable to recognize ourselves. (Stuart Kelly, Preface to Headshook, p.8)

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