Magical Realism. In the novel "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina Garcia, this method is used to incorporate the essence of Cuban culture into the novel as magical realism originated from Cuba
Dreaming in Cuban: Magical Realism
Magical realism is famous for its literary ability to blend the fantastic with the real. Its unique mix of logical and plausible aspects gives the reader the sense of real, visible and powerful images. In the novel dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia, this method is used to incorporate the essence of Cuban culture into the novel as magical realism originated from Cuba. Magical Realism is used for the reader to have a better understanding of time and deeper analysis of context through rich, sensory details, extensive symbolism and emotions, which bring out the dreamer-like aspect of the characters and understanding of the themes in the novel.
Many of the magic realism throughout the novel causes the reader to think critically whether, the character is showing a real experience, day dreaming or having illogical hallucinations. The reader might also interpret certain characters as delirious and illogical. The events would also be interpreted in a different way, as the writing takes a slightly fantastical twist but stays in the realm of the realistic. It also conflicts the reader to draw his own conclusions on events, since it is never fully explained. The impact of the text also includes rich, sensory details, extensive symbolism and emotions. Another important characteristic to be considered is the distortion of time so that it is cyclical and appears absent and the “collapse” of time in which the setting resembles or represents the past.