Aspects of Magical Realism

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Magical Realism qualities/features:
  • Fantastic elements juxtaposed with reality or ordinary life
  • Dream-like events/sequences
  • A sense of infinity. Stories play with cause and effect (plot), or time. Often there is a chronological disruption reflecting infinity.
  • Stories and/characters have a quality of the carnival-esque
  • Characters often don't react or notice supernatural events (they often don't question why something happens, but dwell on minute details). This lack of shock therefore transfers to the reader
  • Stories often have the quality of metafiction (rules of fiction are broken or self referenced)
  • Stories often include irony and symbolism
  • Metaphor is often made literal
  • Stories often have complex, labyrinthine plots
  • Ordinary life becomes "special" or "extraordinary" by defamiliarizing reality
  • Themes include: solitude, borders, change/transformation and are a mix of reality and fantasy

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