Research paper on Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Magic realism

It is known that magic realism in literature is a wide-spread literary genre which combines real life and real people with different fantastic elements. Most literary works written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are focused on magic realism because the majority of her stories contain the elements of magic in real world.

Magic in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s story Handsomest Drowned Man in the World is based on the extremely large size of the handsome drowned man who completely changed the lives of the villagers. Magic is hidden in the uniqueness of the dead man’s size. The other examples of magic in the story include the changes in nature which are caused by the presence of dead man in the village, such as the restlessness and steadiness of the sea, the brightness of the sun, etc. The author says, “the sun’s so bright that the sunflowers don’t know which way to turn” and “the wind is so peaceful that now it’s gone to sleep beneath the beds” (Marquez 12). This story can be regarded as a funny story which gives an opportunity to evaluate the behavior and actions of the villagers who treated the stranger as if he was their relative only because he was unlike someone they have ever met. However, the story Handsomest Drowned Man in the World cannot be compared with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s story A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings which also represents the genre of magic realism. In this story, people meet an old man with enormous wings and call him an angel. The main difference between these two stories is concluded in different relation to these unique characters. In the second story, the old man with enormous wings is treated badly. The author shows cruelty, suffering and discrimination.

To sum up, both stories discussed in this paper are focused on magic realism. However, the author represents different ways of treatment of the people with unique or magic characteristics.