In literature, magical realism is described as a literary genre that incorporates mythical elements into realistic fiction. This particular genre explains how unusual and superficially unrealistic events happen in an otherwise realistic setting as described in the storyline. Many authors use magical realism to express a predominantly realistic view of the real world by revealing magical elements. This paper discusses the elements of magical realism that are apparent in the stories of the book Death Constant Beyond Love by Gabriel Garcia Marquez .
An in-depth analysis of the story enables the audience to identify different techniques that the author uses to express magical realism. In most scenes, Garcia makes a suggestion of possible stories that go beyond the one he is telling. He does this as he simultaneously develops an atmosphere that deepens a reader’s comprehension of the main character. One of this instances can be found in the scene that describes Senator Sanchez in his weatherless air conditioned car. “ Senator Onesimo Sanchez was placid and weatherless inside the air-conditioned car, but as soon as he opened the door he was shaken by a gust of fire and his shirt of pure silk was soaked in a kind of light-colored soup and he felt many years older and more alone than ever” ( Puchner, 2012 ). Here, the description of the atmosphere in the car can suggests a state of calmness but on the other hand it can be used to describe the senator’s allusion of serenity in an artificial setting. This scene is used to develop the inevitability of death based on the life of this character in the story.
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The author also discloses corruption beyond regional politics by using satire to develop the overall theme of the story. He does this by analyzing certain key characters such as Senator Sanchez. “The campaign speech, memorized and rehearsed, contains many promises and election rhetoric” ( Puchner, 2012 ). He emphasizes on the way the senator represents himself in front of the public, how he walks through the streets of the town after his speech. The writer focusses on the negative form of governance we have today and how this contemporary politics affects its citizens.
Magical realism is also evident in the scene when Laura goes to visit the Senator in his office. “While he was speaking, the senator had torn a sheet off the calendar and fashioned a paper butterfly out of it with his hands. He tossed it with no particular aim into the air current coming from the fan and the butterfly flew about the room and then went out through the half-open door” ( Puchner, 2012 ). This suspends readers into a state of disbelief as the event being described is utterly impossible. This is a form of satire and irony that the author uses as a means of poking the government and the senator for his corruption, hypocrisy, plagiarized speeches and false promises.
In Death Constant Beyond Love, the author makes use of magical realism as a means of unveiling the mysteries of death and the hidden stories within mystic life experiences. The use of these elements gives the story a magical touch that addresses the main theme of the story. Through magical realism, the author not only n arrates a story, but also makes his readers aware of consistent problems in the society.
References
Puchner, M. (2012). The Norton anthology of world literature . New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
