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