Encyclopedia Of World Biography Essay

In describing his own writings Cortazar once said “Much of what I have written falls into the category of eccentricity, because I have never admitted a clear distinction between living and writing; if in my life I have managed to disguise an only partial participation in my circumstances, I still cannot deny that eccentricity in what I write, since I write precisely because I am only half there or not there at all," (“Encyclopedia of World Biography”). By saying this, Cortazar was saying that he lived to write and wrote to live, often reflecting on his own experiences. His creative style is mirrored in that statement which seems to be in and out of reality. As quoted by the Encyclopedia of World Biography, “So much of his work fell into the realm of "magic realism," a creative literary approach dealing with humankind 's struggle to understand the world.”(“Encyclopedia of World Biography”). He was very passionate about politics and literature. Cortazar’s works were influenced by man

An example of this is in the short story the "Instruction Manual". In the section of “Cronopios and Famas” this short story was inspired by a conversation Cortázar had with his wife about a staircase where he describes every detail about climbing a staircase. According to the Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, In "The Instruction Manual" Cortázar described in precise detail such everyday occurrences as crying, singing, climbing stairs, and combing hair.”(“Dictionary of Hispanic Biography”) “About crying, he wrote: "a general contraction of the face and a spasmodic sound accompanied by tears and mucus.”(“Dictionary of Hispanic Biography”). Another example of when Cortazar uses his life experiences is when he wrote “Circe”, a short story about a woman who feeds her suitors cockroaches disguised as candies. This was inspired by Cortazar’s fear of finding insects in his food (“Authors and Artists for Young