Magical realism is fiction set in a realistic world that incorporates magic in
conquering the legitimate fears of people of all ages. What distinguished magical realism
from fantasy are the underlying themes of change and people hoping for more. It’s
timeless use of magic to compare horrible and unbelievable situations to things that could
not happen in our real world put the horrors of human nature into perspective. Putting the
complications of the world into this context helps call for change, even if not inherently
stated in the literature. Magical realism’s value of those with little prospect, opportunity
and hope is universally relatable. In children’s literature, magical realism introduces
concepts of change and equality without becoming
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People enjoy these stories for their honesty and
comparison between fact and fiction, even if they are sometimes indistinguishable.
In Ceremony Tayo, a half white, half Native American veteran, turns to alcoholism to
cope with his posttraumatic stress disorder. He eventually finds his pueblo spirituality
and ceremony is his best source of healing. In the beginning, Silko details the story with
horrific imagery about the war and the dry heat Tayo returns to, but by the end, ceremony
has enriched Tayo’s landscape and the imagery in the novel. In the end “the sky was a
washed pale blue by the glare of the sun (183)” as compared to the beginning when “the
sun was climbing then, and looked small in that empty morning sky. (8)” His newfound
enlightenment enriches his life, even in the wake of the change and transition the
ceremony brings to his life.
Posttraumatic stress disorder, drunkenness, and Native American ceremonies are
laden with inconstancies and confusion and magical elements add to this disorientation in
Ceremony. This added interest causes the underlying messages about clashes