At the beginning of this semester, I realized that I have been exposed to magical realism throughout my life but by not giving it much attention or interest, I was not quite sure what it was exactly and what its importance was. Looking through the blog site, I found myself constantly clicking on more and more links trying to get a better understanding and being simply intrigued by what so many authors had to say about what it meant to them and what they were trying to accomplish with this kind of writing. One article stated that “it enhances the magic of the everyday world,” and that really stood out to me because for this author, the magic already exists, she is just taking it and pushing it with her imagination to its farthest potential. I’ve come to realize that magical realism can mean multiple things and it definitely doesn't fit inside a nice crisp box that can be fully understood. Magical realism can be an escape, for the author to explore the boundaries of their imagination, and also for the reader, to get caught up in another reality, much different and often stranger than their own. Magical realism can bring out negative reactions and make its audience uncomfortable. It has a way of blurring the line between reality and fantasy and also tests the boundaries of what can be said. I think we are faced with the uncomfortableness and boundary pushing with what is shown on the news today. Some of the things that are broadcasted are so disturbing that they can seem as if they aren't really happening in our world. Magical Realism does almost the same thing in making readers question what is real or isn't.
I love the way Hans Koning begins Naval Aviation by saying that when an artist paints landscapes based off of “forms and shadows he has seen in reality” (pg 72). As an artist, I can relate to that and it made the story that much more enticing for me to read. I am fascinated by art history and in the class I am in this semester, we have covered the art movement, Surrealism which was very honed in on the potential of the unconscious mind. This movement with all of the abstract shapes and figures help me to come to more concise understandings of the stories that we are reading and I have found a new respect for magical realism, being able to connect the strangeness of the stories to something that I love and appreciate. The fact that the narrator acknowledges the possibility that he could have dreamed up the whole story and his mind simply made it seem as if it really happened to him established the magical realism aspect from the very beginning. When they take off in the plane, and Bocartes is caught up in the happiness of flying, I believe that that could be a magical feeling that readers can identify with in many different ways. There are certain things like music, art, or interactions that can trigger an unexplainable joy in people and it was really incredible seeing it described in Naval Aviation. The excitement of being in the plane even temporally distracted him from his mission, taking him away from reality for a short period, but this world can be harsh and cruel and snatched him out of his daydream, back into his brutal reality with the prisoners. He compares the screaming of the prisoners to an injured horse as if there simply wasn't a human occurrence that he saw that level of determination to. The detail of this harsh treatment and high tensions make the story go beyond the comprehension of readers normal day lives, because not many people are exposed to that kind of treatment or horror of pushing men and women out of an airplane. Naval Aviation fits in with my definition of Magical Realism because as a human, I understand that life has a way of shaking you to the core and making you feel like you have no control, but this story crosses the line of surreal when the occurrences on the plane become so intense and gruesome that readers can not relate. Koning does an excellent job of providing just enough conventionality that readers can follow along and understand what the plot of the story is and even be able to connect to the main character through shared feelings or emotions previously felt, and then he takes it up a notch while still keeping the story captivating to read.
In the story, Bocartes is elated about the future. His new uniform is worn with pride and he even smiles at his own reflection, unaware of what madness laid ahead of him. In a way, Magical Realism seems to push and break the rules and restrictions of what is admissible to share with the public, even if it is made up. When Sargent Rosa begins his inhumane disposal of the prisoners, Bocartes is frozen in shock and numbly obeys the orders being shouted at him with complete disregard of his feelings against what he is doing. Readers are forced to read this as a unwilling participant, watching the prisoners being tossed out of the plane. Regardless of what crimes these prisoners committed to find themselves in this awful situation, this punishment barely seems equitable. The last prisoner’s cry as they were falling, sent Bocartes over the edge into a spiraling depression ending with him killing himself, and we are left with none of the exuberance that was described in the beginning. One thing in our society that is overrated and amped up beyond the realities of life is romance. Nicolas Sparks and other authors like him are constantly coming out with new movies that make females of all ages form a picture of how falling in love will be when in actuality, our love life is planned out by our God and not directed to be made perfect. John Updike does something similar in Cruise, with his characters Neuman and Calypso. They become fixated on each other as if they fell in love at first sight. Their passionate lust distracted them from their lives back home, but the glamor and perfectness soon started to fade away once they realized some of their differences. All of a sudden, they found themselves fighting and making compromises trying to make it work between the two of them.
Cruise did something that I have yet to see in any of the short stories we have read this semester and actually incorporated mythology into the story. Including Greek gods and goddesses in the story, gives many readers context and something to connect to. This incorporation makes the story go along the perimeters of my definition of Magical Realism even more because the references and comparisons to stories we all have cultural understandings of in one way or another. Mythology is widely studied and accepted but ultimately it is made up so the connections in this story make it go beyond the boundaries of real life. Without coming out and stating it in exact words, Updike tells us that the story is not a true encounter and readers are left to make their own assumptions about the characters.
Neuman’s inability to communicate how “the suggestion that one must be insane to be religious” offends him, fits into Magical Realism like a glove. He understands and accepts his feeling of resentfulness but is unable to put his finger on why exactly he has arrived at that conclusion. I believe that these stories as a whole have that very affect of the readers of this genre of literature. Readers are presented with characters who live lives similar to their own, who engage in regular day to day activities that they can either identify with or understand, but with this type of story, something is on the outskirts of normal, leaving the reader to come to their own interpretation and feelings towards what they have read. At the end of Cruise, Neuman and Calypso’s differences are more evident then ever, and the good sex is no longer enough to keep them in good cahoots. Their sarcastic comments and bold accusations push them apart making her unrecognizable to him. The people on the cruise who had become close and gotten to know each other shifted back into their own real world without any thoughts or hesitation of leaving those newly formed relationships behind. Humans often become so wrapped up with themselves that they forget that every single person passing them in the supermarket, working next to them, providing services for them, etc. have their own lives, and problems to deal with. The ending paragraph of Cruise sort of breaks the forth wall and calls attention to how we are bound to lose sight of those surrounding us as people beyond the “dim shapes and shades” (pg 93) that pass us by on a daily basis.
Micheal Valdez Moses makes a bold claim by saying that Magical Realism is a global phenomena but it is strangely fitting because artists all over the world explored this genre of writing, pushing the boundaries and incorporating fantasy in normal day to day life experience. The “exotic appeal” of the mysteries produced in these stories grab the audiences attention by paralleling them to what they are used to, making the stories unique. Magical Realism is incredible and slightly terrifying simultaneously, because it includes things that are relatable but also bring light to the extremes of imagination.
