This is a supplemental essay for undergraduate college- so it wouldn't have the same quality that other essays in this forum have... haha
I feel like I have to reduce some words, so please suggest anything looks unnecessary.
Boom Literature: an independent, exclusive genre of Latin America
Gene Wolfe, a renowned fantasy author, described Magical Realism, Latin American Boom Literature, as "fantasy written in Spanish." However, although countless writers, including Alain Robbe-Grillet and Philippe Sollers, acknowledge that they were strongly influenced by magical realism, their works are clearly distinguished from magical realism. Boom literature is regionally limited to Latin America because only Latin American writers share an exclusive cultural perspective, coexistence of reality and fantasy, among themselves. Boom Literature is an exclusive genre of Latin America, clearly independent from fantasy, which can only be written by Latin Americans as a result of their cultural feature.
Magical Realism, when used as Boom Literature, is a literary genre that particularly bloomed during (in broad term) late 1940s to early 1970s, regionally restricted to Latin America. Magical Realism is a mixture of magical features and realistic features-magical features appear in realistic settings, that resemble "our world." Characters' attitude facing unrealistic events in realistic world are magical; although those happenings don't go along with realistic world at all, characters perceive them as casual. In his book axolotl, Julio Cortazar, a renowned Boom Literature author, blurs the boundary between the reality, going to an actually existing aquarium in France, and the fantasy, becoming an axolotl:
"There was a time when I thought a great deal about the axolotls.
I went to see them in the aquarium at the Jardin des Plantes and
stayed for hours watching them, observing their immobility,
their faint movements. Now I am an axolotl (Cortazar 3)."
Characteristics of Magical Realism become more obvious when compared to other genre. For example, the way that characters react to unrealistic events, in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, is nonchalant, as that in Boom Literature is. However, Tolkien's fantasy is not Magical Realism because its setting is a created world which is a whole new world that doesn't resemble the real world. The fact that characters in The Lord of the Rings are nonchalant about unrealistic features is not so special because that's how the world they belong looks like. The distinctiveness and awe in Magical Realism come from the fact that an unrealistic feature naturally becomes a part of reality. Authors of fantasy explain magical events in their works as something usual in their created worlds or supernatural, but Boom Literature authors never explain anything: it's just part of "our reality."
I would work on shorten it a bit... because it's rather long and a little daunting.
Boom literature is regionally limited ... a result of their cultural feature. <<< Those two sentences.. both are good... but they say the exact same thing. so remove one.
... late 1940s to early 1970s, regionally restricted to Latin America.<< already said this as well.. Try not to repeat anything.
In his book axolotl <<< If this is a title capitalize it and underline it, Julio Cortazar, a renowned Boom ...
"There was a time when I thought a great deal ..." << I put it in italics... because it's a quote
Also if your are downloading or printing this with word. I'd advice you to use footnotes. To explain some of the books. Because if your reader doesnt know who say Julio Cortazar they can't properly judge your writing.
In the footnotes you can just use a sentence to get the theme of the book.
Say I was writing about twilight. (go with me.. i know) and i wanted to make sure my readers knew I'd add a footnote that says "A book about a teen girl falling in love with a vampire and overcoming some disasters."
That way we have an idea of what the book your refering to is about.
Good luck!
