PEDRO PARAMO - NEB

Pedro Paramo makes a perfect assembly between the theory of Magic Realism literature and its example. The novel plays with time, have a combination between what is natural and what is unreal, it pushes the reader to find its own meaning, there are unreasonable situations put together with a sense of perfect reality, and finally it has a non-linear/cyclical timing rather than a regular linear timing.

First entity affected

The story shifts from an ordinary beginning to extraordinary when Juan on his way to Comala, meets a guy called Abundio Martinez. This guy was also the son of Padro Paramo, showed Juan the way to Comala and gave him advice on where to stay warning him that Comala was a ghost town, very empty and desolated.

Juan stayed with Eduviges Dyada, and in this moment one of the main characteristics of Magic Realism comes to play. Eduviges told Juan that she and his mother were very close and that she was the one that told her to expect his visit. How can the mother tell Eduviges to expect him if she was dead? This cyclical timing, instead of linear, is one of the features of Magic Realism and it is present throughout the whole book.

Second entity affected

Mixing supernatural events with earthly things is another characteristic of Magic Realism, and it is present since the moment he hit the road to Comala and met with Abundio (the spirit of his half-brother). This book was based in the communication between the dead and the living. Damiana Cisneros appeared in the plot, to tell Juan Preciado that Eduviges is a lost soul. While talking to her, Juan suspects that Damiana might be dead too, and he was right. As soon as he asked Damiana that, her body disappeared. Things like this cannot be explained by human reason, however in Magical Realism there has to be an acceptance of what is supernatural as the reality and Juan did so. 

Being without real existing, persisting in a past that does no longer exist, and not being able to acknowledge their own death; are other important features of this book in relation to Magic Realism. Absolutely everybody in the town was dead and this whole idea of being in a purgatory on earth, ended up with the life of Juan too, the only visitor that Comala has had in years.

Third entity affected

The author, Juan Rulfo, introduced the Mexican Revolution in the plot for various reasons. In short, the revolutionaries were going to hold accountable Pedro to counteract the action of the revolution but Pedro with his power/money kept the reins of the revolution on his land. The author is trying to show the difference between this harsh poverty/social marginilization as opposed to the life that Pedro Paramo had, which is both mythical and still real in Latin America. Juan Rulfo makes an attempt for readers to understand the realities that exist in many parts of the world that are evil, he uses Comala as an example of how a poor town/country can be ruled at the whim of a powerful person.

 The parallelism between the past and present with that sense of timelessness;  reflects the daily/normal life in Latin America culture and its eternal withdrawal to and from the past.
In the end of the book, the love of the life of Pedro, Susana, died and he lost completely his desired to live and to fight. Consequently, he starts to die slowly taking the whole population with him on purpose, as a form of revenge.
Bringing in the non-linear/cyclical timing again; Abundio, the illegitimate son of Pedro Paramo, went to "La media luna’’ to borrow some money from his father and ended up injuring Pedro Paramo to death.