Magical Realism

[suomynonA No.1151230]

Please help me by getting a topic started for a paper on magical realism. It can be anything. thanks in advance /lit/

Also, discuss the book if you choose.

[suomynonA No.1151245]

self bumping...

[Anonymous No.1151244]

magical realism is the pretentious south american way of saying fantasy

that could be your thesis. be sure to define the terms you use

[Anonymous No.1151248]

Philip K. Dick, gnose and magical realism.
There's your paper.

[suomynonA No.1151250]

>>1151244
I have to write a story, sorry. That's what I meant to put. Any story topics?

[Anonymous No.1151257]

not /homework/

[suomynonA No.1151262]

I know, I'm just trying to get a head start. My mind is going blank. I would post on /b/ but then I know I'd get stupid answers like "write a story about traps doing magik" or something.

[None !UyhAEqbnp. No.1151271]

Well. I can do an EBSCO host search if you want

[Anonymous No.1151277]

wow
i've actually read that book, i didn't know it was /lit/ worthy

or maybe you're trolling

i liked it a lot though

[Anonymous No.1151279]

Wow OP, you're in luck - magical realism just so happens to be my literary field!
I've got to say though, I'm not doing your homework for you but I will help steer you in a decent direction if you wish.
First off, do you really have to use "Like Water for Chocolate"? I know it's a book that comes up often in discussions of magical realism, but in my opinion it is hardly a shining example. If you must use something Latin-American then either Marquez or Borges is your man.

Personally though, whenever anyone asks me to recommend some magical realism, I always point them towards the same author - Angela Carter. Once you've read "Nights at the Circus" and "Wise Children" you'll wonder why anyone still writes in the mode of realism.

I can't help any further until I know exactly what you're after, but I hope this was helpful anyway!

[suomynonA No.1151280]

>>1151277
It isn't, I just thought that I would post an example.

[Anonymous No.1151281]

Got any guidelines for your thesis, OP? I'm writing a research paper on magical realism too, but my thesis is probably going to focus on Gabriel Garcia Marquez in some way.

I have access to a good number of databases if you want me to run a search for you on something. EBSCO, Gale, ProQuest etc.

[Anonymous No.1151283]

the tumultuous relationship between dexter and moloch and its long-term effects on astor and cody

[Anonymous No.1151286]

>>1151262
>traps doing magik

dohoho... I don't know if you're aware but it's been done (and done fucking well, at that).
Pic related.

[suomynonA No.1151288]

>>1151279
I have to write a short story on any topic, just as long as I apply magical realism to the story. can you help there? And thank you

[Anonymous No.1151293]

>>1151281
>I'm writing a story
whoops missed that.
Read some stuff of Marquez, Borges, etc. Notice the way they develop their stories and describe things, etc. etc. that make them different from realist, surrealist, etc. fiction.
I love magical realism. Writing a story using it is far more fun than writing a research paper, IMO.

[Anonymous No.1151304]

is Murakami considered magical realism?

[suomynonA No.1151305]

>>1151293
Thanks, here's what the assignment says:
Write a story and apply the style of Magical Realsim to what you write. Choose an emotional event from your life or make up an event. Use the true event and add a magical, fanastic aspect to the story.

[Anonymous No.1151307]

>Ctrl+F Cort
>No results found

>>1151244
Yet the term was coined by some German guy in the 1920s.

---

You should check Cortázar.
Borges didn't like the label mainly because he didn't believe in 'realism' as a literary genre, so you could say he was opposed to it.

[Anonymous No.1151317]

>>1151288

I can help a little I guess. How much do you know about magical realism?
It's a pretty tricky literary mode to nail down, as works that get labelled 'magical realism' very often have little in common.
Generally speaking, the mode is used to present realistic environments, often domestic, infused with the inexplicable; the major factor behind magical realism is that these 'irreducible elements' must always be presented in a matter-of-fact, unexplained manner.

Is that much help so far, or did you know all that already?

[Anonymous No.1151334]

>>1151307
>some German guy in the 1920s.

Franz Roh in 1925 to be exact, though it's worth pointing out that he was talking about a school of post-expressionist painters rather than a literary movement, the beginning of which is indeed most often accredited to Latin-American writers.

Your point still stands though; the guy you were replying to is dead wrong - magical realism is quite unlike fantasy, however you look at it.

[Anonymous No.1151345]

>>1151307
Btw, there's a great book by Emir Rodriguez Monegal titled (excuse my shitty translation): "Magical realism vs. fantastic literature: a dialogue of the deaf", in which the differences between each genre or point of view so to speak, are discussed. But I think it's only been published in Spanish.

[Anonymous No.1151353]

>>1151334
Right. /lit/ usually confuses something 'fantastic' with plain fantasy.

[Anonymous No.1151387]

>>1151317
Completely wrong.