Magical Realism

Magical realism is when a writer makes the magical or the illogical seem realistic or normal. Alejo Carpentier is a magical realist novelist, especially in his book, The Kingdom of This World. This book is about the time before, during, and after Haitian Revolution and is filled with magical realism. This book is also similar to the country itself. Magical realism dominated Haiti in its past and present. This novel makes voodooism seem natural and realistic. Damballah, the snake-god, and Ogoun, the god of war, seem real in the ceremonies. Macandal, a slave on M. Lenormand de Mézy’s plantation, was not only a slave but a loa (spirit). Loas were summoned for several ceremonies to deliver the natives out of slavery and to heal General Leclerc, a French general during the Haitian Revolution. This book is published in 1949, written in Cuba, and is similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude. GGM’s magical realist novel is similar to that of Carpentier because the real and the unreal are both logical. Because we have all read the GGM’s book, I don’t have to list some examples.

Introduction of Marquez Paper-Religion

In the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, religion is just one of the many themes in the first seven chapters of the novel. Gabriel García Marquez makes Biblical references to the events occurring from the creation of Earth to the Great Flood. Although all the events occurring in Macondo do not follow the Biblical stories, the religious references in the beginning of the novel are meant to demonstrate the corruption of mankind. For example, the simplicity and innocence of Macondo is comparable to the Garden of Eden. The progressive corruption of Macondo is comparable to the increasing corruption in the Bible before Noah and the Ark.

Final Project-The Kingdom of This World (Part I)

The first part of this book is about a man named Macandal. Macandal is a Mandingue Negro who told Ti Noël, the main character, stories of the kingdoms in Africa. Macandal was the one who told Ti Noël the difference between the African king and the "white monarchs." To Macandal, the African king was strong, brave, a warrior, a hunter, a judge, and a priest. On the other hand, the "white monarch" was the opposite. Macandal's arm was amputated in an accident in the plantation. After his amputation, Macandal is given less laborious work. Macandal flees from the plantation and can't be found. According to the white masters, the word "Mandingue" means "intractable, rebellious, a devil" (21). Macandal's disappearance deeply affects Ti Noël because Macandal's stories are deeply missed. Macandal had fled the plantation, but still kept in contact with the slaves on the plantation and was living in a cave. I learned later in the first part that Macandal was a houngan, which is a male voodoo priest, and was responsible for the poison that attacked the plantation. Macandal was also the houngan of the Rada rite and the Lord of Poison. Macandal is able to metamorphose into any shape and size and is able to communicate with two of the biggest voodoo loas/lwas (spirits). After making a complete cycle of metamorphose, Macandal returned back to the plantation in his human form. When he returned, the white masters captured him and burned him, thinking that they destroyed Macandal. However, the slaves know that Macandal remained "in the Kingdom of This World" (46). When I first started reading the book, I tried to figure out how Alejo Carpentier was part of the "magical realism" writers, but based on the first portion of the book, I can see why. Carpentier makes voodoo, a religion based on spirits and is illogical, a part of the daily live of a slave in Haiti. Because voodoo is emphasized in the slaves, voodoo seems realistic or even "normal" in the setting of the book. The way Carpentier presents voodoo makes me think that it is something real and does exist, not just something that people made up.

100 Years in Solitude-Time (Part II)

I think that Marquez purposely makes time unclear maybe because he just wants to confuse the readers. Or maybe just because she felt it...but, somehow I get the feeling that Marquez didn't just go, "Oh, making time unclear would be cool to put in a novel. Let's do it!" But seriously, I think that Marquez purposely made time unclear to signify that time should not and cannot be measured or observed. The fact that J.A.B. is convinced that it's Monday at least three times is proof of that. In addition, Marquez changes the month several times. Maybe Marquez purposely made time unclear to demonstrate how time can't be calculated or observed. When the time machine broke, José Arcadio Buendía "spent six hours examining things, trying to find a difference from their appearance on the previous day in the hope of discovering in them some change that would reveal the passage of time" (78). Although José Arcadio Buendía spent hours trying to find something to indicate time change, he couldn't find it. His inability to find the change in time caused his insanity. José Arcadio Buendía's insanity supports the idea that Marquez wants to indicate to the reader that time can't be observed or measured.

100 Years of Solitude-Time

So, it's been a while since I've last posted, but I've really enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude. Time in this book is purposely out of order. I mean, Garcia Marquez starts out the novel with "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." Obviously, that statement is projecting to the future. The next sentence starts with "At that time..." coming back to the present. Marquez shifts from the past, to the present, to the future. Marquez doesn't clearly define the present, past or future, either. For example, both Melquiades and Prudencio Aguilar die and come back to the present. Oh, also....the dates seem to be the same in the novel. I mean, how many times did J.A.B. say that it was Monday, again? Oh, wait....countless times. Or Marquez decides to jump from February to March in two lines. What I'm curious to know is why Marquez decided to make time so unclear. He definitely succeeded in making it hard for the reader to make a chronological timeline as to what happened in the novel. However, I don't think that confusing the reader is his sole purpose. I guess I'll have to keep reading to find out :)

Biblical References

I think that there are some biblical references in the novel so far. For example, the creation of Macondo could be seen as the creation of the Garden of Eden. Macondo was also a very primitive town with no language and no corruption. The town was very innocent, just like the Garden of Eden. Jose Arcadio Buendia (J.A.B.) becomes even crazier when he is tied to the tree and becomes this crazy because of his quest for knowledge. Adam and Eve both realized that they are naked after they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. J.A.B. becomes insane when he attempts several of his "projects". Melquiades can be seen as the "serpent" in this Eden-like world. We all know that the serpent persuaded Eve into eating the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. In the book, Melquiades was the reason that J.A.B. went on his "quest for knowledge". One example is that Melquiades brought a "daguerreotype" when he came back from the dead because he couldn't stand solitude (okay...), J.A.B. decides to take the "daguerreotype" on a quest to capture God in picture. Oh, one more...Macondo seems to be ruled by more and more corrupt people...first, Don Apolinar Macoste, who rigs the election, then Arcadio, who is a dictator, then Ursula, who tries to bring back the town for its corruption but Arcadio comes back (whoohoo), then Conservative general Jose Raquel Moncada, who is executed and Colonel Aureliano Buendia takes over. With the exception of Ursula and Jose Raquel Moncada, Macondo is being governed by progressively crueler mayors. It almost seems to me like The Great Flood. Before the flood, people were becoming increasingly corrupt and straying away from God's Word, and so God got pissed off and decided to wipe out the corruption from the Earth and save those who were following His Word (Noah). I wouldn't be surprised if there was a flood or an Armageddon in Macondo because of the corruption that seems to be happening with the leaders.