The Incredible And Her Heartless Grandmother

Magical realism, like all genres of literature, has proponents along with adversaries. Some critics say that magical realism describes the abject in condescending ways, while others have stated that it is a genre used to escape reality, and still others believe it is complicit in oppression and does not do enough to combat the rejection of the abject. Jazz by Toni Morrison, Perfume by Patrick Süskind, and “The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother” by Gabriel García Márquez are three examples of magical realism that either give power to the abject by revealing the truths of their struggle, to not provide mere escapism by challenging the reader to think about the events occurring, or uses the carnivalesque …show more content…
Polyphony is used to show the point of view and voices of different characters in a single text. By using polyphony, García Márquez is not forced to use only one point of view but is able to show multiple character’s perspectives, specifically that of Eréndira and Ulises. The narrator is not a separate character in the story but tells the story of all of the characters together. “Eréndira, who was keeping in step with the donkey, bowed down by the heat and dust, did not reproach her grandmother for her figures, but she had to hold back tears” (García Márquez 297). The narrator does not only know the story of Eréndira but also knows about her thoughts and feelings, which a separate character in the story would not be aware. García Márquez is able to show what is happening in the lives of both Ulises and Eréndira although they are two different people and in separate locations. “At midnight Ulises was still thinking with such intensity that he couldn’t sleep” (García Márquez 314). The omniscient narrator knows everything about Ulises and Eréndira, and this is only possible through the use of