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

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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.

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        In the first pages of the novel we experience magical realism with the “collapse” of time, where the character experiences a virtual representation of the past: “His blue eyes are like lasers in the night. The beams bounce off his finger shells and sleeping gulls, and then focus on her. The porch turns ultraviolet. Her hands too, are blue...His jaw churns and swells in each word, faster, until Celia feels the warm breeze of his breathe in her face. Then he disappears.” This is a clear representation of imagery and the illogical yet symbolistic use of “lasers” for bright eyes, ...

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