Magic Realism In The Stories “The Fog Horn” And “A Bolt Of White Cloth”
Magic realism is a genre in which realistic narrative is combined with elements of fantasy. In this case, it means that the author reveals the theme or core ideas of the story using this technique. The stories “The Fog Horn” and “A Bolt of White Cloth” both contain elements of magic realism but differ in the way they reveal their theme.
In “The Fog Horn” Ray Bradbury shows the basic need of communicating with people but accomplishes this by using a sea creature. Interestingly, he does it by using a mythological monster, something that cannot talk. So, in other words, he achieves this effect through magic realism. People naturally need contact and communication with society, but that’s not possible if we are in solitude. The other major theme of this story is isolation. The beast isn’t the only one cut off from society in the story. The narrator and McDunn are also separated from the outside world. “But tonight’s the latest night I can put it off, for if my calendar’s marked right from last year, tonight's’ the night it comes. ” McDunn has spent so much time in isolation that he completely understands the monster's patterns and has figured out what day it will return.
In “A Bolt of White Cloth, ” Leon Rooke uses a mysterious character, the man with the cloth, symbolism of the cloth, and extraordinary events in order to convey the moral of the story, that love will bring happiness. The author tries to show the reader that love cannot be bought, as it does not have a price tag. He also makes it clear to the reader that love can be endless. “You can afford it, ” he said. The wife doesn’t want to be greedy, but the man assures her that love is endless. In “A Bolt of White Cloth”, the man gives of an appearance of a person that is a ragged, greasy, and homeless. But also, someone who is very resilient to the elements from walking in the hot sun for a long period of time. “His shoes had big holes in them and you could see the blisters on the soles of his feet, but he had an air of exhilaration now. His hair fell down over his eyes and he shoved the dark locks back. ”
Despite what would be very painful to others, the man seems to be experiencing no pain, and it gives off a god-like or magic feeling about the character to the reader. The way that these two stories reveal their theme or main idea is similar. Bradbury uses a legendary sea creature to reveal the core ideas of communication and isolation, while Rooke uses a mysterious man to express the idea of love. However, there are some differences in their approach. The word love is spoken lots in “A Bolt of White Cloth”. You don’t need to search for the theme in that story, however in “The Fog Horn”, the words communication or isolation aren’t mentioned as often. Bradbury makes the reader figure out the theme, while Rooke tells it to us.
So, in conclusion, “The Fog Horn” and “A Bolt of White Cloth” both use magic realism to express their main idea but vary in the way that they show it. “The Fog Horn” uses a mythological creature and unspoken words to reveal the ideas of communication and isolation, while “A Bolt of White Cloth” achieves their goal of revealing the idea of love to the reader by using a mysterious man and outright telling us about the idea.
