Lesson 2: The Realism in Magical Realism

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Pre-readings to assign before the lesson:

• Library of Congress, Country Study of Colombia, chapter 1
• Biographical information “Gabriel García Márquez” 

Worksheet 2: Historical Events in One Hundred Years of Solitude

Suggested comparisons between the novel and historical background:

• García Márquez’s birthplace, Aracataca, a small town on the Colombian coast, is similar to Macondo.

• His grandfather was Colonel Nicolás Ricardo Márquez Mejía, a Liberal veteran and a model for Colonel Aureliano Buendía.  He was rumored to have fathered sixteen children.
• Grandfather introduced García Márquez to ice, paralleling Melquíades’s experience.
• García Márquez’s grandmother was Tranquilina Iguarán Cotes; her middle name is the same as Úrsula’s last name. She was superstitious and told many folktales, all in a deadpan manner, and she believed in ghosts and premonitions, as does Úrsula.
• Courtship of García Márquez’s parents parallels the courtship of Meme and Mauricio Babilonia.
• For part of his early career, García Márquez lived in a brothel. The mistress of José Arcadio and Colonel Aureliano Buendía, Pilar Ternera, runs a brothel in her old age.
• Presence of early Spanish explorers and English seafarer Francis Drake recalls the discovery of the abandoned Spanish galleon and the skeleton in armor.
• Formation of two political parties is depicted: the Liberals and the Conservatives.
• Regional split between costeños and cachacos is reflected by Fernanda’s association with the latter.
• War of a Thousand Days and other civil wars are depicted;
• Banana Strike Massacre of 1928 in Ciénaga actually occurred near Aracataca;
• Presence of indigenous peoples in Colombia is depicted. (i.e. Arcadio, and Amaranta came to speak Guajiro before Spanish and learned to drink lizard broth and eat spider eggs from a Native American woman who cared for them.)

Activity 1. The Realism in Magical Realism

Write What You Know

A common piece of advice given to writers is "Write what you know." Why do you think this is?

Read the following pieces, which provide historical and biographical background. As you read, list at least 6 pieces of information in these readings that remind you of events or characters in the novel, using Worksheet 2.

• Library of Congress, Country Study of Colombia, chapter 1
• Biographical information “Gabriel García Márquez” 

Be prepared to share your thoughts about the connections between historical events, incidents from García Márquez’s life, and events and personalities represented in the novel. 

Small Group Activity

You will be assigned to one of three groups. Each group has a slightly different purpose, but will complete the same tasks:

1. Find and reread the assigned section of the novel.
2. Based on what you have read, your knowledge of the novel as a whole, and what you have learned about García Márquez's life, answer the provided question.
3. Finally, develop an essential question that speaks to the more general themes and ideas in your assigned section. An example for each group is provided.

Be prepared to report on your discussions and share your essential questions with the class.

Group 1

Section: Chapter 1, description of the historical artifacts of the skeleton in armor and Spanish galleon

Specific question: What specific details relating to historical artifacts in this passage may have been put together by the author to convey meaning and tone?

Sample essential question: How can the addition of a few specific and telling details affect the over-all tone and meaning of a passage?

Group 2

Section: Chapter 9, description of civil war

Specific question: What was García Márquez’s attitude toward war as shown in this chapter?

Suggested Answers for Group 2:

Sample essential question: How does war lack essential rational purpose?

Group 3

Section: Chapter 15, description of the banana massacre

Specific question: How far does García Márquez’s account differ from a strictly historical retelling and why would he offer this version of events in his novel? 

Sample essential question: How can historical truth be stretched to make an argument?

Take one of the essential questions constructed by another group in the class. Write a paragraph or more discussing García Márquez’s technique and/or philosophy as an answer to the question. Use textual evidence to support your statements.

Possible essential questions:

Group 1: How does the addition of a few specific and telling details affect the over-all tone and meaning of a passage?

Group 2. Why does war lack essential rational purpose? What are the effects of war on the participants?

Group 3. How can historical truth be stretched to make an argument about government manipulation? Why would an author want to stretch the truth this way?

Literature and politics have been famously intertwined in Latin American letters. Select one of the following short stories by authors from roughly the same period as García Márquez. Read the story carefully, then research the author's life and the historical context in which they wrote. Based on your close reading and research, write a short (3-4 page) paper about the representation of history in your chosen short story, or create a 10-minute presentation, using audio and visual materials, to introduce this author and their work and explain how historical events are depicted in their work.

• Isabel Allende, The Stories of Eva Luna (an anthology of short stories) / Los cuentos de Eva Luna (una antología de cuentos cortos)
• Gabriel García Márquez, "Big Mama's Funeral" / "Los funerales de la Mamá Grande"
• Gabriel García Márquez, "Light is like water" / "La luz es como el agua"
• Augusto Monterroso, "Mister Taylor"
• Juan Rulfo, "They Gave Us The Land" / "Nos han dado la tierra"
• Juan Rulfo, "Tell Them Not to Kill Me!" / "¡Diles que no me maten!"