Magical realism
Assignment
Name: Maheta Arati R.
Class: M.A.-2
Semester: 4th
Roll No: 2
Paper: 13 The New Literature
Topic: Elements
of Magic realism in Harry Potter
Guided by: Dr.
Dilip Barad
Batch: 2013-15
Year: 2014-15
Something about writer
& Book
She was born 31july 1965 at Yate, Gloucestershire , England
She is a British novelist
best known for her work like Harry Potter fantasy series. This book have gained
worldwide attention, and also won lots of awards, and sold more then 400 millions copies. And her series have become the best selling book series in history and
this series is adapted in movie.
These series have 7 books
like
1)
Harry Potter and the Philosophers’ stone
2)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret
3)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire
5)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6)
Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince
7)
Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows
This
series is now a global brand and last 4 books have consecutively set records as
the fastest selling books in history. The series totaling like 4,195 pages and
has been translated n whole or in part into 65 languages.
What
is Magic realism?
Magical realism, magic realism or
marvelous realism is literature, painting, and film that while encompassing a
range of subtly different concept, share in common an acceptance of magic in
the rational world. Of these three terms Magical Realism is the most commonly
used and refers to literature in particular that portrays magical or unreal
elements as a natural part in an otherwise realistic or mundane environment.
Matthew Strecher
defines this term as ‘’ what happens when a highly detailed realistic setting
is invaded by something too strange to believe. Magical realism is often
associated with Latin American Literature particularly authors including Gabriel
Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. This term was first appeared in 1955 and the
term Magischer Realismus translated as magic realism and this was first used by
German art critic Franz Roh in 1925.
To know more about Magical Realism Watch this video
To know more about Magical Realism Watch this video
Characteristics
of Magical Realism
Fantastical
elements:
Magical Realism portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone. it
brings fables, folktales, and myths into contemporary social relevance. Fantasy
traits given to characters, such as levitation .telepathy and telekinesis help
to encompass modern political realities that can be phantasmagorical.
Real world setting: The existence of fantasy elements in real
world provides the basis for magical realism. Writers don’t invent new words
but reveal the magical in this world as was done by Gabriel Garcia Marquez who
wrote the seminal work of the style. One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Authorial reticence: Authorial reticence is the ‘’ deliberate
withholding of information and explanations about the disconcerting fictitious
world. The narrator is indifferent a characteristic enhanced by this absence of
explanation of fantastic events, the story proceed with ‘’ logical precision’’
as if nothing extraordinary took place.
Plenitude,
Hybridity, Meta fiction, Heightened awareness of mystery, political critique
etc...
The Harry Potter
novels, since the publication of the first book of the series in 1997, have become
the leading book purveyors of all time, making the creator J K Rowling probably
the highest earning author in the history of erudition. Observing the
popularity and the appeal of the series, one might question the explanations
for such a colossal recognition. One of the possible answers to such an enquiry
would be the blend of magic and reality that Rowling has created through her
language.
The
books with the powerful tool of ‘magic’ turn common, ‘real ’themes and things
into something wonderful and appealing. The intermingling of these two elements
make the readers relate to the story and yet experience the fantastical within the
mundane.
Magic realism is understood
as a concept of the “mystery [that] does not descend to the represented world,
but rather hides and palpitates behind it” (Roh 15) and, in Salman Rushdie’s
words, it is the “co-mingling of the improbable and the mundane” (Rushdie 9).
The most pertinent feature of magic realism, for instance, “is that its fiction
brings together the seemingly opposed perspectives of a pragmatic, practical
and tangible approach to reality and an acceptance of magic and superstition
into the context of the same novel.
The distinctive feature
of magic realism is that it coalesce the two divergent phases of an oxymoron,
the magical and the real, bound collectively, to forge a new vista. Like
bricolage, because it collapses the peculiarity between the normally disparate
ideas of the magical and the real, magical realism mostly is deemed to be a
“disruptive narrative mode”. Especially on the basis of this ground, it can be
said that “magical realism is a mode suited to exploring…and transgressing…boundaries,
whether the boundaries are onto logical, political, geographical, or generic the
magic realist narrative style is also ruminated by existing magical realist
critics like Amaryll Canady and defined as a liberal and acquiescent variant of
fiction. The array of magical manifestations in magic realist works include,
unexplained Disappearances, the sudden appearances of ghosts, visions and
miracles, super human talents and bizarre ambiences but does not include the
kind of scientific magic display as often seen and enjoyed in a commercial
magic show. Evocative ‘magic’ is shown by ruses that display the uncanny
illusion of a remarkable occurring, while in magic realism it is presumed that
a Remarkable event has categorically taken place.
Magic realism blends
realism and the fantastical in such a way that the marvelous is seen to evolve
organically from within the creases of the ordinary, thus distorting the difference
between them. Further, that mishmash of realistic and bizarre narrative,
“together with the inclusion of different cultural traditions, means that magic
realism reflects, in both its narrative mode and its cultural environment, the
hybrid nature of much postcolonial society”
Characteristics of Magic Realism Fiction works
As a
basis for investigating the nature and cultural work of magical realism, Wendy
B Faris provides five chief features of the style. First, the magic realist
work employs an “Irreducible element” of magic; second, the narratives in
magical realism, picture the dominant presence of the phenomenal world; third,
the reader of the work, might experience some disconcerting doubts in the endeavor
to resolve two opposing strain of events; fourth, the stylistic mode reconciles
multiple realms; and, finally, magical realism distorts common understanding of
time, space, and identity. “Irreducible element” refers to an aspect which cannot
be fruitfully understood based on the natural laws of the universe as they
might have been created in Western empirically forged discourse, that is,
according to “logic, familiar Knowledge, or received belief,” as David Young
and Keith Hollaman describe it.
Elements
of Magic Realism in Harry Potter Novels
This series is begin with
professor Dumbledore and his wait for Hagrid and some secret talks about Harry
so we can see that this series presents the story of maturation of a child
protagonist. The use of themes common to children’s literature, and the fantasy
elements lead many scholars and critics to dismiss the Harry Potter series
simply as popular literature. Critics who are unfamiliar with the genre may
argue that children’s literature, the Harry Potter books in particular, is
filled with simplistic writing, but more importantly, they contend that
merchandising and movie rights drive the popularity of the work instead of its
literary value. In recent years, however, the accusation that the Potter series
is solely a commercial enterprise has begun to subside. A growing number of
university presses and scholars are now producing essays and books illustrating
the literary value of the novels. More colleges and universities offer literature,
philosophy, and theology courses centered on the series, ranging from Alabama , Kansas State , and Oklahoma
to Georgetown
The Harry Potter
novels deal not only with the raging issues of inequality, but also of the
ideas of multiculturalism. Class inequity, unfairness against ‘mud bloods’ and bigotry
against non-human species like elves are fraught in Hogwarts and the
wide-ranging wizarding community.
Themes like the ones discussed, project what might be termed as the
moderately globalized character of Harry Potter’s world. Several respective
subdivisions of the Ministry of Magic engage themselves with policing imports
and other magical laws. The Ministry, for example, sets criterions for cauldron
thickness in order to avert risky and inferior goods from being engulfed in the
market. International committees and legal rules govern different aspects of
wizarding behavior. The Triwizard Tournament which is the most integral trigger
of the actions of the fourth book, Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire, focuses to create ties “between young
witches and wizards of different nationalities” (Rowling83) — like modern day
Olympics only with flying broomsticks and flickering, different sized balls.
The primary
characteristics of magic realism fiction as described by Faris and Parkinson
operate in the Harry Potter series at different levels. Like most magic realism
novels the Harry Potter series begin with a realistic setting from a house,
number 4 Private Drive, Little Winging, Surrey. With a family of three, Vernon,
Petunia and their son Dudley, giving shelter to their unwanted orphan relative,
Harry Potter. Everything seems perfectly “normal” and “real” until the family
visits the zoo and Harry quite unknowingly makes a glass vanish thus setting
free a boa constrictor. What follows is like a jolt of magic on a seemingly real
Setting, with Harry discovering that he is a wizard and is on his way to Hogwarts School
Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Based on the fact
that magic realism fiction should have the element of “irreducible” magic which
cannot be clarified by stereotypical notions of natural law it can be said that
the entire Harry potter series is abundant with elements of ‘unnatural’ magic.
However, the author creates a magical world where the use of magic becomes
natural and expected. Magic is woven into real elements. There is a ‘real’ bank
where people keep their money but it is controlled by’ magical’ goblins and is
protected by a dragon. There is a train, Hogwarts Express, which leaves from
the real London King’s Cross but in order to get into it one has to walk directly
into the concrete wall between the real platforms 9 and 10 to get to the
magical platform 9 ¾from where the train can be boarded. The students of
Hogwarts are divided into houses just like any real school but the sorting is
done through a magical Sorting Hat which assesses students by looking into
their heads when placed on it.
The
Hogwarts castle looks perfectly real except for the magical staircases which
move randomly and pictures on the wall are not still and the ceiling of the
great common hall is made to look like the real sky outside. As the school term
begins, the student are taught to fly on broomsticks, play an entirely magical
game of Quidditch, deal with magical plants like mandrakes, make magical
potions, learn Transfiguration and simple spells of levitation etc. As the
novels progress, we find appearances of magical creatures like centaurs, giant
spiders, basilisk, boggarts, werewolves, mere people, hippogriff, dragons,
living ghosts, pixies, elves etc. The ‘irreducible’ magic elements comes in the
various forms where people can appear and disappear, transform objects and themselves,
caste spells with a magical wand and have magical devices like Foe-Glass, sneak
scope, spell tape, howlers, flying cars, Floo network, the Marauders Map, books
that bite, like The Monster Book of
Monsters, gill weed, port key, pensive and so on, the uses of which are so
unnatural to the natural laws.
The second important
feature of magic realism novels include realist description that focuses on
normal, common, every-day phenomena, which is then reconsidered or “reflect” by
the presence of the marvelous. Extreme or augmented states of mind or situation
are often used to achieve this.
Though
Harry Potter works stress more on the magical descriptions, the real, common everyday
phenomenon comes across the descriptions of muggles, especially through the
activities of Harry’s uncle Vernon
This
element of magic realism occurs mostly through them.
They have perfectly normal
life with disregard for magic. But this normalcy is often punctured by a sudden
appearance of a giant, Hagrid, who makes a pig’s tail grow out of Dudley; an
elf who drops a cake on a house guest; the sealed fire place bursts open as Ron
and his family tries to use the magical floo network; Harry blows up Marge,
Vernon’s sister; dementors attack Dudley and so on. Therefore the normal,
common, everyday life of the Dursleys is reflect by the marvelous sudden inputs
of magic.
The
third and fourth elements of magic realism include two views of reality and a merging
of those two views. Harry Potter presents two seemingly real worlds, the world
of the muggles, the non-magic folk and the world of the witches and wizards
where spells and magic are a part of natural phenomenon.
However, the
two worlds on the either side of the magical divide often merge when Harry
lives with his muggle aunt and uncle, the platform which takes one to the
wizarding school is situated in the muggle Kings Cross station, and even
magical off springs are born to muggle families like Hermione’s whose parents
are non-magic folk.
The people
of magic like witches or wizards also marry muggles, like the parents of
Harry’s friend Dean Thomas, Lord Voldemort or Tom Marvolo Riddle and Hagrid,
whose giant mother marries a muggle. However, the merging of the two worlds happens
mostly through the vivid use of metaphors, which is discussed in the following
chapter.
The final
element of the primary characteristics focuses on the fact that the concept of time
where there are notions of both fragmented history and the concept of
timelessness; the idea of space is usually contested; identity is also cracked
down at times.
Though the Harry
Potter series develops on real months and seasons, the time presented is not
definitive.
Every
year the academic session at Hogwarts begins on September first but the exact
year from which the series starts are never presented. The first six novels
span for over one year each. But the series is not located in real time, or
year. The students get Halloween, Christmas, and summer holidays based on
seasons and general ‘real’ time of the year. With the uses of devices like the
Time Turner, the notion of time and space its relevant activities are
challenged. Hermione with the help of the device attends two classes at the
same time. Using the same device, going back in time, Harry and Hermione
succeed in saving two lives, of a hippogriff called Buck beak and Harry’s
godfather Sirius Black. The breaking of identities is not so common in the
Harry Potter series.
The use of
the secondary characteristics of magic realism fiction in the Harry Potter series
is also vivid and enormously abundant. The magic realism fiction is supposed to
be meta fictional or self-referential. Self-referential depicts pointing or
involving the self. The Harry Potter series works as self-referential when
elements from the series, through metaphors reveal the realities of oneself.
Similarly, this operates with the tool of metaphors and is discussed in the
following chapter.
Magic realism
texts may engage instances of “verbal magic” where metaphors are considered to
foster reality. Harry Potter books are fraught with “verbal magic” in the forms
of spells, curses and charms. For example, “Accio” is a charm used to summon an
object; “Alohomora” opens locked
objects; “Aparecium” is a spell to reveal invisible ink; “Avada Ka davra” is
one of the Unforgivable Curses, the use of which can result in punishments by
The Ministry of Magic with life sentences in the wizard jail in Azkaban. The
other two Unforgivable curses include “Crucio” the torture curse and “Imperio”
which controls a person. The other important and useful one includes “Confund”
used to confuse opponent; “Engorgio”-enlarges an item; “Expecto Patronum”
creates a Patronus; “Expelliarmus” disarms the opponent; “Incendio” starts a
fire; “Lumos” creates light at wand tip; “Morsmorde” conjures the Dark Mark;
“Obliviate” erases memories; “PetrificusTotalus” body binding spell;
“PrioriIncantatum” result when brother wands duel; “Reducto” blasts solid
objects aside;” Ridicules” is used to defeat a boggarts; “Serpensortia”
produces Snake; “Stupefy” knocks out opponent and “WingardiumLeviosa” makes on
object fly. The treatment of metaphors as reality, again, will be dealt with,
in the following chapter, where it will be shown that metaphors function as
carriers of magic and reality.
There is also a projection of
phenomenological states in magic realism fiction which may include the primeval
or the idea of being childless that seems to dislodge the readers’ preliminary
perceptions. This kind of a feature is hardly found in the Harry Potter series
as it also includes features of a fantasy novel where disarticulation of
initial perception is deemed as natural. And the story is hardly ‘childless’.
The idea of
repetition along with mirror reversals is often used in magic realism fiction.
Repetition in the Harry Potter series occur mainly in terms of themes
where repetitively, in every book, every year at Hogwarts, it becomes Harry and
his friends’ responsibility, out of all the children in the school to deal with
the current problems which might or might not be linked to him personally. Even
the narrative becomes repetitive as mostly the novels, begin with the similar
situation where Harry is trapped at his Uncle’s house, rescue and journey to Hogwarts,
learns new things and deals with pressing problems. He also knows more about
his past, present and future from Dumbledore and then journeys back to the
Uncle’s house. Again the next novel begins from there. Mirror reversals are not
common in Harry Potter novels. But reversals of common everyday life are
enhanced through magic, like the Burrow, which is the home of the Wesley’s.
Magic is mostly used countering the
prevailing established order in a work of magic realism. The Harry Potter
series rarely adheres to this feature as the series presents us with a world of
magic where the use of magic does not go against the established order but is
rather a common occurring. However, use of magic does go against the order in
the ‘muggle’ world which is presented. The use of magic is restricted by
underage wizards and witches in the presence of ‘muggles’.
Archetypal schemes of belief and local folk
lore often underlie magic realism text. This renders veneration for the local
faith and collective iconography and myths rather than individual ones
preoccupies the work. Harry Potter is often deemed as a story woven out of
‘recycled myths’. Fairy tale elements, folklore and myths are common in the
series. Rowling uses mythology to generate tiers of connotations to flourish
her innovative plots, in order to structure an accurate understanding of the
characters when placed in the specific plot, and also to imperceptivity eclipse
the following events. Often, Rowling concocts the old prevailing myths by
formulating unpredictable variations that mostly reverses or alters the reader’s
expectations. Rowling’s adaptation of recognized mythology brings forth the author’s
contemporary notion about the requirements of forging a hero, the sovereignty
of making choices, and also the varied disposition of evil. Rowling induces
ideas from a wide range of mythologies, including the primeval Egyptian
mythology, the commonly referred Arthurian legend and ageless European folk
lore.
Rowling herself spatters mythic features to name her characters,
Rowling’s Harry Potter series is fraught with mythology and is combined by an
elementary idea along with the unification of the main theme. All through the
series, Rowling investigates philosophical and common sociological beliefs.
Most of the names, sub plots and even the characters are ingrained deep within
the mythological conventions, alluring from the annals of ancient mythology.
The series articulates philosophical notions and social mores and norms through
specific allusions and the imagery of common myths within it.
A comprehension of the mythological origins of Rowling’s series might not be the prerequisite of the middling reader; however, a closer scrutiny of the myths does propose a fascinating view of their pertinent roles and resultant effects in the series .Wendy Doniger is of the opinion that, “Myths survive for centuries, in a succession of incarnations, both because they are available and because they are intrinsically charismata. Rowling is a wizard herself at the magic art of bricolage: new stories crafted out of recycled pieces of old stories” (Doniger 29). Maria Tatar, author of several scholarly texts on folklore and fairy tales says, “Rowling knows those literary predecessors well. Like all great writers, she is a master of bricolage, recycling bits and pieces of stories and sticking them together in vibrant new ways. She is on record as declaring her favorite author to be Jane Austen. But in the Harry Potter books there is also much of Dickens and Dahl, with heavy doses of fairy tales and Arthurian legend, British boarding-school books, and murder mysteries and Myths” Rowling uses myths and mythical characters, by allowing them to keep their original shape, while constantly changing their significance through an extensive use of metaphors.
When
there is some talks about the series all most critics have depicted, one need
not look below the surface of the book to look for myths, it is probably strewn
in every page of all the seven books. The journey of Harry from an orphan
infant, coming to consciousness, to the last battle against Voldemort and the
final restoration of peace at the end is often described as a re visitation of
the classical myths, as described by John Campbell and Otto Rank. Wendy Doniger
in “Never Snitch: the
Mythology of Harry Potter” says that Rowling's
use of “recycled myths” could vouch for the immense popularity of the series.
Several mythical Jung's archetypes like the “wise old man” “mother”. “anima”,
“trickster” and “shadow” are present in the books. Campbell
In this series the Hero with a Thousand Faces elucidates the pertinent features of a
mythical hero’s expedition which include many stages. The first being the
“world of the common day”; “hero’s call to adventure”; “the road of “trials”
“meetings with goddess of temptress”; atonement with the father”; “the ultimate
boon”; “the refusal of return”; “the magic flight” “master of two worlds” and
finally “the freedom to live” the first installment of the seven part series
explains the making of one of the best examples of heroism in contemporary
mythology, in that it depicts the journey of a humble hero on his path to
greatness. Rowling moreover demonstrates Harry’s heroic behavior as a step
beyond the classic hero, due to his willingness to seek help from his friends
through his entire Endeavour’s. This first book introduces and gives life to
the other ‘myth’ archetype.
The second book involves the constant
parallels with the classical myth, through the usage of mythical creatures like
the basilisk, a giant spider and so on.
So we can say that Harry Potter series have
the elements of Magic Realism and we can feel it as a readers or audience when
we read or saw the movie and we can feel it as well and when we read or saw the
movie at some extent we can’t believe also that some kind of world can be there
and we sometimes also can’t we think about this kind of world like Hogwarts and
some magical things like time machine and all other things.
No comments:
Post a Comment