Magical Realism: Characteristics, Themes, and Key Figures

Posted on Dec 11, 2024 in Biology

Magical Realism: A Literary Analysis

Magical realism, a literary and metalinguistic product of the discrepancies between two visions that coexisted in Latin America – the culture of technology and the culture of superstition – is defined by its stylistic concern and interest in portraying the unreal or strange as something common and everyday. It is an attitude toward reality that shares with epic realism features like an internally credible claim to the fantastic and unreal, unlike the nihilistic attitude assumed by avant-garde movements like surrealism. While surrealism focuses on the subconscious and dreams, magical realism presents magical details as ordinary occurrences. This invites the reader to appreciate the miraculous and to downplay the historical. Details are narrated in a neutral tone. The main causes that led to the advent of magical realism in the twentieth century were the crises of religion and postmodernism, which created an abyss between life and literary creation, often with a premonition of a miraculous, unexpected, captivating, and quasi-primitive event. Magical realism is an affective stream that uses the experimental human subconscious.

Key Characteristics of Magical Realism

  • Content: Magical elements are presented as part of normality.
  • Intuitive Elements: These elements are never explained.
  • Sensory Perception: Presence of the sensory as part of the perception of reality.
  • Depictions: Myths and legends, often from Latin America.
  • Multiple Narrators: Used to provide different points of view.
  • Cyclical Time: Time is perceived as cyclical.
  • Distorted Time: Time is often distorted.
  • Supernatural Experiences: These are common occurrences.
  • Stylistic Concern: A strong emphasis on style.
  • Death: The phenomenon of death is taken into account.
  • Planes of Reality and Fantasy: Often with an unexpected or ambiguous ending.
  • Settings: Primarily American settings.
  • Real but Fantastic: The facts are real but have a fantastic connotation.

Themes in Magical Realism

  • Diversity of historical times.
  • Cultural essence of mestizaje (racial mixing).
  • Struggle between ideologies.
  • Abuse of power.
  • Revenge.

Time in Magical Realism

  • Chronological time.
  • Rupture of temporal planes.
  • Static time.
  • Inverted time.

Characters in Magical Realism

Names often reflect aspects of the characters:

  • Clara Trueba: Female lead, clairvoyant, keeps the family together through her predictions.
  • Esteban Trueba: Male lead, the only one who survives throughout the entire work.
  • Blanca Trueba: First daughter.
  • Pedro Tercero García: Intended to show other workers the equality of individuals and their rights.
  • The Nanny: Babysitter of the family of the valley and Trueba.
  • Barabbas: Huge dog of Clara.
  • Jaime Trueba, Nicolas Trueba, Amanda, Miguel, Splint Trueba, Pancha Garcia, Esteban Garcia: Other notable characters.

Biology

Replication is the process whereby, after an initial DNA molecule, two DNA molecules are synthesized, identical to each other and identical to the parent DNA. Properties:

  1. Total (all the DNA is duplicated in the cell).
  2. It is given once in the life of the cell in division.
  3. It is semi-conservative (one strand of each of the conservative molecules comes from the original molecule, the other is new deoxyribonucleotides).

Transcription is the process by which genetic information passes from DNA to mRNA to be brought to the site of protein synthesis (ribosomes). Properties:

  1. Occurs many times in the life of the cell.
  2. It is partial.
  3. Single-stranded.

Translation: The process that occurs in the ribosomes by the encrypted message in the language of the triplet of mRNA bases (cod.genetico) is coded by a protein synthesizer tRNA (language of the amino acids). Properties: single-stranded, repetitive, selective interpretation requires.

DNA Structure:

  1. Two polynucleotide chains.
  2. Antiparallel chains.
  3. Planes of the rings of the nitrogenous bases placed perpendicular to the axis of the helix.
  4. Variable length.
  5. Complementary strands (AT, CG).

Genetic Code: Set of correlations between each triplet of bases and the corresponding mRNA of a protein.

  1. Practically universal.
  2. Includes a start triplet.
  3. It is degenerate.
  4. It is not ambiguous, each triplet codes only one amino acid.
  5. They are juxtaposed.

Ribosomes: Non-membranous organelles, small particles where protein synthesis takes place. Function: synthesis of proteins, simultaneously translate an mRNA molecule, resulting in a polyribosome or polysome.

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER): Membranous organelle covered by a network of interconnected membranes extending throughout the cytoplasm.

  • Rough ER: With attached ribosomes, the continuous membrane forming the outer membrane of flattened sacs and tanks. Functions:
  1. Protein synthesis.
  2. Glycosylation of proteins.
  • Smooth ER: No ribosomes, connected to the cisterns of rough ER, forming a fine network of tubules. Functions:
  1. Synthesis of phospholipids and cholesterol.
  2. Steroid hormone synthesis.
  3. In detoxification processes.

Golgi Complex: Membranous organelle composed of one or more groups of flattened and stacked tanks (cisternae: cis face (ER) entry, trans face (plasma membrane, lysosomes, and secretory vesicles) exit. Functions:

  1. Processes involved in secretion.
  2. Recycling of the plasma membrane.
  3. Glycosylation.
  4. Formation of lysosomes.
  5. Formation of vacuoles.

Lysosomes: Membranous organelles that consist of membrane-bound vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes, have intracellular digestion (by cleavage, addition of H2O molecules). Function: involved in cell digestion (heterophagy: digestion of foreign material (cellular defecation), autophagy: digestion of endogenous material (parts of the cell)).

Vacuoles: Membranous organelle consisting of very large vesicles filled with fluid and surrounded by a membrane. Functions:

  1. Store substances.
  2. Have digestive activity.
  3. Regulate the pressure of turgidity.
  4. Increase the size of plant cells.

Peroxisomes: Membranous organelle that contains digestive enzymes to carry out oxidative reactions (peroxide oxidases generate, catalase deletes). Functions:

  1. Perform oxidative reactions.
  2. Involved in detoxification reactions.
  3. In plants, glyoxysomes (transform fats into sugars).

Life Cycles:

  • Haplonts: Meiosis in the first division of the zygote (algae & fungus).
  • Diplonts: Meiosis during gamete formation, single-cell haplonts (animals).
  • Diplohaplonts: Meiosis to form haploid spores (vegetables).

Nucleus: The control center of the eukaryotic cell, containing DNA, the genetic information.

Mitosis: Nuclear division associated with somatic cell division as it generates a large number of cells from a single progenitor cell. Biological Importance:

  1. In the repair of tissues.
  2. In the growth of a multicellular organism.
  3. Division of the egg into a multicellular organism.
  4. Type of cell reproduction.

Meiosis: Cell division process in which a diploid cell then gives four haploid cells, has half the chromosomes of the parent cell. Biological Importance:

  1. Maintain a constant number of chromosomes in the species.
  2. Generates variability (species evolution).

Immune System: A set of mechanisms to eliminate and destroy stressors from outside and inside in some cases (tumor cells). Features: defensive, blood transfusion, cellular aging, rejected grafts (tolerance: the strange ability to distinguish what is one’s own).

Antigens: Molecules outside a body that trigger the immune response.

Haptens: Molecules that trigger the immune response by binding to proteins of an organism.

Recipient Antigens: Molecules located in the plasma membrane where they meet some antigens in order to eliminate them.

Epitope: Antigenic determinant, short amino acid sequence, which is the area where the antigen binds to the receptor. Formed by cells or molecules.

Cells: Hematopoietic stem cell multicellular (myeloid (phagocytes, + cells), lymphoid (lymphocytes)), white blood cells.

  • Myeloid: In the bone marrow, amoeboid movement (pseudopodia), ability to perform phagocytosis. Types: granulocytes, polymorphonuclear (cytoplasmic granules, poly-lobed nucleus, enzymes stored as stained (neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils), monocytes, macrophages (increased size and capacity of phagocytosis), and monocyte histiocytes (remain stationary).
  • Lymphoid: No catering for phagocytosis, antibodies.

Immune Response: Reaction of internal defenses against specific and nonspecific antigens.

Immune System: A very complex homeostatic control manager.

Defense System (Nonspecific) Inflammation: Local reaction caused by pathogen penetration (redness, heat, tumor, pain). Cellular response is not specified: by leukocytes of the myeloid series, amoeboid movement, pseudopod emission, phagocytosis process (membrane glycoprotein-presence receptors, opsonins (substances with a molecular bridge between phagocyte receptors and the bacterial cell wall), ingestion by emission of pseudopodia, death and digestion, body expulsion of undigested remains). The complement: set of proteins present in blood plasma, defensive function. Interferon: the immune mechanism is activated after a virus infection, they release proteins.

Specific Internal Defense: Selective recognition of antigen determinants, on the surface of the germ or toxin. Types:

  • B: Synthesized antibodies before the presence of antigens.
  • T: Head of various cellular immunity, cause death.
  • Non-B, Non-T: Kill target cells.

Lymphoid Organs: The lymphocyte precursor cells (middle bone), mature in them. (There are primary and secondary).

Humoral Immunity: A set of immune mechanisms involved in specific proteins, originating from foreign antigens.

Vaccination: Active immunization system produced without developing a pathological act.

Antibodies: Proteins released into the blood by plasma cells. Types (G, A, M, D, E). Functions: Direct (neutralizing antibody-antigen reactions, precipitation, and agglutination), indirect.

Cellular Immunity: Defensive processes without production of antibodies.