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Literary Techniques of Marquez's Literary Discourse

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Literary Techniques of Marquez's Literary Discourse ISSN 1923-1555[Print] Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online] Vol. 7, No. 3, 2013, pp. 94-99 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130703.2872 www.cscanada.org Literary Techniques of Marquez’s Literary Discourse Mohammad B. Aghaei[a],*; Safar Hayati[b] [a]Assistant professor, PhD. Department of English Language, East peculiarities through a symbolically institutionalized Azarbaijan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, world in which the symbolic components construct with Tabriz, Iran. [b]Department of Social Science, East Azarbaijan Science and Research surgical precision a comprehensive image of the Latin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran. American society. Marquez’s main purpose seems not * Corresponding author. merely to introduce an aesthetically formulated idea to the mind of the reader but to transform the way the mind Received 17 September 2013; accepted 22 November 2013 perceives realities. He has produced an astutely crafted body of work by manipulating different literary techniques Abstract and styles in an original way. Very few writers have so The literary techniques of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s compellingly evoked the delicate nuance of Marquez’s novels deal with his literary devices and figurative homeland, the joyful richness of Latin American life. In language which he has applied in his novels. These fact, his literary discourse invites the reader to confront devices basically serve as socio-symbolic mediations a kind of mystification and intrigue; sometimes it puts that relate the literary text to his culture. For this reason, the reader in a state of bewilderment when he tries to Marquez has immensely applied the figurative elements explore the signification of figurative elements and in his novels, making a bridge between his works and the symbolic constituents that are artfully interwoven the world to which he belongs. These elements can be within the discourse. Due to the use of various complex thus interpreted by taking into consideration the cultural figural devices, his literary discourse is marked by rich aspects of his society. Hence, this article surveys the suggestibility and carries multiple layers of meaning. figurative dimensions of his novels and the intention Therefore, in order to interpret Marquez’s intricate here is mainly to decode the figurative elements such fictional discourse, the reader needs to reconstruct as metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole and other symbolic a spatio-temporally relevant image of it by closely components of his literary discourse. following the textual threads and clues and considering Key words: Signification; Symbolic; Figural devices; the socio-cultural and historical aspects of the text. Institutionalized discourse Because of the unique cultural aspects of Latin America where the fantastic beliefs abound and dominate Mohammad B. Aghaei, Safar Hayati (2013). Literary Techniques the daily affairs of its people and every extraordinary of Marquez’s Literary Discourse. Studies in Literature and Language, 7(3), 94-99. Available from: http://www.cscanada. and unbelievable thing easily becomes believable among net/index.php/sll/article/view/j.sll.1923156320130703.2872 the community, it has become a privilege for the Latin DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130703.2872 American writers to treat any simple phenomenon of their society by applying the technique of magical realism. But, Marquez believes that the technique of “pure magical realism’ as it is applied by the Latin American or other INTRODUCTION traditional writers is not so effective in representing the The novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in a unique essence of Latin America. So, he always employs it in manner, create a metafictional and self-reflective combination with other literary techniques, mainly with discourse which offers a new way of seeing the realities of his exquisite figural devices. This conglomeration of the Latin America. They mainly fictionalize the socio-cultural techniques creates a new style of magical realism that Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 94 Mohammad B. Aghaei; Safar Hayati (2013). Studies in Literature and Language, 7(3), 94-99 makes it remarkably distinguishable from the magical name of the banana plantation just outside of Aracataca style of other European and Latin American writers who is Macondo. The setting of Love in the Time Cholera have applied it in their works. His masterly manipulation certainly refers to a city like Cartagena and the settings of an incredible variety of figural devices gives an of Chronicle of a Death Foretold and No One Writes to enthralling symbolic structure to his literary discourse in the Colonel resemble that of an inland port like Sucre which the social conventions, cultural values, religious according to the description of the novels. Furthermore, beliefs and myths of his country are all presented in a many of the episodes of the novel are based on events that highly provocative manner. Thus one of the distinctive Marquez has experienced during his childhood, especially features of his works is symbolic presentation of his with his grandparents. For instance, the beginning of One ideology and creative conviction through an aesthetically Hundred Years of Solitude refers to the episode of Jose grounded discourse which is aptly constructed by Arcadio taking his son to see ice that is certainly modeled dexterously applying and integrating various figurative on a similar incident when Marquez’s grandfather took elements in a coherent way. him in his childhood to see the ice for the first time. The first sentence of this novel, “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to 1. SALIENT FEATURES OF MARQUEZ’S remember that distant afternoon when his father took him LITERARY DISCOURSE to discover ice” (p.1), also refers to the episode involving his grandfather who was a colonel and who fought Marquez’s extraordinary artistry in blending different against the Conservative party and survived various stylistic devices for narrating his stories makes him attacks by different groups of people. So, there are several stand out as the only writer whose literary orientation components in his novels which have direct or indirect fascinatingly deviates from the narrating norms of the reference to existential situations of his society and to other prominent Latin American writers. His main style a significant extent his personal experiences. Hence in of writing is in fact to juxtapose the reality and fantasy in order to explore the subtleties and wisdom of his literary such an ingenious way that every unusual and fantastic discourse, the reader should have the full awareness of the phenomenon appears real and believable and carries biblical descriptions, socio-cultural aspects of his society numerous connotations. His literary discourse possesses and the geographical details of that region. in abundance the magical scenes and images and many complex figural devices. In order to depict the multiple dimensions of his society, Marquez has adopted different 2. SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE OF HIS LITERARY narrative techniques and styles for his novels, by carefully focusing on the message and originality of the story. An DISCOURSE excellent example is One Hundred Years of Solitude as Marquez’s literary idiom acts as an effective tool for a microcosm that portrays the Latin American continent reshaping and representing his artistic conceptualization from the social, historical and political points of view. of the world around himself in a symbolically One of the profound styles of Marquez is to symbolize contextualized discourse in which every textual sign is the narrative world with the cleverly contrived symbols enriched with multiple connotations. The textual signs that are mostly related to the biblical stories, events, mainly appear in the forms of “mythical symbols” and figures and settings. He has aptly given an aesthetic “figurative elements” in his literary discourse. In some treatment to some of the stories, characters and events traditional narratives, the mythical symbols have been of his novels by using the source from the holy books applied in the narrative to represent a mythical version of Genesis, Exodus and Revelation of the Bible. For instance, the world. These kinds of symbols were mostly presented in One Hundred Years of Solitude, Macondo inhabitants in the form of mythological metaphors such as the “sun” symbolize the Egyptian people at the time of Moses. Its that metaphorically represents the eye of the sky or “water” stormy rainfall symbolizes the biblical flood; its plagues that symbolizes “goodness”. Following a similar narrating symbolize a series of plagues sent by God as punishment; style, Marquez symbolizes “sun” as knowledge in the its annihilation symbolizes the apocalypse of Revelation. novel Of Love and Other Demons, when Father Delaura “One hundred” in the title of One Hundred Years of becomes blind in one eye as he looks at an eclipse. Its Solitude also parodically carries a Biblical reference. In myth goes back to Plato’s period. In Plato’s allegory of The General in His Labyrinth, the General is characterized the cave, the cave dweller attains enlightenment when as Christ. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the names he leaves the cave and gets the chance to see the sun. of majority of characters are adapted from the names or Therefore, the eclipsed sun symbolizes the knowledge titles of biblical figures. Marquez
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