By, W. Garrett Mobley
In realism, literature is an expression of what things actually are. With magical realism, using magic and fantasy, we get a deeper understanding reality. For this topic, teachers are encouraged to explore our realists, both magical and traditional, for how their expressions help us to review the topic of choice.
In “I Speak of the City” and “Central Park”, Octavio Paz shows us the expressions of traditional realism. Especially with “Central Park”, we are exposed to the raw realistic poetry that helps us to visualize the danger of the park at night; experiencing the world described vividly and realistically. In contract, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s fantastical “Death Constant Beyond Love” reveals a surreal township trapped in the controls of a corrupt politician who weaves social illusions with metaphors and double meanings. Both present us with choice – accept things as they are, as a warning or as sign of distrust, and take the necessary action or ignore the warnings to our peril.
Jorge Luis Borge’s “The Garden Forking Paths” and Isabel Allende’s “And of Clay Are We Created” show us through magical realism the power and importance of choice. How every decision forks down a new path and how we must apply those decisions with humanity.
Finally, with “Walking Around” by Pablo Neruda, we are cast into a ghastly terrifying world from the perspective of an individual who no longer feels like an individual and see the world through the horrifying eyes of helplessness and the difficult and magical choice not to become a monster and lash out.
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