Gabriel García Márquez's literary style and magical realism techniques

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Style and Writing

The objective of this study is to examine the style and writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Columbian author of more than fifteen books, which are all highly acclaimed. Marquez is a Nobel laureate as well as master of Magical Realism and is reported to be "one of the most widely read and critically acclaimed contemporary authors in the world today." (Sickles, nd, p.19) Marquez's best known work entitled "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and is reported to be such that "shook apart the literary scene in Latin America" with an impact that "reverberated around the world." (Sickles, nd, p.19) Other works held in high esteem include 'The Autumn of the Cholera'; 'No One Writes to the Colonel'; and his memoir 'Living to Tell the Tale'. Marquez has become "the symbol for Latin American literature." (Sickles, nd, p.19)

Contributions of Marquez

Understanding the contribution made to literature by Marquez requires the comprehension of the "personal, literary, and political landscapes that have shaped his work." (Sickles, nd, p.19) Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born on the 6th day of March 1927 and lived with his grandparents during the largest part of his childhood in Aracataca, Colombia, described as "a small, dusty tropical town on the coast." (Sickles, nd, p.19) Aracataca was a town that was struggling with" poverty and abandonment" according to Sickles (nd, p.19) Aracataca was also the location of the Banana Strike Massacre in 1928 in which United Fruit Corporation, a company in the U.S. provided consent for the Colombian army to open fire on a demonstration of workers and there were hundreds of the workers killed in the violence.

II. The Art of Storytelling

Marquez developed his art and power of telling a story at a very young age after listening to his grandfather's tales of war and his grandmother's wonderful stories. Marquez attended the Universidad National in Bogota and studied law however, the largest part of his time was spent reading literature and writing stories. Frank Kafka's novella 'The Metamorphosis' was highly influential in the decision of Marquez to become a writer. Marquez was additionally inspired by Virginia Woolf's use of interior monologue and the narrative techniques, themes and small setting. The skill of Marquez as a writer was developed during a violent time in Colombian modern history.

V. Politically Outspoken

Marquez was outspoken about politics and is well-known for his ideologies about politics and his background in journalism. Marquez was outspoken in the area of human injustices and was a supporter of leftist causes. While Marquez rejects literature that launches a social protest, just about all of his work addresses the same and it is stated that Marquez claimed to write 'socialist realism'. Selling a million copies, Marquez's 1985 work entitled "Love in the Time of Cholera" is one of the most popular of Marquez's writings and is a story that echoes his parents' courtship. This is touted as one of Marquez's "most straightforward and accessible narratives" as well as being "rich and artistic…" (Sickles, nd, p.29) Marquez is one of the first literary writers that is especially known for his literary techniques. The language he used in his writing is rich with folklore of his culture, ethnicity, and place of origin Aracataca which is comprised of diverse ethnicities including Spaniards, Germans, Arabians, African-American, natives, and mixed races. This enables Marquez to explore other cultures in his stories which appear to be based on real life stories that occurred in his location of origin. As well, as reported by Julio Ortega, Marquez had the talent of using "temporal discontinuity" and this acts "within the rules of fable and myth, yet go beyond the chronological margins of history. As fable time replaces calendar time, it communicates a more resonant and more tangible temporality, a time of both duration and transition." (2010, p.2) Bell-Villada (2010) states of Marquez that his ability to "bend his narrative technique top adjust to party demands for greater realism in the arts" reveal clearly his leftists commitments during the early 1960s. However, Bell-Villada writes "In the end Garcia Marquez / reportorial view of Eastern Europe is not so much Marxists or leftists as that of a knowledgeable and sensitive Latin American." (2010, p.67)

Summary and Conclusion

Marquez's ability to tell a story and keep the reader involved in the story is highly acclaimed among other writers and among the readers of Marquez's books and writings and as well, it has been related in this study that Marquez greatly influenced other writers of his time and still influences writers in the contemporary time as the 'master' of Magical Realism.