Edgar Escobedo

Mr. Cook
Honors English Literature of the Americas
9 September 2014

Magical Realism is when magic elements are introduced to realistic ideas in
literature. Gabriel Garcia-Marquez advocated for Magical Realism and made it famous.
Although he did not have robust writing differences in his books, Garcia-Marquez is known
for bringing life to magical realism. 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.
There are many examples of Magical Realism in The Very Old Man with Enormous
Wings. The story is about a decrepit, old man who had angel wings that impeded him
from walking. Two example of magical realism in this story are when Garcia-Marquez
describes a, Poor woman who since childhood had been counting her heartbeat and had
run out of numbers, [and] a portuguese man who couldnt sleep because the noise of the
stars disturbed him (220). The idea of stars who make noise and a woman who ran out of
numbers, is a clear example of Magical Realism because stars do not make noise and
numbers are keep going on forever, and still there is a concept of real people having
problems.
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World also has examples of Magical
Realism. One example is when Garcia-Marquez describes the encounter between the
villagers and the drowned man. Garcia-Marquez writes,
When they laid him on the floor they said hed been taller than all other men
because there was barely enough room for him in the house, but they thought the
ability to keep on growing after death was a part of the nature of certain drowned
man (247).
The idea of a man being as big as a house is clearly an example of Magical Realism because
it is hard to believe that a man is as a big as a house. Another example of Magic Realism is
when Gabriel-Marquez states, [The villagers] thought that maybe the ability to keep on
growing after death was a part of the nature of certain drowned man (247). Magical
Realism is shown in this quote because the idea of a man growing after death is impractical,
yet the idea seems possible.
Magical Realism creates a frivolous tone, and creates the desire to keep reading.
Realism is an important aspect of this writing style because the goal is to write in a way
that realistic themes are intertwined with magical ideas which makes the impossible seem
possible.