World Literature

1
World Literature

• Magical Realism and The Handsomest Drowned Man in
  the World

2
Magical Realism

• Magical realism is a category of fiction in which
  fantastic, unbelievable events take place in a
  realistic setting.
• It is associated with Latin American fiction.

• Read the excerpt from A Very Old Man with
  Enormous Wings. Answer the following questions.
• What is unrealistic or fantastic about the
  passage?
• What is realistic about the passage?

3
Characteristics of Magical Realism

• Realistic Elements- contains recognizable
  characters, believable dialogue, a true-to life
  setting and accounts of actual historical events.

• Magical Elements- contains supernatural or
  mysterious elements
• Humor and Exaggeration- uses a lot of description
  using this element of writing

4
Magical Realism cont.

• Distortions of Time and Identity- readers may see
  events and characters blurred or changed during
  reading.

• Political and Social Commentary- writers directly
  or indirectly address important political and
  social issues such as racism, tyranny, and
  conformity

5
Handsomest Drowned Man in the World by Gabriel
Garcia Marquez

• Gabriel Garcia Marquez born in Columbia
• Influenced by his grandmothers unique
  storytelling style
• Abandoned his law studies to pursue a career as
  a journalist

• Became a freelance journalist where he worked in
  France, England and Venezuela.
• Established a news agency in Havana and New York.

6
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1982
• Greatest literature achievement has been the
  novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was
  published in 1967
• In 1999, García Márquez was diagnosed with
  lymphatic cancer, and to this day he suffers
  under a regimen of treatments.

7
Connect to Your Life

• Have you ever met or heard of someone who made
  you want to live your life differently? Write a
  few sentences about this person.

• Focus your reading on what the drowned man
  represents as you are reading the story. As you
  read the story, pay attention to the effects that
  the drowned man has on the people of the village.
  Jot down the effects in a chart.

8
Before Reading

• Copy the definitions for the vocabulary words
  listed at the bottom page of the story in your
  notebook.
• labyrinth improvise
• haggard
• virile
• arid

9
Half a Day

• By Naguib Mahfouz

10
Naguib Mahfouz

• Awarded 1988 Nobel Prize in literature
• Born in Cairo
• Earned a degree in philosophy and started to
  publish his fiction
• Supported peace with Israel and was not admired
  universally

• Nearly all of his work takes place in Cairo
• In Half a Day Mahrouz hints, at the degree of
  change he has seen in Cairo over his lifetime
• Died August 30, 2006

11
Connect to Your Life

• Half a Day begins with the narrator remembering
  his first day of school as a young boy. In what
  ways have you changed since your first day of
  school? In what ways has your community changed?
  
• As you read Half a Day, ask yourself, How does
  the title relate to the meaning of the story?
  What idea is the title referring to?

12
Focus Your Reading

• As you read Half a Day try to identify with the
  feelings and experiences of the main character.
  Then, after youve finished the story, complete
  the following sentence in your notebook
  ______________ in the story reminds me of a time
  in my life when______________________________.

13
Vocabulary

• Copy words and definitions for the words at the
  bottom of pages 1368-1370.
• Assessment Write a one-paragraph summary of
  the short story Half a Day. An effective
  summary will present the main events in
  chronological order and summarizes will be judged
  according to your accuracy and completeness.

14
School Memory

• In a personal narrative, describe a vivid memory
  you have of your early school days. Due

15
Counting in Sevensby Judith Wright

• How does the speaker of the poem measure and mark
  the passage of time?
• Identify some of the strange presents the speaker
  has been given at different ages.