Myth and magic realism have been evident in the many fiction readings we have analyzed this semester. One of my favorite reads that we read and analyzed in this course this semester was The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges. This literary piece tells the well-known myth of the Cretan Minotaur from another point of view compared to other variants of this known myth. We were exposed to different elements through which these authors incorporate into their work such as myth and magical realism as a means for the reader to somehow relate to or blend a realistic depiction of everyday phenomena and events with magical elements. In this essay I will discuss the use of these elements in The House of Asterion and how they help realize what the author proposes for myself and other readers to interpret and how much impact they have in accentuating genres of fiction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this piece Borges' use of physical and metaphorical themes allowed me as a reader to interpret his work and see examples where there is magical realism used throughout the story as it allows the reader to relate to some of the psychological and human qualities given to the minotaur. As the title states, this story features Asterion the Minotaur awaiting his "redemption" from the labyrinth whose purpose is usually to trap, confuse, and provide a means of isolation. The reader can interpret a spectrum of messages that this piece can invoke while reading. Asterion's sense of loneliness in this labyrinth led me to interpret that it creates a prison and isolating solitude for him mentally and physically most of the time. Asterion's loneliness is visible through himself and the outside population who likely see him as monstrous and his only source of comfort tends to bow "majestically" to "another Asterion", suggesting his profound isolation and living with and through own imagination. Although his only friend tends to be a fictional carbon copy of himself, the internal pain caused by self-infliction, destruction, and withdrawal from normal experience outside of his mind allows the reader to sympathize somewhat with the Minotaur and the use of magical realism in this story. it gives the protagonist of this story some human qualities such as emotions and other notable characteristics such as the setting of this story which we will talk about later. He may not be a literal prisoner, but Asterion's isolation creates a prison for his mental self. He scoffs at the idea that he might be a prisoner and reminds us that “the door is open” and “I must add, there is no lock.” Yet, Asterion lives in his mind; he neither indulges in reading nor ventures into other worlds to escape from literature, nor is he interested in “what a man may publish abroad for other men.” Rather, he focuses internally, mentally distancing himself from the outside world. He prefers to play with his mind "crouched in the shade of a well or in a corner of one of the corridors". Asterion lives in the shadows, often losing himself in nothingness and opening his eyes to find that it has gone dark. Asterion describes his interactions with his surroundings and gives the reader the impression that he does not exist outside of his mind, or perhaps is struggling to feel existence. While he elaborately describes his labyrinth, detailing “troughs, courtyards, and springs,” it is only in the final statement he makes that he describes his own appearance, pondering whether his so-called redeemer will be “aman or a bull? Could it perhaps be a bull with the face of a man? Or he will be like me." Unfortunately, the terror he sees on the faces of those outside the labyrinth as “people prayed, ran away, prostrated themselves before [him]” further reinforces his isolation. Asterion observes his environment and interacts with the world through his thoughts and fantasies; he is not blind to the outside world, he is enlightened as to how the outside world perceives him and is forced by fear to retreat within and exist only within his consciousness. Asterion is trapped in a constant cycle of self-internalization. Furthermore, through the self-infliction of pain, Asterion challenges his own existence, attempting to feel and experience something external to himself. The physical pain strangely temporarily pulls Asterion out of his confined mind. He charges “through the stone halls until he falls dizzily to the ground” finding pleasure in throwing himself “off the rooftops until he bleeds,” a desperate manifestation of his cyclical loneliness. Despite his extreme self-mutilation, Asterion never "bloodies his hands" with the blood of others. He lives and interacts fully within himself. Yet, after the prediction of his redeemer, Asterion no longer feels “pain for [himself] in solitude.” We may not know, but perhaps death will be the end of his pain, the end of the isolation he has suffered in enduring the expected eternity of his predicament. Knowing there is an end, Asterion finds some form of peace. The destruction of Asterion frees him from the prison of his mind almost like a child distracted by a toy. By reading this and doing some research on Borges I learned that his work is known to contain the style of magical realism and is one of the focal points for the literary community for this specific genre. A possible counterargument to the points mentioned above might be that, while my point might be that the labyrinth might be all in the Minotaur's mind, I think there are points in the story that suggest a physical and material reality outside of his head, for example the men who visit every nine years, their footsteps and voices echoing in the “stone galleries”. and some other cases that might indicate this. Although the Minotaur may be physically confined to a labyrinth, Borges' retelling of the story makes it clear that the true confinement is his isolation in his mind. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Magical realism is a subgenre of fantasy to some extent. However, what differentiates it from a full fantasy genre and other more realistic extensions of fantasy is the normalization of the "weird." Most of the fantasy novels I read as a child take time to explain how their world works. Magical realism does not and describes something like a man or creature living in the depths of a place for days on end or being isolated in a labyrinth in this case for its entire life as usual. No one in the world doubts it, not even the writer. If someone were to survive at the bottom of a well or be trapped in a labyrinth for life or for weeks, it would definitely require some sort of "magic" in our world. But magical realism chooses to ignore it and present it as true, which is what offers the unique style of other writing genres and makes it an underrated and beautiful element that can be implemented in different writing genres, especially in fiction. Works CitedUsongo, Kenneth. "The Meaning of Magical Realism in Elechi Amadi's Novels." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Vol. 54, no. 2, 51–56.,.2012.22007.