Fantasy, Haruki Murakami and Carlos Fuentes KHANH MINH TRINH - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Time, Space, and Fantasy, Haruki Murakami and Carlos Fuentes

KHANH MINH TRINH SENIOR SEMINAR

 Relationship between knowledge and interpretation,

reading and writing.

 Simultaneity:

 Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - two spaces

at the same time.

 Aura – same space but two different times.

 Simultaneous occurrence leads to uncertainty.  Uncertainty, the key of the fantastic

Thesis Statement

The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre

• The Definition of the Fantastic:

“that hesitation experienced by a person who knows only the laws of nature, confronting an apparent supernatural event.”

• The Uncanny, the Marvelous, and

the Fantastic

Hard Boiled Wonder Land Aura 2 spaces - 1 time 2 time - 1 space Uses of “I” 1993 Tokyo, Japan Programing Uses of “You” Translating Simultaneity Convergence Writing 1962 Mexico City, Mexico Opens Endings

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

 Haruki Murakami – the inkling

vs the INKling

 2 independent yet related

worlds

 Science fiction vs Fantasy  The Japanese formal and

informal I vs the past and the present tense in English, the protagonist has no name.

 The Fantastic – how theovel

can be read.

 Open endings

Hard Boiled Wonderland:

• Semiotecs, Calcutec,
• The Inklings, Underground Tokyo, the old man,
• Eternal life in sub-consciousness, End of the Wolrd

The End of the World

• The Wall, the town, Unicorns, Shadows
• Dream reading, Skull
• Deception, sacrifice

Aura (1962)

 Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012)  Mexico City  The “you” form of narration  Reading and writing  Reason and desire  Allegory to the fantastic  Characters:

• The French-Spanish interpreter (Felipe Montero)
• The old widow(Consuelo)
• The widow’s niece (Aura)
• The General (Llorante)

Historical Background

 The French Invasion (1861-1867)  Maximilian – Mexican-French monarchy  Liberal, democratic congress  Downfall, Napoleon III, Maximilian executed

Conclusions

 What is the purpose of the two texts?  The world and its interpretation - thesis

 Fuentes is highlighting the way we read our past is

shaped by our present and also shape our present

 Criticism of modernism and I-centrism – the main

character’s downfall

Thank You For Your Attention