Hugo Estrada

Mr.Cook
Honors ELA
28 August 2014


Magical Realism
Magical realism is the genre of writing that makes readers re-read the last
sentences because it seemed a little odd. Authors use this genre to make ideas that are
thought to be impossible seem like they are a natural part of life and that it has always
been living among us. The author, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, is one of the authors who
has used the genre in writing. Magical Realism is clearly demonstrated in Gabriel
Garcia-Marquezs short stories The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and The
Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.
The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings has magical realism throughout most
of the story. He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man,
lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldnt get up,
impeded by his enormous wings (217). Everything sounds normal, the very destitute
old man and how he is too weak to get up, but then we get to the last part of the
sentence and it becomes more of a fantasy type of story. He is surprised and becomes
vain about his unpleasant appearance. He begins to talk about how its wings were
filled with parasites and were damaged by the wind. Pelayo and the people that lived in
the neighborhood began to doubt that he was an angel, even the priest. The angel
would not respond to any of the inquiries that the people asked him. Gabriel Garcia
makes it feel like they have already seen an angel before and that this angel does not
compare to the one they saw before. He is able to make it feel like seeing an angel is
not rare.
We are also shown magical realism in The Handsomest Drowned Man in the
World. The people of an island found something floating in the bountiful sea. Once
they recovered it they saw that is was a man surrounded by mud and scales. When they
cleaned him up, the women could not believe their eyes. They saw that he was very
handsome and robust, Not only was he the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built
man they have ever seen, but even though they were looking at him there was no room
for him in their imagination (248). Magical realism is seen here because one could not
possibly be able to see something in their imagination. After they saw him, they were
magnanimous toward him. They felt bad for him and the life that he might have had.
Magical realism has been seen throughout most of Gabriel Garcias stories. This
literary device builds events that are seen as something impossible to us. Magical
realism affects the tone because the reader feels entertained by a world that has these
kinds of events. Magical realism adds entertainment to the text that one is reading.
Therefore, it makes it an important technique for writing.