Magical Realism in the La Maravilla
Magic realism is a literary class created around the 1960’s in which fictional or magical elements are fused into a realistic setting and makes it appear as if it had been real all along. The term is now used to describe literary work made by Latin Americans.
The following are key elements of magical realism: Contains fantastical elements; The fantastic elements may be intrinsically plausible but are never explained; Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magical element; Exhibits a richness of sensory details; Uses symbols and imagery extensively; Emotions and the sexuality of the human as a social construct are often developed in great detail; Distorts time so that it is cyclical or so that it appears absent; Another technique is to collapse time in order to create a setting in which the present repeats or resembles the past; Inverts cause and effect, for instance a character may suffer before a tragedy occurs; Incorporates legend or folklore; Presents events from multiple standpoints – ie. alternates detached with involved narrative voice; likewise, often shifts between characters’ viewpoints and internal narration on shared relationships or memories; Mirrors past against present; astral against physical planes; or characters one against another; Open-ended conclusion leaves the reader to determine whether the magical and/or the mundane rendering of the plot is more truthful or in accord with the world as it is; Owns differing properties of magic and realism at the same time, while incorporating the two together often seamlessly.
In the long history of the Spanish conquest, different cultures from different peoples have come together to create a melting pot in the Americas. Due to this, literature from this side of the world has a Latin and Spanish taste to it. An example of literature of this kind is La Maravilla written by . Somewhat autobiographical, it tells about the life of young Beto who grows to live with migrant workers in the town of Buckeye in the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona in the 1950’s and 60’s. It describes much the sights and sounds of the colorful town of Buckeye where people slept in dilapidated old Cadillacs, It also tells of a prostitute whose legendary cleavage doesn’t come anywhere near her sad story. Beto was abandoned by his mother when he was just a young boy. He was left in the care of his abuelos( grandparents), Manuel , a Yaqui Indian and Josephina , a devout Catholic.
La Maravilla calls to mind notions on one’s identity, sense of self, culture and surroundings. The story revolves around Beto. He constantly finds himself in between his grandmother’s strict devout Catholic faith, his wheelchair-bound grandfather’s Yaqui Indian beliefs, customs and traditions and the various goings-on in the life of the many multiracial and varied residents of Buckeye: College boys-turned transvestites, Black Americans, Chinese immigrants and even poor White Americans. It is strange that these people come together despite their multiracial barrier. It was because of rough times that these different people arrive together in Buckwheat. Through tough times, the people huddle together and help each other out despite their differences.
This novel explores the deep desire of the people in this complex tale to conquer all their hidden demons and fears and to cope up with the difficulty in living in the city.. The novel is an intricate weaving of religion, culture and diversity. The book delves into the different lives of the people interconnected with each other. The symbol of La Maravilla in the story is a mythical blanket of marigold and also, the mythical dog of the underworld who rises up from the dead to lead his master, Mictlan, back to the netherworld. L Maravilla is a symbol of the fear of life and the interconnection between the two. That life coexists with death.. It is the cross, the knowledge carried by all who live in the farthest, dessert plains of America—whether they are of Asian, African, Latin or even of European descent.
Beto, the center of the story, must face the world without the guidance of his mother, who has left him for a better life in the glittery life in the great cities of America. As was said in the book, “Indians are history and Sunday is for football, not church!”.
The novel is the mixture of the colorful and wonderful life of the people in Buckeye, despite the mixture of races, a strong camaraderie slowly comes every time there comes a tragedy.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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