Magical realism is where the author combines two contrasting elements. This means that by describing an unreal scenario in an ordinary setting, the author is correctly portraying magical realism. Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is a good example of Magical Realism because the characters in the story seem to act casually and accept that an entity is taking over their house. An example from the story is when this thing that is taking over the house, it doesn't cause the characters to panic. But what they do is decide to block half of the house that has been taken over.…
Gothic fiction is one of the most intriguing and captivating, if not most popular, literary genres for a reason. Branded mainly by the elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, this style of writing, whose name derives from the dark and decaying gothic architecture and art, is also rich in romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and sentiment. Originated in England in the second half of the 18th century, the gothic fiction has spread its popularity across continental Europe by the end of the century, reaching as far as Russia. However, it took almost a century for the literary genre to reach its peak, not in Europe, but in North America, through the works that have become known as the American gothic fiction. The uniqueness of this…
The Magic Lacking According to Oxford Dictionaries, magical realism defines as, "a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy". "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin kind of uses the magical realism writing technique. This book exhibits five out of the six factors of magical realism. It shows lyrical, almost poetic writing, it examines the aspects of human nature, extraordinary events are often accepted as ordinary, has many implicit criticisms of society, and a few examples of authorial reticence.…
The genre of magical realism is all about taking reality and turning it upside down, making the mundane seem magical, and at the same time making the magical mundane. A good example of this is in the movie Big Fish. There are two main characters, Edward Bloom and his son, Will. Edward is a storytelller who has one story, the story of his life.…
Gothic horror and Realism writing style were at its prime, including writers like: Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and herself, Mary Shelley. In this day and time we have parallel characteristics of modern horror tales such as Stephen King's, or contemporary films such as Nightmare…
“His eyes flamed red with devilish passion; the great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge; and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood-dripping mouth, clamped together like those of a wild beast (pg. 305).” The collection of ideas, images, and symbols portrayed in the novel Dracula provide an insight to the darker, supernatural world of reading and support the various motifs that are contained in Gothic literature. The most prominent gothic motifs depicted in the novel Dracula in which the reader is able to gain an insight of the mood and tone include sleepwalking and uncontrollable dreaming, rituals and superstition, and imprisonment. Scenes of sleepwalking and uncontrollable dreaming are described throughout the novel with Jonathan, Lucy, and Mina as they make encounters with Count Dracula. The rituals and superstitions included in the novel describe traditions and practices used by…
Gothic Literature has dark, spooky and eerie places as shown in the stories, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and “And Then There will Come Soft Rains,” by Ray Bradbury. The stories both take places in spooky houses. There are many examples of gothic literature in both of the stories. There were many examples such as spooky settings, eeriness, confusing and weird parts that kind of confuse you.…
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” epitomize the Southern Gothic genre; both use irony and macabre to weave their tales and scrutinize the values of the American South. The protagonist Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily”, and the Grandmother, the protagonist in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are remnants of the “Old South” through their upbringing; and are at odds with social atmosphere and societies in which they live. Falkner’s affluent southern bell is discovered to have the rotting corpse of her fiancé in her bed forty years after his disappearance; O’Connor’s grandmother leads to the annihilation of her entire family at the hands of a serial killer.…
The theme of haunting is commonly associated with Gothic literature, which originated in the mid-eighteenth century and spanned most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’ encompasses both romanticism and haunting themes. Edmund Burke suggests that pleasure is gained from being exposed to the Sublime. When fear is close enough to sense, but still removed from reality the emotion derived from this pain releases pleasure. Morrison incorporates a much more complex take on the haunting as her novel conveys a deeper message to the audience.…
Gothic literature combines ordinary life with the supernatural. It is used to show the chaos that occurs when reality and supernatural combine. Specific elements of gothic literature are used not only in written works, but in movies. Edward Scissorhands is a movie that incorporates gothic elements. Edward is a man that was created by a scientist, but the scientist dies before he is able to put human hands onto Edward.…
Gothic Literature and Magical Realism The literary genres of The Fall of the House of Usher and House Taken Over have many great similarities between them. The genre of The Fall of the House of Usher, Gothic Literature, typically has a dark perspective of the world, a gloomy mood, and a plot that revolves around weird and/or supernatural events. Magical Realism, the genre of House Taken Over, is defined combination of reality and fantasy. One similarity of the stories is that they both contain supernatural events.…
In the eighteen and nineteen hundreds, American gothic themes were very common throughout stories and poems. These gothic elements, whether in the form of settings, actions, or characters, influenced American literature and are still present in many stories today. Some of these gothic elements include those of terror, the supernatural, and the dark outdoors. Both the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and Somnambulism by Charles Brockden Brown contain gothic elements in the form of terror, horror, fear of unknown, madness, and setting of the story.…
Author tend to create different literary works that evoke a feeling or an emotion from the reader. Edgar Allan Poe mastered the literary work known as Gothic Fiction, which is a style characterized by the use of medieval setting, a murky atmosphere of horror and grotesque mysterious and violent incidents. The eerie atmosphere is demonstrated in the short story and poem of “The Raven” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. Throughout the poem and short story the illustrator emphasizes on the strange and unexpected to make the reader contemplate. The mood, setting and mystery help create the suspenseful and fearful anticipation which is Gothic Fiction.…
Edgar Allan Poe is often referred as the father of Gothic and horror stories. He has wrote many works of mysterious characters and very bizarre plots lines. Of all his morbid works, they all have a commonality in setting, characters, and Gothic elements in The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death. Moreover, Poe has written work with similarities in settings. They all compose of a dark, mysterious atmosphere usually during the night and consisting of a natural event happening.…
Gothic literature is a type of literature that was at its peak during the fifth to fifteenth century. It is described as a dark literature most famous for its swamps, forests, castles, and the presence of the supernatural involving horror. Female gothic is simply gothic literature written by females that express female independence and the fear of male dominance, marriage, and the traditional role of being a submissive woman. The stories written by female gothic authors include frightful situations that include things such as monsters, mistreated female characters, and what happens to women when they become dominated by men. (1) Some of the most famous and known female gothic authors are Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Bronte.…