Time, Space, and
Fantasy, Haruki
Murakami and Carlos
Fuentes KHANH MINH TRINH
SENIOR SEMINAR
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
Thesis Statement
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
Hard Boiled Wonder Land Aura
2 spaces - 1 time 2 time - 1 space
Uses of “I”
1993 Tokyo, Japan
Programing
Uses of “You”
Translating
Simultaneity
Convergence
Writing
1962 Mexico City, Mexico
Opens Endings
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