British And American Magic Realism

Author

Instructor Name

Subject

Date

British and American Magic Realism

Magic realism is a genre of fiction that portrays reality by combining it with the elements of fantasy, and this unification results in the inclusion of mythical elements into the realistic fiction ((PDF) Magical Realism and Its European Essence). This genre shares proximity with fantasy, but instead of wizards and witchcraft tales, the former includes such extraordinary elements and events where a person can respond to such events as if they are real and ordinary. For instance, in Midnight’s Children, Saleem hides himself in the basket of the witch, Parvati, and holds his council meetings (Wani and Mehta, Magical Realism Reflected in the Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children).

The reception of magic realism in American fiction can be seen in Tony Morrison’s work of fiction, Beloved. In this novel, the elements of black folklore and the character of Beloved, reveal the elements of magic realism and link it with the slavery trauma and sufferings of the black slaves. According to Morrison, the use of magic realism as a technique in the Afro-American fiction enable the authors to gather their fragmented history and allow them to be the narrator of their past ((PDF) Speaking the Unspoken: Rewriting Identity Loss and Memory of Slavery through Magical Realism in Toni Morrison’s Beloved-Semantic Scholar).

The treatment of magic realism in British fiction does not involve collective or racial trauma, slavery, and postcolonial themes. However, it depicts a postmodern portrayal of Great Britain and turns the mundane memories of characters into the extraordinary narrative. For instance, British author Neil Gaiman’s novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane discusses the relation of the author and the imaginary character Lettie and the memories of a forty-year-old past surface again. This genre undeniably highlights the human suffering, recalls the unwanted past, and presents a distinct worldview of ordinary people by making it extraordinary and surreal.

Works Cited

“(PDF) Magical Realism and Its European Essence.” Accessed November 3, 2019. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315983851_Magical_Realism_and_its_European_Essence.

Wani, Shabir Ahmad, and Mani Mohan Mehta. “Magical Realism Reflected in the Salman Rushdie’s Novel Midnight’s Children,” n.d., 3.

“[PDF] Speaking the Unspoken: Rewriting Identity Loss and Memory of Slavery through Magical Realism in Toni Morrison’s Beloved - Semantic Scholar.” Accessed November 3, 2019. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Speaking-the-Unspoken%3A-Rewriting-Identity-Loss-and-Abdullah/17b91da6a0d646f14590aee1ed6888f4241c5146.