NEB - TLON

Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertiu by the Argentinan writer Jorge Luis Borges relates part of his life and can be really confusing because of the many philosophy concepts involved such as Berkeley’s subjectivism. The binary between reality and fantasy is probably the most important.

For starters, in Tlon everything is a dream that slowly switch to reality. With the idea that every man is actually two men; who would be the real one and who would be the one created by the dream? Later on Borges founds an encyclopedia that demonstrate Tlon existence making it seem more real or less ‘’imaginary’’. To then again make Tlon be a simply illusion created by the Orbis Tertius as a way to prove that they can play God and create their own world. Furthermore, adding to this idea of dream vs. reality comes the philosophical controversy of existence. The majority of the people mentioned are real, but the events in which they are involved are fictitious. Adding to this idea there are missing pages that refer to Uqbar essense in the second duplicate of the book questioning the existence of Uqbar. This lead us to the idea that maybe the curiosity of these two men have transform their reality in order for them to perceive a new imaginary world.

The timing used in this history is an important characteristic of Magical Realism because the present vague and the future does not exist, quoting Borges: ‘’……the present is undefined and indefinite, the future has no reality except as present hope, and the past has no reality except as present recollection’’ (Borges, 74).

Borges analyzes the concept of language and how it can influence the way we perceive the world. Adding, to this idea the concept of the ‘’Mirrors’’ is introduced, what this term means is that a mirror shows a fake notion from one individual to another that is passed through time from generation to generation.

To sum up, I believe that this story is intertwine in three worlds, the real world, Tlon, and the world of the stories of Borges. This entanglement leads to the question: which of these worlds is the real one? Giving us the change to draw our own conclusion as another important characteristic of Magic Realism.

The Aleph- SK

In Borges's story, the Aleph is a point in space that contains all other points. Anyone who gazes into it can see everything in the universe from every angle simultaneously, without distortion, overlapping or confusion. The story continues the theme of Infinity found in several of Borges's other works. At the beginning of the story, he is mourning the recent death of a woman whom he loved, named Beatriz Viterbo, and resolves to stop by the house of her family to pay his respects. Over time, he comes to know her first cousin, Carlos Argentino Daneri, a mediocre poet with a vastly exaggerated view of his own talent who has made it his lifelong quest to write an epic poem that describes every single location on the planet in excruciatingly fine detail. Later, a business on the same street attempts to tear down Daneri's house in the course of its expansion. Daneri becomes enraged, explaining to the narrator that he must keep the house in order to finish his poem, because the cellar contains an Aleph, which he is using to write it. Though by now he believes Daneri to be quite insane, the narrator proposes without waiting for an answer to come to the house and see the Aleph for himself. Left alone in the darkness of the cellar, the narrator begins to fear that Daneri is conspiring to kill him, and then he sees the Aleph for himself. Though staggered by the experience of seeing the Aleph, the narrator pretends to have seen nothing in order to get revenge on Daneri, whom he hates, by giving him reason to doubt his own sanity.

The Library of Babel- SK

In the The Library of Babel, Borges presents a number of magical realist devices. The concept of a cyclical time, the existence of parallel worlds, and the discussion of God are all presented throughout the text. Also, the binary of infinity and finite space are presented. The library appears to be a metaphor for the world, and the books a metaphor for all of the people and elements of this world. In Borges' closing line, "the same volumes are repeated in the same disorder- which, repeated, becomes order: the Order," this is essentially saying that time is a cycle and the same events happen over again. The existence of parallel worlds is evident in Borges' discussion of the many galleries of the library "each identical to the first" and the many floors of the library that follow the same plan. Religion plays a significant role in this text, as there are many references to God and a supreme being. However, this does present a less traditional view, saying that God is just like a librarian who stumbled upon the right book and does not necessarily have any unique qualities, thus it is mentioned as a God rather than the God. This could be viewed as a criticism of many religions. Borges confronts the binary of finite and infinite, and claims that even though the number of books is finite, he explains that the library is not and that the books eventually reiterate, as does the cycle of time. This helps us to understand how the concepts of a finite world and infinite world can exist in Borges' work.

The Aleph- ERK

In the short story the Aleph by Borges, the main aspects of magical realism include the concept of time as one, and the theme of a God-like level of omniscience. There is also a bizarre nature to the interactions between characters and some potential political/societal commentary is expressed subtly at times.
The first theme to strike me was that of time. The narrator greives the loss of a loved one and wishes to keep the world exactly as it was when she left it however, he notes disappointedly that only a day later, "the vast unceasing universe was already growing away from her, and that this change was but the first in an infinite series." This first mention of time describes it as infinite then, as the aleph is mentioned, the narrator sees time and space as a single point just as many cultures have describe God's view of the world. This may be a symbolic jab at religion that a common man in the story is able to view the world through God's eyes just by finding the right spot.
It seemed strange to me that Borges even took Mr. Argentino seriously at all, because he called Borges with a crazy and unrealistic story and then locked him in his basement. This is clearly a magic realist element to the story. Also, the fact that Borges chose to name the character Carlos Argentino may shed some light on a potential commentary on Argentine society. Mr. Argentino is bullied by wealthy businessmen into giving up his house as his city booms and develops around him. This also may relate to the concept of land ownership which has always been a popular theme in Latin American history.

The Lottery in Babylon RC

Jorge Luis Borges has a very interesting way of incorporating magical realism in his works or literature. In “The Lottery in Babylon” the most important magic realist device used is chance/fate and what seems to be an exaggerated reality to prove his point of the effects of the lottery in their society. The story begins with what seems to be the description of a normal everyday lottery. At first there was really no great risk in playing in the lottery. As the story goes on the stakes become higher and higher to the point where the people in Babylon are willing to risk their lives and great amounts of money to play. Playing this lottery creates a dilemma for the people because if you play you are taking a huge risk, but if you don’t play you are almost considered an outcast in this society. This lottery creates chaos in this society to a point where the reader is at the point of questioning the reality of these happenings. Borges does a good job of illustrating the extreme risk that people in society are willing to take to reach some importance or status, but in the end it is just a game where people leave their fate up to chance.

The Library of Babel- PCM

The library of Babel by Borges is a masterful piece of literature that attempts to provide some light on the intricacies of the world. The library appears to be a metaphor for the world, and the books a metaphor for all of the people and elements of this world. The library is described as endless, with floors upon floors of books that contain every combination of the "twenty two orthographic symbols." The narrator of this text is best described as aging and on the verge of death. It appears that this is a reflection on a library that is representative of every possible source of knowledge attained by people in this world. The binaries of finite/infinite and reality/fantasy are depicted well in this text. Borges identifies the race of human kind as being finite and on the verge of extinction but the world and the library as being endless and infinite. It is Borges hope that a book exists that contains all other information; a book that he has been diligently searching for his entire life. He states that "there must exist a book that is cipher and perfect compendium of all other books" and that God is the "librarian must have examined this book." It appears that this book might represent a sense of ultimate self realization and the attainment of all pertinent knowledge. Religion plays a significant role in this text as there are a plethora of references to God and a supreme being. Borges does an outstanding job of providing a metaphor that constructs a picture of the nuances of the world. In his concluding statement, Borges states his desire for order. He states "the library is unlimited but periodic. If an eternal traveler should journey in any direction, he would find after untold centuries that the same volumes are repeated in the same order- which, repeated, becomes order: the Order. My solitude is cheered by that elegant hope."

The Lottery- JG

The binaries that arise in “The Lottery” involve the concepts of light and dark, chance and fate and addiction and corruption. The lottery is a metaphor for the role of chance in one’s life. The lottery started out as something fun and innocent it caught the attention of many of the townspeople. At first there was no risk to the lottery and people quickly lost interest. To reel them back in the stakes were raised and fines and jail time was imposed for “unlucky” draws. People again were drawn to the lottery with the excitement of something more, that someone would have to pay a price. This too quickly ended when people stopped playing by the rules and creating their fate by not paying the imposed fine. The lottery then went to the extreme extent where people are risking their lives on this lottery. People formed such an addiction to the lottery that they were risking their lives. The addiction even corrupts the church, “the members of the priestly class gambled heavily, and so enjoyed all the vicissitudes of terror and hope”. Here we see time cycling people are interested then become bored so the stakes are raised and they are once again intrigued then people didn’t obey the fines. So the stakes were raised yet again to the price of people’s fate, the risking of their lives. We also see the cyclical timing with light and dark. We start out with the lottery representing hopefulness and light, it was harmless. .” The lottery “determined each man’s destiny until the next drawing”. People had initially put all hope into this lottery, into this thought of chance. We then see the lottery progressively become corrupt and turn into a dark time, a time revolving around deception and corruption and people begin to question if the Company itself is too corrupt. In response to the talk of favoritism and of corruption of the company, it was “pointed out doctrinally, that the Lottery is an interpolation of chance into the order of the universe, and observed that to accept errors is to strengthen chance not contravene it.” Then the story comes full circle at the end and the last sentence gives the reader a sense of light. “Another, no less despicable, argues that it makes no difference whether one affirms or denies the reality of the shadowy corporation, because Babylon is nothing but an infinite game of chance

JPA - The lottery

The lottery is an interesting type of magical realism that presents many different binaries such at chance vs. fate and addiction/corruption. The lottery is a huge game of chance/fate that started off much like the lottery we have today; risk a little money to win large amounts of silver coins. However the Babylonian men became increasingly addicted to playing the lottery that they began to change and eventually corrupt the way it worked. At first the lottery changed from winning to also a chance that you may have to pay a fine, if you choose the wrong ticket. This was ok, however, the people of Babylon became so corrupted that they even started to risk death when playing the lottery. The people who didn’t want to play started to get singled out and ridiculed because they were too afraid to play.

Borges writes the lottery as a good way of illuminating how society worked in that time. People would risk many of their things in order for the chance to gain some importance and power in their society. The lottery was a corrupted and inhumane way for these people to have fun and possible grow in society.

The Library of Babel- ERK

In the The Library of Babel, Borges presents several magical realist devices such as the concept of time as a cycle, the existence of parallel worlds, and the discussion of God or a God-like figure. Also, the binary of infinity and finite space are presented. In Borges' closing line, we clearly see his emphasis on the cyclical nature of time when he indicates that "the same volumes are repeated in the same disorder- which, repeated, becomes order: the Order." This is essentially saying that time is a cycle and the same events happen over and over again. The existence of parallel worlds is evident in Borges' discussion of the many galleries of the library "each identical to the first" and the many floors of the library that follow the same plan. Also, the existence of God, or at least the potential for some sort of omniscient force is presented when Borges writes "There must exist a book that is the ciper and perfect compendium of all other books, and some librarian must have examined that book; this librarian is analogous to a god." However, this does present a less traditional view of this God-like being, because it suggests that God is just a libarian like any other librarian who stumbled upon the right book by chance and does not necessarily have any unique qualities thus it is mentioned as a god rather than the God. This could be viewed as a criticism of Christianity. Finally, Borges confronts the binary of finity and infinity. He claims while the number of books is finite, the library is not and explains this by suggesting that the books eventually repeat as does the cycle of time. This helps us to understand how the concepts of a finite world and and infinite world can exist side by side in Borges' work.

The Lottery- AWR

The Lottery in Babylon is an interesting short story by Borges that has magical realism hidden inside it. Although it may not be as obvious as Pedro Paramo and Aura, this excerpt has a magical realistic tone to it because of how much fascination there is with this lottery. What seemed at first like a pointless event in Babylon, the lottery swept society by its feet and had everybody captivated. By adding a little risk, excitement, and danger to the lives of the people of Babylon, the author is able to spark interest in the reader about how significant this lottery becomes in the town.

Originally, the lottery originated as a game of chance where the people of the town would occasionally throw some money in and get involved. But as the lottery began to catch on, it continuously got taken further and further. As time went on, people had to avoid picking the ticket that would give them a pretty hefty fine. The stakes continued to get higher as people risked going to jail when they participated in the lottery. By the end, people were even risking death! It sounds like madness, because it truly is, but this madness is how Borges gets his message across to the reader. The town of Babylon became hooked on this lottery, and people would play regardless of the stakes.

The fact that these people would leave their fate up to chance is pretty rediculous, and Borges is trying to get this theme of insanity across. He is trying to draw emotions from those who read the short story because it effectively gets your attention and makes you become interested in how a town of civilized people can turn into madness.

MRB - The Lottery

Throughout “The Lottery in Babylon” Borges uses binaries such as light/dark, chance/fate. These binaries were used as devices in order to support and better understand the themes of addiction to the lottery, and corruption and secrecy surrounding the Company that were used throughout the story.
When the lottery first began, it was mildly popular among the townspeople because it was exciting to have the chance to win some coins, but there was no risk involved so the popularity soon died out. There soon was a lot of public indifference towards the lottery until the risk level was raised and the unlucky draws were added and a fine had to be paid if you had an unlucky draw. These unlucky draws skyrocketed the popularity and, “Babylonians flocked to buy tickets.” This new popularity was due to the excitement that came with not knowing what your fate will be. Now that there is a chance of something bad happening to a participant, it makes the lottery more thrilling.
The people of Babylon soon became addicted to this lottery, but unfortunately the people who received the unlucky draws stopped paying their fines. This upset the other contestants so rather than a fine, the unlucky draws became automatic jail time. “It was the first appearance of non-pecuniary elements in history. And it was met with great success – indeed, the company was forced by its players to increase the number of unlucky draws.”
For some reason the lottery hit peak popularity when death became a possible result of an unlucky draw. Most reasonable people would have stopped playing the lottery, but the Babylonians were addicted to the thrill and continued to buy more and more tickets. People accepted the unlucky draws because they thought that it was their fate and there was nothing they could do about it.
Eventually the poor began to protest that it was unfair that they could not take part in the lottery because they could not afford it, “The fair and reasonable desire that all men and women, rich and poor, be able to take part equally in the Lottery inspired indignant demonstrations.” So the lottery was made secret, free of charge and open to all.
This was when the thought of corruption of the Company who ran the lottery began to run through the minds of the Babylonians, “Incredibly, there was talk of favoritism and corruption. With its customary discretion, the Company did not reply directly.” Nobody knew who was in the Company or even where they met. This sense of mysteriousness and secrecy reflects the dark side of the binary because the townspeople were kept in the dark about any knowledge of the company, “the Company with godlike modesty shuns all publicity. Its agents of course are secret.” The Company was very mysterious and seen as all powerful so the thought of corruption to the lottery upset many people. But despite the assumption of corruption, the Babylonians continued to gamble. The joy the townspeople got from the thrill of leaving their fate in the hands of someone represented the light in this binary. People were overjoyed when it came time for the lottery and this excitement gave meaning to many of their dull and meaningless lives. That is why the people became so upset when they heard of the corruption surrounding the lottery. They no longer thought that these decisions were left to chance, but they were predetermined and these rumors of corruption eventually forced the Company into secrecy.
The once celebrated history of the Company soon became tainted with fiction. Before the Company was know, the lottery represented light, and the joy that people got from participating. That’s why at the end of the story, Borges suggests that the Company has never existed at all, as an attempt to restore the light and destroy the darkness that now surrounded the Company as well as the lottery. The last line, “because Babylon is nothing but an infinite game of chance” shows that light has been restored and people are slowly moving on from the dark times of corruption.

NEB- the lottery in Babylon - Borges

In "The Lottery in Babylon" Borges raises the issue of chance, fate, and more importantly the issue of the chaos in the society. At first, the lottery was what it is today: a game of chance, and in that game players risk no more than a few copper coins and that was about it. However, the public was indifference to that kind of lottery made the merchants who founded these lotteries to lose money. For this reason, there were some reforms to the lottery, like the prize of winning a double sum and sometimes to pay a substantial fine. This slight danger awakened the public interest. Over the years it gets increasingly important for the society up to a point where it starts deciding the fate of the population.

 The Babylonians were so passionate with the game that every time that they have the opportunity of risking something they did, and the lottery begin to succeed. The lottery gave people a share of hope, determining the luck, happiness or misfortune, of each person, making the men cherish their hopes of winning.
With the passage of time and through a series of seemingly unfair situations playing the lottery was a necessity; this is why in Babylon it appears the Company, which governs the laws of chance. The company was so successful that it became part of the lives of citizens, and not in a good way. The lives of the Babylonians are organized around passion, risk, the expectation to what the future holds, the fate from an order of causes and effects, and a consistent behavior of rewards and punishments.

The worst part is that this chaotic society begin to discriminate people who did not play, consequently, little by little the lottery which started as a game began to handle random people's lives. Surprisingly, the more negative consequences the more success that the lottery has. ''the consequencces were incalculable.........an unlucky draw: mutilation,dishonor of many kinds, death itself'' (page 103)
It is clear that Borges is criticizing the idea of a society that gave the power to a game to lead the life of a society even if it has terrible consequences like: mutilation, discrimination, and death itself. Babylonians are so hooked on the lottery that they have lost many things, this can also be seen in these times, how many people there who lost property in games like this or similar to the lottery?

Borges #1

Write on either "The Lottery. . ." or "The Library . . ." and analyze the magic realist devices as a means to understanding the story.

Aura RC

In the short story Aura, Fuentes attaches magic realist devices to many binaries such as what is imagines and what is real, youth and age, and finally time. Throughout this short story Fuentes manages to blur the line between past, present and future. One example of how time is blurred in this story is when Felipe is trying to find Consuelo’s house the numbers skip and are not in order which gives the reader a feeling as if Felipe was walking through and present and past at the same time.

What is real and what is imagined is very unclear to the reader which gives the story a sense of mystery. The most prevalent idea of reality and imagination is Aura. It is unclear of whether or not Aura is real. She seems to mimic everything Consuelo does to a point where it seems unreal. Another more obvious example is when Felipe asks about the garden and Consuelo states that there hasn’t been a garden for a long time.

Lastly, youth and age, another binary infused with magic realism, is very important in this short story. Consuelo seems to control every move that Aura does. To the reader it seems as though Consuelo yearns to be Aura. At the end of the story Felipe thinks he is being intimate Aura in all reality he is with Consuelo. This also plays into what is real and what is imagined. Up until the end of the story it is still unclear.

By infusing binaries such as time with magic realism, Fuentes is critiquing Mexico and its failure to improve. He wants to tell the reader that Mexico has yet to progress. Fuentes also hints at religion throughout this story and how strong religion is in Mexico.

Aura - SK

In this complex short story, Fuentes challenges the general notion of time through an innovative narrative technique, removing the boundaries between present, past, and future. Young historian Felipe Montero accepts a live-in position he found on the newspaper, editing the memoirs of General Llorente, whose elderly widow, Consuelo, wants to publish before her death. Intoxicated by the airless atmosphere of the house, Felipe dreams of having sex and escaping with Consuelo's young beautiful niece, Aura. But as he reads the General's writings about Consuelo's infertility, her fantasy of having a child, and her obsession with youth, he discovers that Aura is actually a projection of the 109-year-old widow. One day, while he embraces her, Aura transforms into the old woman. Felipe is immediately ensnared by his own desire and actions into the role of the General, together with Consuelo to give birth to Aura, the essence of youth and the illusion of life. With a passionate writing style, Fuentes masterfully recreates the dreamlike atmosphere of the house.

Religion is another element that has been shown throughout the story. Consuelo’s room is filled with religious objects. Felipe noticed that whenever she does her prayers, she seems to be doing exactly the same actions as Aura but in another room. Fuentes removed all the boundaries that seem normal to us and takes on this wonderful journey of the past, present, and future, heaven and hell, blended with magic and realism.

AURA- ERK

While reading through Aura, it is difficult not to notice the number of magic realist devices woven into the text. Clearly, the concept of time as a cycle and another dimension of time is a key device. While senora Consuelo is very old, she seems to have a connection with Aura. It is almost implied that they may be the same person in fact. In parts of the book, they seem to mimique eachothers motions and Consuelo seems to know things that Aura has observed. Also, towards the end of the book as Felipe finds older photos of Consuelo and determines that she looks just like Aura and Felipe looks just like the old general, the distinction between different time periods becomes blurry and the concept of time disappears.
Another device that we can see from Felipe's interactions with Consuelo is the concept of parallel worlds. While Felipe sees the house as having a beautiful garden and patio, Consuelo denies that such a place still exists. Consuelo insists that the garden and patio were destroyed years ago. This could be an attempted commentary on development and evolution in a civilization.
The third obvious magic realist device is the concept of dreams versus reality. It is difficult to tell in the book at times what is real and what Felipe is dreaming. As he at times has encounters with Aura- some of them fairly intimate- and then wakes up in his bed alone with his pillow.
Fuentes could have been trying to make several commentaries on Mexican society. First, the concept of development as shown by the disappearance of Senora Consuelo's patio might be emphasizing the modernization of mexico. Also, the importance of the church in society is evident by the mentions of crucifixes and religious paraphanalia in Consuelo's house. In addition, the quote "even the devil was an angel once" might indicate some deeper message.

PCM- Aura

This captivating text by Aura identifies a myriad of example of magical realism, specifically in the form of contrasting elements. Light vs. dark, young vs. old, real vs. imaginary, and life vs. death are all subject Aura does a masterful job of presenting like a true magical realist. In the beginning of the text, Felipe finds himself contemplating his future and sees an advertisement. This opportunity represents an important sign of fate, as it appears in subsequent days to the surprise of our main character. On his journey to the house, the reader is exposed to the effects of time through the house numbers as most houses have two numbers (the old and the new). Upon entering the house the reader is exposed to the corollary of light vs. darkness. The house is pitch black as opposed to the light that looms just outside. The scene in which Felipe enters the house appears to be very symbolic to the text. Just before he lights a match, a voice says not to and gives him detailed instructions of how to safely maneuver in the house. This could serve as a transition from the busy reality outside, to this dark, systematic, and outdated lifestyle that exists within the barriers of the home. Throughout the text, Felipe seems to be overtaken by the mystique and power of what occurs within the household to the point where he does not actually want to leave.

The young vs. old element of the text is best explained through Senora Llorente's relationship to Aura. It appears that the old woman is living vicariously through Aura and seeks to feel young, revitalized, and important through Aura's existence. The somewhat unclear nature that can often times be associated with magical realism is exposed at this point, as from the calculation of Felipe, the old woman would be well over 100 years old at this point. The most riveting scene demonstrating this quandary of age is at the end of the book when Felipe and Aura are in bed together. As the light hits "Aura" it is revealed that the woman is actually Senora Llorente. It appears there is a fusion between these two characters to the point where they may actually just be one.

Real vs. imaginary is depicted through various scenes in the text. For example, there is the question of whether or not there is actually a garden as Felipe suggests. Whether or not Aura is controlled by Senora Llorente. Whether or not the final scene in the bedroom was an illusion created in Felipe's head about a woman he wished he were sleeping with or it was actually Aura. All of these enigmas are designed to stimulate thought and are traditional elements of magical realism.

Latin American culture is illustrated through the demonstrations of prayer and contact with the afterlife. Both of these things are tremendously important to this culture. Senora is seen praying and talking about her husband on a multitude of occasions. Also, the idea of having control over another persons thoughts/actions is demonstrated by Felipe in regards to Aura and Senora Llorente's relationship.

JPA - Aura

Aura

There are many ways at which Fuentes has attached magic realism to this novel. While reading the book you can visible see comparison or old vs. new, light vs. dark, and young vs. old. The comparison of old and new is visible right at the start of the book when Felipe is walking down the street trying to find the address written on the advertisement. Felipe is continuously commenting on the number of the buildings, how some were old and how others had been changed to a new number. When he finally finds building 815 he comments on how it was formerly number 69. Once Felipe enters the building we are immediately introduced to that comparison of light and darkness. Felipe had lived in a world full of light however inside the house it is always dark. Felipe darkness is present when Felipe describes following Aura to his room only by her sounds and not the sight of her walking in front of him. Also, Felipe talks about freeing Aura from Consuelo’s shadow and helping her find her own life, helping her see the light of the rest of the world. The biggest use of magical realism in the book is the old vs. young relationship that is seen between Consuelo and Aura. Consuelo needs to have Aura around because she portrays the younger, beautiful woman that Consuelo was in her past. Also, the relationship between Aura and Felipe is a way of helping Consuelo deal with her lost husband. Their love is reincarnated in Aura and Felipe, which shows that Consuelo’s love for her husband will never be lost.

Mexican culture is clearly represented in this book through religion and prayer. Consuelo is constantly seen praying in her room and connecting with her lost husband. This is significant it shows how the Mexican culture is closely connected with their past generation through religion and prayer. Love for one another last far longer than life itself. People are always connected and love lasts forever.

Aura- AWR

Due to the use of cyclical time and a number of binaries, Carlos Fuentes' Aura serves as a great example of a magical realism. Some of the predominant binaries in the novel are dark & light, old & young, as well as past & present.

The binary of past & present ties into the idea of cyclical time because it becomes difficult in the novel to tell apart the past from the present. This is because with cyclical time, things keep happening over and over again, making it difficult to define the past and present. The reader becomes more and more aware of this binary as we learn about the connection between Aura and Senora Consuelo. As the story goes on, it becomes more apparent that Aura and Senora Consuelo imitate each other's actions. By the end, the reader learns that the two women are actually one in the same. Senora Consuelo sent out the job advertisement hoping that Felipe would accept and eventually fall in love with Aura, who turns out to be Senora from the past in attempt to reincarnate her love with General Llorente. It makes even more sense once Felipe goes through several pictures of Senora and the General and notices that he actually looks exactly like General Llorente. This is a clear display of magical realism because even though Senora Consuelo is on her deathbed, she is able to reconnect her love with her husband by doing it through Aura and Felipe.

Considering the fact that the binary of past & present is displayed throughout the novel, it is safe to say that the binary of old & young is present as well. The reader learns that Senora Consuelo is 109 years old in the story, which obviously is an extremely old age, and that her husband has been dead for 59 years. Perhaps Senora Consuelo is able to live on and on until she finds that match for Aura (who turns out to be Felipe). Age is really the only things that differentiates Senora Consuelo from Aura and Felipe from General Llorente because they turn out to be the same people in the end.

Another binary displayed in Aura is dark & light. Maybe Carlos Fuentes made the house dark so that Felipe would never be able to catch on to the resemblence between Aura and Senora Consuelo. The darkness of the house set sort of a mysterious and ominous mood because the reader didn't know what to expect a lot of the time. The darkness of the house could symbolize how Felipe was in the dark about this situation the entire time. Then when the light from the moon shined on Aura at the end of the story, Carlos Fuentes describes "You stop kissing those fleshless lips, those toothless gums: the ray of moonlight shows you the naked body of the old lady, of Senora Consuelo, limp, spent, tiny, ancient, trembling because you touch her. You love her, you too have come back" (Fuentes 145).

By using binaries and the concept of cyclical time, Fuentes highlights the themes of love and religion which are two very important aspects of Mexican culture. The entire novel is based off of the idea of love, and Fuentes shows in this story how love lives on forever in Latino cultures and how it ties into spirits. We learned from Pedro Paramo that life & death is an important concept in Mexican culture, so it is no surprise that Carlos Fuentes chooses to re-create Senora Consuelo's love for Gernal Llorente through two other spirits. This idea of spiritualism ties into the theme of religion that we see in the story as well. We see Senora Consuelo praying to her wall of religious figures at some point in the story, and my bet is that she was praying for Felipe (the spirit of General Llorente) to fall in love with Aura (her own spirit). All these examples show how important the concepts of love and religion are in Mexican culture.

Aura JG

Fuentes has used cyclical time, removed the boundaries between past, present and future, the theme of youth and beauty and blurs the fine line between the real and imaginary as magic realist devices. We learn in the novel that Aura is actually a projection of the 109 year old widow when she was young and beautiful. Her beauty and green eyes were so memorizing to Felipe it was almost unreal, she is somewhat “fantastic”. Once we figured out that Aura was in fact the older woman we see the system of cyclical time. We see the old women weak and fragile meanwhile we see the young and beautiful Aura in the same setting. They move in unison when together as if mimicking each other “the girl nods and at the same instant the old lady imitates her gestures.” Also, Felipe sees a garden from his window, but when he asks the widow about the garden she says that they do not have a garden and haven’t for quite some a while, so does this mean in this scene we have the present Felipe seeing the a garden from the past? The past present and the future are all blended together. It is hard to distinguish what is what and what is real or imagined. Once Felipe realized that Aura is the older woman we begin to question whether she exists at all of if he has been engaging with the elderly widow all along. Also, when he finds the photos of the widow dating back long ago it is then we see Aura, and Felipe mentions that if he covers the beard of General LLorente, he says it looks exactly like him which makes the reader wonder if he is too just a projection of his youth. Everything in the novel seems to be unreal, starting early in the novel with the advertisement in a newspaper that is seemed “to be addressed to you and nobody else.” Then there is also the house, which is filled with darkness and mystery, Felipe has to create a world that is based on his senses and experiences in the dark world of the house.

There are many mentions of religion and prayer throughout the story. The widow’s room has a wall of religious objects. Felipe sees the woman in front of it kneeled down. This elderly woman is 109 and hunched over very old and very fragile but she finds the strength to get herself up out of her bed to pray and almost did not have enough strength to get back to bed. “You realize that without your assistance she would have to get back to bed on her hands and knees.” There is also a black crucifix in the Aura’s room. Fuentes highlights religion to show how important religion and worship is in the Mexican culture. the Catholic Church has been a very powerful institution in Mexican history. Mexicans are mostly Catholic, and religious symbolism and meaning have an important place in their day to day lives.

Aura - MRB

The most important systems displayed in the book Aura, by Carlos Fuentes are the binaries between present and past, as well as young and elderly. These devices are fused together by the use of cyclical time in the novel and are represented in many forms. These devices infuse the novel with a sense of magical realism. The first use of the present and past device is when Felipe goes to Consuelo’s house and has trouble finding it because many of these old houses have been redone and their house numbers have been changed. This represents the ancient culture of Mexico that has changed over the years but always keeps its same beliefs and ideals. This sense of cyclical time is displayed in how Aura & Felipe are seen as the reincarnation of Consuelo and General Llorente.
Consuelo uses magic to control what Aura does and it seems to me as though this same magic was used in order to find Felipe using that ad in the newspaper and have him come to the house to discover his past life as General Llorente and his new love in Aura. This magic was also displayed when Felipe found Aura skinning an animal in the kitchen, then very soon after saw Consuelo waving her arms in the same motion that Aura was displaying in the kitchen as if she was controlling when and how Aura moves. Knowing this gave Aura a feeling of mystery because you never really knew whether what she was saying or doing was through her own power, or whether it was Consuelo who was saying and doing these things. In a sense, when Felipe made love to Aura and told her he loved her forever and always, it was as if General Llorente was making love to Consuelo in their past life and the love they shared was reincarnated through Felipe and Aura. This everlasting love is a representation of Mexico’s traditional ways and culture where love actually is meaningful and the love shared between a husband and wife will last forever unlike in America where nearly 1/3 of marriages end in divorce. At first Felip does not like Consuelo and actually tries to escape with Aura on the day that Consuelo is out of the house, but on that same day he discoveries the man he once was and embraces his past and love for Consuelo by kissing and feeling Consuelo under the moonlight that night.

NEB AURA

“Aura” is a book that serves as an example the elements of Magical Realism by developing a cyclical setting and questioning the reader’s substance and existence. Some of the most important binaries throughout the novel are: past and present, real and imaginary, dark and light, old and young, life and death, heaven and hell, and the reader and the protagonist.

The author puts into question the boundaries between the past and the present when Felipe goes to the house that was listed on the newspaper to find out that there are very old and new buildings, with old and new numbers, symbolizing the old and new Mexico. The house represents the idea of Magical Realism by showing the relationship between light and dark. Felipe goes from living in a world full of light to a house where the only room with light is his own everything else is in complete dark. Every little thing in the house has some mystery that makes the reader wonder why is everything so unusual. This adjustment to one’s reality is another important characteristic of Magic Realism that is present in the novel. Moreover, other important example of this past/present binary is when almost at the end of the book Felipe finds out that he is the General Llorente or at least his reincarnation and again the cyclical timing comes to play.

The binary between youth and elderly is probably the most important one in the book relating specifically to Aura and Consuelo. Consuelo uses her niece, Aura, to reflect a younger version of her. The dividing line between past and present is destroyed at the end of the book because the old woman of 109 years of age is actually the same as the young niece. Felipe is tangled between his desire and need for Aura and his rejection towards Consuelo, the same person. The relationship of life and death is very particular, mainly because Consuelo has lost her desire to live as soon as her husband died. Consequently even though she is alive, she wants to die; however, my question is why is she so worried about her youth if what she wants is to be with her husband infinitely in time (heaven). By the same token, the binary of heaven and hell is present as well because despite that she prays to saints throughout the novel and wants to achieve saintliness; by doing magic spells to bring her younger version alive she is being evil and not of God.

At the beginning of the novel the author uses the word ‘’You’re’’ (Fuentes p.3), this was how the binary of reader and protagonist was created. It allowed the reader to imagine that he/she was Felipe, and even though this can get very confusing at times but it force the reader to adjust to the new reality. The idea that it takes only three days for all this history occur seems to be impossible because Felipe and Aura treated each other as if they had long been living together however this is an adjustment to the reality and part of magic realism that gets cleared up at the end of the novel.

Fuentes tries to highlight and expose the importance of religion in Latin America specifically in Mexico. Catholic honoring, worships and glorifications, are very important practices in Mexico before during and after the revolution. Conversely, because I am from Latin America I know that in these countries apart from the extreme religious practices there are also customs to use magic, specifically black magic. The author is making a binary comparison between religion and magic, good and evil in Mexico. Specifically, how a person can worship God and worship the devil. In our culture, it is very common to associate black cats with bad luck, that is to say that Mexico and other Latin American countries have a very superstitious society and Fuentes used cats throughout the book to give the reader a sense of ambiguity.

Aura

Select the important binaries/systems/etc. to which Fuentes has attached magic realist devices. Explain the use of magic realism in Aura. What does Fuentes highlight about Mexico by choosing to highlight systems or binaries or whatever you choose to label them?

Pedro Paramo - SKK

Pedro Paramo

Pedro Paramo is about Juan Preciado who goes out on an adventure to seek his parents, although he was sent on a journey that seems like a twisted fantasy although everything to him seems real. Two entities that were used in the book are the relationship between the living and the dead, and about time. Juan was on his journey to search for his father when he comes across a fellow traveler Abundio who helps Juan find Comala. The story goes from normal to extraordinary and fantastic when he finds out that Abundio is dead. We also find out that everyone in the town is dead as well. The second entity affected is the sense of time. Once Juan has reached Comala the story becomes timeless. Juan gets flashbacks and the story goes back and forth from past to present. The story shifts from the present time while Juan is in Comala, he reminisces back to times with his mother and grandmother. Whenever he hears the stories of the ghost about his father, the time shifts to when he was alive.

Pedro Paramo- AWR

Juan Rulfo's Pedro Paramo is a novel that clearly demonstrates the themes of magical realism throughout the story. Magical realistic literature attempts to incorporate magical elements with a realistic plot in order to find the deeper meaning of things. By using the themes of life & death and time, Juan Rulfo is able to give the reader a much better understanding of the concept of magical realism, as he uses numerous literary devices throughout the novel.

Life and death is the predominant device used in Rulfo's story in attempt to display magical realism. We notice this as Juan Preciado continues to hear voices and see people in Comala throughout the story even though everybody is actually dead. It's this sixth sense that Juan acquires that shows why this book has magical realism written all over it. He doesn't understand why he's hearing these voices until he hears from Damiana Cisneros that the town is "filled with echoes" (Rulfo 42). The idea of life & death is what allows Juan Preciado to learn about his family's past and untangle the reality that he was seeking to discover in the first place. This theme is a reflection of Mexican culture because the death is more significant in Mexico than it is in America. People of Latino cultures have a holiday that celebrates the dead, and death is much more meaningful to them.

Time is another device used by Juan Rulfo in Pedro Paramo that exemplifies magical realism. Rulfo constantly jumps back and forth in his story, talking about the past at one moment and the present in the next. By referring back to the past and the life of Pedro Paramo, it makes it easier for the reader to understand why he is hearing/seeing the things that he is. Juan Preciado has the ability to see and hear things from Comala's past that eventually gives him a better understanding of Pedro Paramo and his family's past. The concept of time is most likely used by Rulfo in this story because Mexican culture reflects more upon its past. Unlike American culture, Mexican culture is very traditional and doesn't change that much as time goes on.