COLLECT YOUR NOTEBOOKS
On a new page write the title Magical Realism
(If you are absent, you will need to complete this background material.)
Magical realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. Magical realism is a part of the realism genre of fiction. Within a work of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world.
So what is magical realism, exactly? Let's start with realism.
1. What is Realism?
1. What would you consider to be an exact replica of reality in this paintng called "The Gleaners" by Gustave Courbet, list five items that you would consider to be an exact representation of reality?
(Of note, the art movement realism evolves with the advent of photograpy).
2. What is Magical Realism?
Magical realism is most often used to describe the literary subgenre popularized by Latin American writers in the 1950s such as Jose Martí and Ruben Darío. Though every work of literature in this genre varies in its content and style, there are some characteristics that appear over and over again.
a. The story must be set in
a realistic environment with magical elements.
a realistic environment with magical elements.
b. Part of the draw of magical realism is that it blurs the line between realistic fiction and fantasy by adding in elements like the presence of dead characters in Toni Morrison's Beloved
3. An example of magical realism.
The following paragraph is from the very beginning of Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize winning novel, Beloved, which uses the techniques of magical realism to tell the story of Sethe and her family as they are haunted by a daughter that Sethe killed on her flight out of slavery.
"124 was spiteful. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims.
The grandmother, Baby Suggs, was dead, and the sons, Howard and Buglar, had run away by the time they were thirteen years old-as soon as merely looking in a mirror shattered it (that was the signal for Buglar); as soon as two tiny hand prints appeared in the cake (that was it for Howard).
Neither boy waited to see more; another kettleful of chickpeas smoking in a heap on the floor; soda crackers crumbled and strewn in a line next to the door-sill. Nor did they wait for one of the relief periods: the weeks, the months even, when nothing was disturbed. No. Each one fled at once-the moment the house committed what was for him the one insult not to be borne or witnessed a second time."
4. When was magical realism popular?
Magical realism became popular worldwide during the "Boom Period" of 1962-1967 when Latin American literature took off internationally. During the 1960s and 70s, Latin America was in a period of political turmoil because of diplomatic strategies created by the Cold War.
Writers in the region became unified around a common desire for nationalization after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, when the eyes of the world turned to Latin America. One of the hallmarks of the Latin American boom and the popularity of the novels within this time period was the use of magical realism.
Since then, many authors from around the world have used magical realism in their writings, but the most popular works of the genre continue to be from the Latin American boom.
5. Is magical realism political?
It can be. When magical realism made the transition from a word in a book in Europe to a literary genre in South and Central America, it also made a transition from a visually responsive genre to politically charged literature.
6. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a magical realist?
Like most writers, Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote in many different styles and genre throughout the breadth of his career. Many of his novels, novellas, and short stories use magical realism, and he is considered one of the fathers of the genre.
7. Does magical realism exist in any other mediums?
Though the literary genre is certainly the most famous art form, magical realism also exists in fine art and film.
Magical realism is not considered an official genre in film, but many films contain elements of magical realism such as the presence of dead people and fantastical discoveries.
8. Art examples of magical realism
In your notebook, for each of the following images, list three items that are "real" and three that are "magical".
What are the realist components, as opposed to those that represent magical realism?
Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick
The Sleeping Zebra by Carel Willink
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In your notebooks, please start a new page titled The Very Old Man vocabulary.
There are 31 vocabulary words. We'll review them as a class. You will have today and tomorrow to choose 20 words and create insightful, grammatically sophisiticated sentences.
1. stupor (noun): a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility
2. ragpicker (noun): a person who picks up rags and other waste material on the streets for a
livelihood
favela- an impoverished
area
3. cannulae (plural); cannula (singular)are the tubular pieces that attach feathers to the animal’s body.
4.decrepitude (noun): the state of being old and in bad condition or poor health
5.chantey- a sailor’s song
6. furrow- a narrow trench 
7.senile (adjective): having or showing the weaknesses of old age
8. fugitive- a person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding
9.baliff-an officer
10. magnanimous (adjective): very generous or forgiving
11. stud- being bred for offspring 
12. catechism-a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and
answers, used to instruct Christians
13. decrepit (adjective): worn out or ruined because of age or neglect
14. impertinence (noun): lack of respect; rudeness
15. antiquarian- relating to or dealing in antiques
16. ingenuous (adjective): innocent and unsuspecting
17.primate (noun)- the chief bishop or archbishop of a province
18. supreme pontiff- the highest college of priests
19. prudence (noun): cautiousness
20. sterile (adjective): lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality
21. sidereal- coming from the stars think measuring time through the stars..
22. sacramental- relating to a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is
regarded as a visible sign of spiritual divine grace
23. papal (adjective)-relating to a pope or the Roman Catholic Church
24. penitent –(noun)a person who confesses sin and submits to a penance
25.hermetic (adjective)- relating to the mystical.
26. gale (noun): a noisy outburst
28. providential (adjective): occurring at a favorable time
29.warren (noun)-an enclosed piece of land for breeding rabbits
30. creolin (noun)- a disinfectant
31. myrrh (noun) a natural resin extracted from thorny trees and mentioned in the Old Testament
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