21st Century
World Literature
PRISCILLA M. AGATON
MASTER TEACHER II
Magic Realism
• “I learned that realism can come in all
shapes and sizes. The world is big enough
for different values to coexist.” ― Haruki
Murakami
• “Magical realism expands the categorizes
of the real so as to encompass myth,
magic and other extraordinary phenomena
in Nature or experience which European
realism excluded" ― Gabriel Garcia
Marquez
Do you “Really” Believe
in Magic?
An Introduction to
Magical Realism
Magical Realism
• a literary genre in which realistic
narrative is combined with
surreal elements
surreal= (very strange or unusual ;
having the quality of a dream)
Magic Realism
Hybrid - another word for magical
realism book/s
•mixes mundane life and fantastical
elements so seamlessly
•becomes something new and
exciting, and possibly a little weird
This means that most magical realism books
don’t follow a typical plot structure.
Magic Realism
• a work of fiction where
fantasy slips into everyday
life
• one of the most unique
literary movements of the
last century
The “Magical” Part
• The magical elements are a natural
part of the world.
• The magic in the story is often
strange (it doesn’t seem to fit in the
world as we know it) but is accepted
in the story.
Excellent magical realism = the magic is
seamlessly integrated with the real world
The “Realism Part
• Takes place in realistic setting
• Plot is realistic and believable
• Characters are very realistic and
deal with everyday issues
Elements of Magical Realism
• Transformation of the common
and the everyday into the
awesome and the unreal.
Example:
• An angel is found in a mud
puddle of the courtyard. The
angel’s wings have parasites.
Elements of Magical Realism
• dreams, fairy story, or mythology
combine with the everyday life
Examples:
• Some townspeople thought the angel
should be named mayor of the world or
at least a 5-star general.
• A man couldn’t sleep because the noise
of the stars disturbed him.
Elements of Magical Realism
• The frame or surface of the work
may be conventionally realistic or
even mundane.
• Examples: Townspeople, village,
flood, chicken coop.
Elements of Magical Realism
• strong narrative drive
The surreal elements do not
drive the story, only enhance
it.
Elements of Magical Realism
Dreams are described often in vivid
detail.
•Characters usually consider dreams
are premonitions.
•Dreams very often come true.
Elements of Magical Realism
• Fantastic or strange events that
intrude upon the situation
• Characters who seem unimpressed or
undisturbed by fantastic events
• An accepting or unimpressed narrative
tone/attitude that presents the
fantastic events as logical parts of life
Elements of Magical Realism
• Characters who seem ordinary in
seemingly ordinary situations
• Realistic settings that include
ordinary details of everyday life
MAGICAL REALISM IS A STYLE
• There’s a poetic
nature to the
prose.
• Not only is there a
magical element
in the plot, but
there’s also a
magical element
in the writing.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Colombian novelist
• His grandfather- general, a hero
and a great storyteller
• His grandmother- very
superstitious; filled the house
with stories of ghosts and
premonitions
• Nobel Prize for Literature
(1982) - fiction rooted in a
mythical Latin American
landscape of his own creation,
but his appeal was universal.
• books translated into dozens of
languages
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The story of the rise
and fall, birth and
death of the
mythical town of
Macondo throughout
the history of the
Buendia family.
• It is widely to be
considered
Marquez’s
masterpiece.
The Alchemist
Paolo Coelho
• The Alchemist follows
a young Andalusian
shepherd named
Santiago in his
journey to Egypt, after
having recurring
dream of finding
treasure there.
Famous Quote
“There is only one thing that
makes a dream impossible to
achieve: the fear of failure.”
Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel
The story of a young girl named
Tita who longs her entire life to
marry her lover but can never
have him because of a family
tradition in which the younger
daughter never marries but
takes care of her mother until
she dies.
Examples
Examples
Reference
Kandell, J. (2014, April 17). Gabriel García
Márquez, conjurer of literary magic, dies
at 87. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/books
/gabriel-garcia-marquez-literary-pioneer-dies-
at-87.html
