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

Thesis Statement  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

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

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

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