Bella Caracappa: Magical Realism

 In my English class, we read A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez, which is about an old man with 'buzzard' wings that is captured by the locals and serves as a form of entertainment and revenue for the people. The story brought to light the idea of magical realism when magical or supernatural elements in literature are presented as ordinary in relation to the society in which it is being written. In these types of works, the mystical aspect of the story is meant to reflect a more profound meaning and reflection of human life. 

In a quote from Márquez, he says, "People always praise my imagination, but I believe I am a terrible realist. Everything I invented was already there in reality."  This is ironic in the fact that his story deals with people with wings and those with supernatural talents. I believe this connects to the hero's journey through how the mystical aspects of stories were already there in reality, as the authors just added it to make sense of the absurd or teach the audience a lesson. For example, in most stories, the gods represent something like fate or some higher form of power, as they are meant to reflect people who often hold a higher status than the author/subject.


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