Magical Realism
In this unit we will examine the genre of magical realism and authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julia Alvarez, Isabelle Allende and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro among others. Magical Realism combines literary fiction, fantasy, horror, and drama to create a world all its own. As we work through this unit, I ask you expand your suspension of disbelief, use your imagination, and allow yourself to submerge into a world full of what-ifs.
Presentations:
A bit of background regarding Magical Realism's Latin American and European roots. Pay attention to the connection between art and literature, visual and written mediums.
Carl Sagan approached science from a poetic and philosophical point of view. As you watch this selection from The Sagan Series, examine what elements of fantasy, imagination, and wonderment he uses to describe solid, scientific subjects. This balance is the heart of Magical Realism.
Elements of Magical Realism
Fantastical: magical, unreal, supernatural events or people
Authorial Reticence: What information is the author withholding from us? What truths do characters in the story accept that a 'normal' story would explain? What questions are you, the reader left with?
Mystery: What do the characters seek to understand? What questions are the characters left with?
Political Critique: What political or social statement is the author making?
Use the following chart to track each story we read, and video we watch.
Fantastical: magical, unreal, supernatural events or people
Authorial Reticence: What information is the author withholding from us? What truths do characters in the story accept that a 'normal' story would explain? What questions are you, the reader left with?
Mystery: What do the characters seek to understand? What questions are the characters left with?
Political Critique: What political or social statement is the author making?
Use the following chart to track each story we read, and video we watch.
magicalrealismanalysis.docx | |
File Size: | 12 kb |
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez
March 6, 1927-April 17, 2014. Gabriel Jose` de`la Concordia Garcia Marquez was a groundbreaking Colombian author. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, making him the 1st Colombian artist to receive the honor and the 4th Latin American . His work has set the benchmark for Magical Realism and Fantasy. Not only a novelist and short story author, Marquez's prolific career included poetry and even screen writing.
very_old_man.pdf | |
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light_is_like_water.doc | |
File Size: | 29 kb |
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i_only_came_to_use_the_phone.pdf | |
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Writing Projects
Final Draft Prompts:
The Final Draft prompt is practice in the art of concise, focused writing. You will respond to one prompt per story.
Rough Draft -write a rough draft response of no more than 8 sentences. You must use textual evidence to support your thesis (quotes or specific examples from the story.)
Peer Editing - exchange papers with a classmate, or get a family member, neighbor or friend to edit your work. Don't discount younger siblings! Kids can be great editors.
Final Draft - rewrite your paragraph correcting your errors and strengthening your work.
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: The townspeople mistreat the angel to the point of cruelty. What is it about human nature that creates such a response to the unknown? Use the story to support your argument.
Light is Like Water: Marquez walks the line between the literal and the figurative in this story. What metaphor is this story illustrating? What is the moral of the story?
I Only Came To Use the Phone: People will accept and adapt to nearly any situation. What makes the protagonist accept and adapt to her imprisonment? What does this say about human nature?
I Sell My Dreams: Fortune tellers, dream interpreters, and other seers have been around since the dawn of time. Is this possible? Do we create a future from what the seer tells us? Or is there such a thing as second-sight? Use the story to support your argument.
The Final Draft prompt is practice in the art of concise, focused writing. You will respond to one prompt per story.
Rough Draft -write a rough draft response of no more than 8 sentences. You must use textual evidence to support your thesis (quotes or specific examples from the story.)
Peer Editing - exchange papers with a classmate, or get a family member, neighbor or friend to edit your work. Don't discount younger siblings! Kids can be great editors.
Final Draft - rewrite your paragraph correcting your errors and strengthening your work.
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: The townspeople mistreat the angel to the point of cruelty. What is it about human nature that creates such a response to the unknown? Use the story to support your argument.
Light is Like Water: Marquez walks the line between the literal and the figurative in this story. What metaphor is this story illustrating? What is the moral of the story?
I Only Came To Use the Phone: People will accept and adapt to nearly any situation. What makes the protagonist accept and adapt to her imprisonment? What does this say about human nature?
I Sell My Dreams: Fortune tellers, dream interpreters, and other seers have been around since the dawn of time. Is this possible? Do we create a future from what the seer tells us? Or is there such a thing as second-sight? Use the story to support your argument.
Creative Writing: Exploring Perspective
After you read A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, you will choose one character from the story whose unique perspective you want to explore. You will rewrite 2-3 pages of Marquez' story from that character's perspective.
*All events represented in the 2-3 page span you choose must be represented, even if your character is not a direct participant.
*You will write in first person (I).
*Everything you create must fit within the world of the story.
*Final product must be typed and equivalent length to the original.
*It is not acceptable to simply rewrite Marquez' words while inserting an occasional 'I", I am looking for a unique perspective on this story.
After you read A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, you will choose one character from the story whose unique perspective you want to explore. You will rewrite 2-3 pages of Marquez' story from that character's perspective.
*All events represented in the 2-3 page span you choose must be represented, even if your character is not a direct participant.
*You will write in first person (I).
*Everything you create must fit within the world of the story.
*Final product must be typed and equivalent length to the original.
*It is not acceptable to simply rewrite Marquez' words while inserting an occasional 'I", I am looking for a unique perspective on this story.
creativewritingrubric.doc | |
File Size: | 65 kb |
File Type: | doc |
The Poetry of Domestic Appliances:
Consider the following quote from Light is Like Water:
“This fabulous adventure was the result of an offhand comment of mine when I was participating in a seminar on the poetry of domestic appliances. Toto asked me how come the light turned on just by pressing a button, and I wasn’t brave enough to think twice about it.
‘Light is like water,’ I answered him. ‘You open the tap, and out it comes.’”
Directions:
You will be assigned a particular ordinary ‘domestic appliance,’ your challenge is to write a short presentation that demonstrates the magical, fantastical qualities of this object. This is a creative writing assignment; your challenge is to look at this ordinary, everyday object and then to use your creativity to imagine how something magical could come from it – much like this explanation of how light works. You can write a simple paragraph, a poem, a song, etc…whatever you choose.
Consider the following quote from Light is Like Water:
“This fabulous adventure was the result of an offhand comment of mine when I was participating in a seminar on the poetry of domestic appliances. Toto asked me how come the light turned on just by pressing a button, and I wasn’t brave enough to think twice about it.
‘Light is like water,’ I answered him. ‘You open the tap, and out it comes.’”
Directions:
You will be assigned a particular ordinary ‘domestic appliance,’ your challenge is to write a short presentation that demonstrates the magical, fantastical qualities of this object. This is a creative writing assignment; your challenge is to look at this ordinary, everyday object and then to use your creativity to imagine how something magical could come from it – much like this explanation of how light works. You can write a simple paragraph, a poem, a song, etc…whatever you choose.
lilw_poetryofdomesticappliances.docx | |
File Size: | 63 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Analyzing Maria: Character and Context Analysis
As you read I Only Came to Use the Phone, consider Maria from the point of view of the doctor and nurses in the asylum. What diagnosis are they likely to assign her? Is her diagnosis a self-fulfilling prophecy that ultimately leads to her wanting to stay in the asylum? Or was she always mentally ill?
This will the the precursor for a digital media project. Write 1 page that answers the following questions:
If you were the doctor at the asylum, what would Maria's diagnosis be?
Find at least three quotes or clear descriptions of events in the story to support your diagnosis.
What is the treatment? (you can do a bit of research for this bit, modern treatments and 1950's era treatment as well)
Final Product should be typed, 12pt font, spell/grammar checked, MLA format
As you read I Only Came to Use the Phone, consider Maria from the point of view of the doctor and nurses in the asylum. What diagnosis are they likely to assign her? Is her diagnosis a self-fulfilling prophecy that ultimately leads to her wanting to stay in the asylum? Or was she always mentally ill?
This will the the precursor for a digital media project. Write 1 page that answers the following questions:
If you were the doctor at the asylum, what would Maria's diagnosis be?
Find at least three quotes or clear descriptions of events in the story to support your diagnosis.
What is the treatment? (you can do a bit of research for this bit, modern treatments and 1950's era treatment as well)
Final Product should be typed, 12pt font, spell/grammar checked, MLA format
Dream Analysis:
In I Sell My Dreams, Frau Freida interprets dreams by looking past the obvious meaning and finding an interpretation in the hidden connotations.
For this mini-research project, you will keep a dream journal for a minimum of one week's time. In order to do this, simply, keep a notebook and pencil/pen by your bed. As soon as you wake up, you will write down as many details as you can. If you have trouble remembering your dream, start this earlier. We can train our brains to remember details of our dreams, but if it does not come naturally to you, you might want to give yourself a bit more time.
Step 2 is to choose any dream from the journal. Research the interpretation of the dream using dream vocabulary websites such as:
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/
https://www.dreamscloud.com/en/dream-dictionary
http://www.edreaminterpretation.org/
and myriad others you can find on your own.
Write a one-two page paper that analyzes your dream. According to the popular interpretations, what does this dream mean? Do you agree with the interpretation? Why or why not?
Your final product should be typed, 12pt font, double spaced, properly cited with an MLA works cited page, MLA essay format, properly spell/grammar checked.
Marquez Quote Analysis: Quick Write
Use the downloadable worksheet to examine quotes from the various short stories we have read in class. Follow the directions, analyze each quote and then choose one from the selection list to further explore.
Use the downloadable worksheet to examine quotes from the various short stories we have read in class. Follow the directions, analyze each quote and then choose one from the selection list to further explore.
marquezstoryanalysis.docx | |
File Size: | 56 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Digital Media Projects
Analyzing Maria:
Using the writing project that you have already completed, you will work in groups of no more than 4 (you are also allowed to work by yourself) to create a digital presentation of Maria's official diagnosis, evidence for said diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you work in a group, you will need to decide upon your diagnosis, Maria might be suffering from multiple maladies, but they cannot contradict each other.
You will use any presentation medium you choose: emaze, powtoon, google slides, powerpoint, prezi, etc..... I highly suggest a format that has online access so that you and your group mates can collaborate outside of class without being bound to a classroom laptop.
**If you choose powerpoint, you need to really knock my socks off, wow me, powerpoint is a bit tired, so I expect some serious skills**
You must use visuals to demonstrate your points and attract the interest of the viewer.
Your presentation must at minimum 4 slides or panels long (see me if this does not apply to your chosen medium).
We will present via gallery walk in class, and you will turn in your presentation separately after you have received feedback from the class.
Your presentation must include as closing slide, an MLA formatted works cited page that includes the story as well as any websites/resources you used.
Using the writing project that you have already completed, you will work in groups of no more than 4 (you are also allowed to work by yourself) to create a digital presentation of Maria's official diagnosis, evidence for said diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you work in a group, you will need to decide upon your diagnosis, Maria might be suffering from multiple maladies, but they cannot contradict each other.
You will use any presentation medium you choose: emaze, powtoon, google slides, powerpoint, prezi, etc..... I highly suggest a format that has online access so that you and your group mates can collaborate outside of class without being bound to a classroom laptop.
**If you choose powerpoint, you need to really knock my socks off, wow me, powerpoint is a bit tired, so I expect some serious skills**
You must use visuals to demonstrate your points and attract the interest of the viewer.
Your presentation must at minimum 4 slides or panels long (see me if this does not apply to your chosen medium).
We will present via gallery walk in class, and you will turn in your presentation separately after you have received feedback from the class.
Your presentation must include as closing slide, an MLA formatted works cited page that includes the story as well as any websites/resources you used.
analyzingmaria.docx | |
File Size: | 107 kb |
File Type: | docx |
presentationrubric.docx | |
File Size: | 98 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Magical Realism in Film
In class we will watch Guillermo Del Toro's masterpiece: Pan's Labyrinth. You will take careful notes using the Magical Realism Chart that was applied to every short story we read in class. You will be responsible for writing a formal, MLA formatted essay.
In class we will watch Guillermo Del Toro's masterpiece: Pan's Labyrinth. You will take careful notes using the Magical Realism Chart that was applied to every short story we read in class. You will be responsible for writing a formal, MLA formatted essay.
panslabyrinthanalysisessay.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
This film is set during the Spanish Civil War, hence is rated R for scenes of violence and war. You will need a permission slip in order to view this film in class. Even if you are 18 :(
Please note, the permission slip is a REVERSE permission slip, hence, you will only return it to me if you DO NOT have permission. If you do have permission, I never want to see it again :)
Please note, the permission slip is a REVERSE permission slip, hence, you will only return it to me if you DO NOT have permission. If you do have permission, I never want to see it again :)
panslabyrinthpermissionslip.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Please note that if you miss any of the class days in which we watch the video, you are responsible for seeing it on your own time. You can rent it on Amazon among other streaming sites for a minimal cost. You can also find it in old fashioned DVD form at Redbox or other video rental outlets. It is easiest, of course, if you are present for class on the days we view the film :)
Supplemental Readings/Viewings
There are many excellent examples of magical realism in literature and film. Here is a list of books and movies that you can add to your list if you feel you've been bitten by the magical realism bug.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel García Márquez, Gregory Rabassa (Translator)
4.03 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement of a Nobel Prize winning career.
The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel Garcia Marquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master.
Alternately reverential and comical, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.
Hardcover, 457 pages
Published June 24th 2003 by Harper (first published June 1st 1967)
The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende (Goodreads Author), Magda Bogin (Translator)
4.19 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies.
Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.
The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.
Paperback, 448 pages
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
4.31 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
Ted Chiang's first published story, "Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF.
Now, collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume.
What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.
ebook, 281 pages
Published October 26th 2010 by Small Beer Press
Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel, Thomas Christensen (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Carol Christensen (Translator)
courtesy of goodreads.com
Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit.
The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes.
A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her, so that Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.
Big Fish (film)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar® nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Erin Brockovich, 2000), he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup). Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie.
ScreenplayJohn August
ProducerRichard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
DirectorTim Burton
Actor
There are many excellent examples of magical realism in literature and film. Here is a list of books and movies that you can add to your list if you feel you've been bitten by the magical realism bug.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel García Márquez, Gregory Rabassa (Translator)
4.03 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement of a Nobel Prize winning career.
The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel Garcia Marquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master.
Alternately reverential and comical, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.
Hardcover, 457 pages
Published June 24th 2003 by Harper (first published June 1st 1967)
The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende (Goodreads Author), Magda Bogin (Translator)
4.19 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies.
Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.
The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.
Paperback, 448 pages
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
4.31 · Rating Details ·
courtesy of goodreads.com
Ted Chiang's first published story, "Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF.
Now, collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume.
What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.
ebook, 281 pages
Published October 26th 2010 by Small Beer Press
Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel, Thomas Christensen (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Carol Christensen (Translator)
courtesy of goodreads.com
Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit.
The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes.
A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her, so that Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.
Big Fish (film)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar® nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Erin Brockovich, 2000), he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup). Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie.
ScreenplayJohn August
ProducerRichard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
DirectorTim Burton
Actor
TED Talks
Throughout the unit, we will be exploring various, related, TED talks as well as other videos that further explore themes and content.
Throughout the unit, we will be exploring various, related, TED talks as well as other videos that further explore themes and content.