In a literary context, magical realism is employed as a fascinating storytelling tool in which previously supernatural happenings happen naturally in a very concrete or real-world setting. In this introduction, the primary literary genre is introduced as a style of magical realism, which gets its name from presenting supernatural happenings within a mundane space to which the readers can relate. Under this pattern, the city of this comparative analysis as the setting and the central theme to be explored in two stories is stated. Different stories from different authors have their theme, which is mirrored by magical realism, which plays the role of the conductor for the contemplation of the themes. This article will highlight how Isa Bella Allende and Jorge Luis Borges employ magical realism in their short stories to delve deeper into the central themes they try to illustrate.
Theme Analysis
The story of vengeance and the cycle of violence and revenge in the novel by Isabel Allende, “An Act Of Vengeance,” takes place in the political scenarios of the time. The story is about Rosa’s unyielding quest for revenge after her father was killed in an attempt at a political revolt. Yet, she is immersed in a vicious cycle of self-destruction until there is no escape. Allende uses magical realism to exactly do the job of highlighting the theme by interlacing supernatural elements in the story so well that it creates a mood of mysterious and clairvoyant certainty and also adds up questions of ‘realities’ and ‘un-realities’ in life (Hamza Allam).
The center stage is where the heroine, Rosa, determined to avenge her father’s death, takes revenge with retribution and justice as her everlasting goals. Yet despite a course of action, it is revealed that Rosa’s vindictive ambitions and ultimately these will lead to self-destruction. Allende makes this theme significant through the magical realism she introduces when summoning supernatural elements that create a foreshadowing of Rosa’s tragic mark. On the other hand, Rosa’s experience with the occult, which involved a mysterious stranger’s prediction of her destiny, sets the mood as eerie and otherworldly, increasing the feeling of fatality that comes along with her downfall. The stranger’s mysterious sentence— “You will be keeping all of them in your thoughts. Otherwise, you’ll be paying a bill for your sins,” – foreshadows Rosa’s final journey (Allende). In this way, the scarlet bloody-ness of vengefulness illustrates the destructive nature of a cycle, uncontrolled violence and its result (hamza allam).
Consequently, Jorge Borges’ claim, “The South,” represents an experiment with destiny and its role in our identities. This story focuses on how Dahlmann accepts the fact that his fate rests with his native heritage and that he has to put up his defiance by challenging another in a duel. Borges uses magical realism to introduce an undistinguishable frontier between reality and imagination that envelopes the story with a surreal mood, conveying Dahlmann’s inward battle and discharge.
Dahlmann is portrayed as residing in conflict, engaging with his Northern and Southern ancestry. This predicament ultimately results in accepting his background and the readiness to fight his fate. The author employs magical realism to underline this theme with absurdity by including the fake elements that mess up the very line between what is real and what isn’t. For example, Dahlmann getting a big cat signifies accepting his past from the South; he wants the natural death impulse for him. He presents the cat as an “arduous divinity” and makes this tiny creature a representation of destiny, taking Dahlmann to what has to happen (Borges). By combining the divine with the ordinary in this way, a recurring theme of the fatal mastery of human life is emphasized, exemplifying the immutability of our destiny.
Magical realism is the most popular and influential literary device Allende and Borges use to enhance the theme. While Allende artlessly employs supernatural factors such as violence, vengeance and fate to amplify violence’s cyclical nature in “An Act of Vengeance,” Borges uses surrealism to emphasize the never-changing fate/destiny theme in ‘The South’ through it. Through the integration of magical realism, both authors cast a net of symbolism and imagery, which gives their narrative.
Similarities in Technique
Analyzing the shared methodology of Isabel Allende’s “An Act of Vengeance” and Jorge Luis Borges’ “The South,” the realism of magical thread weaves two stories in line, enriching their thematic subject. A common factor in both stories is the setting of these two in reality. Although the fantastic world is a present element in both stories, the reality in which they happen is always familiar and routine in some places. Allende sets her narrative in an authentic South American village caught up in turmoil. Still, Borges establishes a more recognizable setting of a psychiatric hospital and a small town (Hamza Allam).
Through the magical elements’ seamless intertwining with the real-life reality in the two fairytales, it is clear that the narrator is exposing deep-rooted aspects of the natural world. In “An Act of Vengeance,” the subsequent events made both the mysterious stranger and the ghost of the drowned woman exceptional and unreal within the everyday world. Moreover, the incident of a giant cat-like creature bypasses the bounds of reality, stressing the fictional nature of the story. These shared magical devices create the staging of the extraordinary action independent of the narrative, making the super-situation look natural.
Both tales are full of mysteries and uncertainties about magical elements, and so this is how the author makes them normal despite their supernormal features. Allende knew it was intentional, and she kept the strangeness of supernatural behaviour uncertain, letting readers and herself create many different interpretations of Rosa’s fate and the stranger’s prophecies. Moreover, like Borges, the author also presents an imposing image of the cat – an image that is simultaneously elusive and fragmented; this elusive nature of the cat certainly creates a misty atmosphere of mystery and curiosity around Dahlmann’s exploration of existentialism.
Likewise, the criticism of society is illustrated in the story/narration as embodied in the line. In this, Allende indirectly criticizes the succession of violence that follows any political turmoil by showing how the cycle of eventually uncontrollable vengeance that is being unleashed has devastating consequences. Borges highlights the dangers of set expectations and how individual choices are limited rather than free, thus critiquing the traditional notions of predestination and personal meaning.
The nonblockbuster of the two stories in terms of plot structure does follow a different order of storytelling templates. They bring mystery into people’s lives, which also exists in life. In the case of Allende’s story narrative, the nonlinear approach of the narrator aims to draw the viewer’s attention to Rosa’s tragic ending. At the same time, Borges, through his dreamlike sequence, shows the reader how Dahlmann is struggling with his internal issues.
Quotes and cases from both books may influence the ascertainment of the similarity. The connection between Allende’s use of magical realism to explain political strife and vengeance can be found in Borges’ absurd but obvious narration of destiny and identity. Although each author has their distinct perspective and approach, the mesmerizingly woven shared elements propel the stories forward, evoke the sense of the universality of the magic and show off the authors’ superb magical realism skills.
Differences in Technique
Although “An Act of Vengeance” and “The South” represent magic realism as a broad theme, their unique take on the genre becomes evident after some deeper probing. Allende considers magical components as they stand for the changes for both individuals and society while explaining turmoil politically. In the secret Way of The Gods lies a circle symbolizing the cruel repetition of revenge. Upon comparison, Borges utilizes magic realism abstractly by stressing the existence of an outsized cat and Dahlmann’s strange fantasies as an analogy to the existential reflections.
The attitudes toward realistic location variation may also manifest alongside these other sundry differences. Allende bases reality on the perceptible political tension of a small Latin-American town, which is a background for Rosa’s turmoil inside. Borges, nonetheless, uses a double setting that combines a sanitarium and a small village, evading, as such, the traditional division between reality and imagination, thus enhancing the dreamlike quality of Roderick Dahlmann’s journey to the sea.
The magical parts, though similar, tend to have their differences as though they are converging to form the legend. Acculturation of Allende’s mysticism and political metaphor is also developed, just as Borges uses magic elements as a medium for inner exploration. On the one hand, we can find that the link component of ghostly presence and prophetic predictions according to the stranger have been done to multiply the narration. On the other hand, we can perceive that a cat is a more metaphysical concept than a symbol.
She consistently relies on pieces of information which are not clear, setting the stage for the supernatural reactions that readers would, after all, be allowed to interpret themselves. Contrary to Borges, who relishes in the mystique of the giant cat and leaves it open for everyone to choose, Hoffman presents the cat with a laid-back interaction with the protagonist. Such a difference in presentation determines the whole reader’s experience—while Geronimo Allende makes the reader think over the issues, Jorge Luis Borges creates a mood of amazement and doubt.
Although the stories’ focuses differ in criticism of society, which makes them so intriguing, Allende posits that revenge has counterproductive results of all kinds in political settings. In her metaphor, the revenge cycle has undesirable effects on society. Borges engages in existential criticism, addressing the existing model of life and resolution. He opens truths of character or identity as well as of human destiny.
To Her, it’s not unusual to deviate from the standard path, opting for nonlinear storytelling, which makes her character’s tragedy come to light through the juxtaposition of different timelines. The author accomplishes this by applying a dreamlike setting, which, in turn, depicts Dahlmann’s reality in a shattered manner. This plurality in formulating their magical realist techniques is the primary evidence of their idiosyncratic tendencies, enabling the genre to flourish.
Conclusion
Thus, magical realism stands as an essential component of these works of literature, allowing readers to appreciate the universality of the presented themes. These magic realist stories engage us by intricately weaving common and distinct themes. They reveal how this magical realism facilitates the complicated understanding of the narratives. These stories, either in fusing with political allegory or in being philosophical, remind us that within the magical realism’s vividness, there are two opposite poles: reality and magic, the latter of which always wins the former but, like all of life, keeps changing and calling us to think.
Work Cited
Hamza Allam. “summary An Act of Vengeance audio.” YouTube, 16 Jan. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=10peRIXBTU4.
“The South – Analysis” eNotes Publishing Ed. eNotes Editorial. eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com 3 Mar. 2024 https://www.enotes.com/topics/south/in-depth#in-depth-analysis-850688