Today:

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Magical Realism

Preparing to read Like Water for Chocolate

Turn in Part B- Staple yellow sheet on the front

Magical Realism

Blends reality and fantasy so that the distinction between the two disappears.

"Magical realism expands the category of the real so as to encompass myth, magic and other extraordinary phenomena in Nature or experience which European realism excluded" (Gabriel

García Márquez, eds. Bernard McGuirk and Richard Cardwell, 45).

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”

What do you notice about the writing style?

Annotate what you find odd, interesting, shocking, etc.

Take turns reading and stop to discuss/annotate

Thoughtfully answer the questions

Magical realism

Examples in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”?

Magical Realism

As you are beginning Like Water for Chocolate, note (3) examples of magical realism in the first chapters.

“A Very Old Man…”

Discussion questions

What do you think Marquez’s message is, about Human Nature?

Like Water for Chocolate

Context:

Set during the Mexican Revolution

Mexican author: Laura Esquivel

Written in 1989 in Spanish

Translation

What do you know about the Mexican Revolution?

The Mexican RevolutionThe Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime dictator Porfirio Díaz.

Díaz’s time in office is remembered for the advances he brought in industry and modernization, at the expense of human rights and liberal reforms. The working classes had been exploited (farmers, factory workers, etc.).

The Mexican Revolution progressed into a long and complicated civil war and culminated in the Mexican Constitution of 1917.It is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country would continue to encounter sporadic but comparatively minor outbreaks in the 1920s, such as the Cristero War. The Revolution triggered the creation of the National Revolutionary Party in 1929 (renamed the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1946), which would continue to lead the country until 2000. The Mexican Revolution was the first of the large revolutions of the 20th century.

Laura EsquivelBorn September 30, 1950, in Mexico City, Mexico. The 3rd of 4 children. Began writing while working as a kindergarten teacher. She wrote plays for her students and then went on to write children's television programs during the 1970s and 1980s.In her work, Esquivel often explores the relationship between men and women in Mexico.

Food and Memory

Food and Memory

“…smells have the power to evoke the past, bringing back sounds and even other smells that have no match in the present” (9).

“Tita liked to take a deep breath and let the characteristic smoke and smell transport her through the recesses of her memory” (9).

Food and Memory

…in your life.

Think back over your childhood and remember a food or dish that stands out to you. Write about this food/dish, using rich sensory details (emphasize smell and taste). Include description of the details of its preparation, the people who are present, etc.

10 minutes, 10 points

Senses

With a partner, make a list of sensory images related to taste, from “January.”

How about other senses (smell, touch, sight, hearing, intuition)? Can you find one example of each of these, in the 1st chapter?

Homework

Read Like Water for Chocolate

“January” and “February” (1st two chapters)

Note 3 examples of magical realism, from the first chapters.