How Does Marquez Use Magical Realism In One Hundred Years Of Solitude

In his work One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez has perfected magical realism in such a way that it even makes the peculiar events that take place in Macondo seem normal. In the case of magical realism, the reader is subjective to a world in which anything is plausible. This differs from a fairytale setting where everything tends to be over the top and dramatic because the writer will subtly integrate the oddness of the subject into the lives of the character making it appears it is part of their daily life. Marquez’s use of magical realism throughout the novel is used to illustrate how people cope with living in their own solitude.
[explain where the realism had come from] “She had a simple yet convincing way of telling her …show more content…
Spirits such as Prudencio Aguilar and José Arcadio Buendía are brought up many times through the people of the town simply do not care. They are at first scared but once they realize what's happened they go on to interact with the ghost as though it is the normal thing to do. There is an instance where Aureliano Segundo is reading manuscripts and realizes that he is not alone. Instead of running or screaming like a normal person, he has a conversation with the ghost. “Hello,” Aureliano Segundo said. “Hello, young man,” said Melquíades. From then on, for several years, they saw each other almost every afternoon. Melquíades talked to him about the world, tried to infuse him with his old wisdom….” (Marquez) This demonstrates how Aureliano was more invested in his work rather than the supernatural being that was in the same room as him. In the same article written by Ramin Skibba that was previously mentioned, psychologist Craig Haney says, "Our brains cannot function without social interactions. We require them as much as air and water…. those who spent time in solitary were more than two and a half times more likely to show post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. These include things like numbness or detachment, nightmares, angry outbursts and avoiding situations that trigger memories of the event."(Skibba) Aureliano spending all his time working alone and talks to ghost. He’s detached from the rest of the town and copes with his solitude in his work. If Aureliano Segundo were to question the being or even think about how it got there he would be taking time away from his solitude so instead of questioning what has happened, he quickly accepts