Magic Realism in fictional writing

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Hannover (Philosophische Fakultat), course: Canadian Women Writers, language: English, abstract: Magic Realism is a literary genre that is not commonly known by everybody. When asked, many people relate it to fantasy or wonder how magic can be realistic. But Magic Realism is something totally different than fantasy. The setting is always realistic and only few magic elements occur. This essay gives a brief history of the development of Magic Realism and it discusses some features that are used in Magic Realist writing. Next it shows examples of Magic Realist elements in the short story The Day I Sat with Jesus and the Wind Came Up and Blew My Kimono open and He Saw my Breasts by Canadian Author Gloria Sawai and finally offers suggestions why Magic Realism is mostly common in Latin America and why Canadian writers also have similar prerequisites.