MAGICAL REALISM IN MARQUEZ’S EYES OF A BLUE DOG : AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

Witnessing its boom in Latin American literature, magical realism has become a significant literary mode - especially through the works of a literary titan, Gabriel García Márquez. The study aims to explore the salient characteristics of magical realism in Márquez’s short story Eyes of a Blue Dog. In order to obtain this goal, the study employs a coherent framework propounded by Faris (2004) and Chanady (1985). The major characteristics of the framework include: irreducible element, phenomenal world, merging realism, creating unsettling doubts in the readers’ minds, temporal, spatial and identity disruptions, and authorial reticence. Following a qualitative design, the study uses an interpretive model and a close reading procedure. The selected extracts in the short story are analyzed minutely. The study maintains that Márquez uses magical realism in his short fiction with his distinct approach. As for the phenomenal world, Márquez employs concrete phenomena. Márquez is concerned with merging realism in order to create doubts in the minds of the readers. He deals with human perceptions and feelings. His short fiction is steeped in fluidity of time, space and identity. Márquez remains reticent - grounded in phenomenology. The study ends with suggestions for future research in the domain of magical realism.