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

Tuesday, November 21st

This week is an introduction to magical realism, or a way of representing the world through the addition of supernatural, superhuman, and superphysical elements that could not occur in our everyday reality. Think of what is possible in the Marvel world vs. what is possible in our world. Writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez created worlds where the impossible occurred as a way to draw attention to everyday realities in Colombia. He used metaphor to represent elements of love that tend to create both happiness and sadness, peace and angst, stability and upset all at the same time. For example, in his story Love in the Age of Cholera, the element of love is represented by disease, something that infects you and causes you to behave in ways you would not when (romantic) love is not present.


First read:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”


Then watch:

• It's Lit! | Why Magical Realism is a Global Phenomenon ...
• Magical Realism In 6 Minutes: Literary Fantasy or Fantastic ...
• Gabriel García Márquez: The Making of a Global Writer
• A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Gabriel Garcia Marquez Audiobook

While reading:
annotate the reading with comments & questions


After reading:

1. think carefully & deeply & write a reflective Blogger post on the reading

2. consider the analyses you and your peers created on Jamboard and presented in class

3. label your blog post #fa23worldlit


Comment on your peers’ Blogger posts by searching Blogger using #fa23worldlit


DUE next class November 28th