The Treatment of Magical Realism as Narrative Strategy in David Wiseman’s Jeremy Visick

Abstract

This study analyses the magical and realistic phenomena in David Wiseman’s Jeremy Visick. There are some events occurred in the novel where it is considered to be supernatural, and unrealistic. The novel shows us unrealistic interactions between the main character, Matthew, and the Visicks family. Matthew himself can interact with Jeremy Visick. There are realistic depictions from the novel such as where the setting of the novel takes place. Magical realism is used in this study because the merging of magical and realistic phenomena that occurred is within magical realism analysis. The phenomena is analyzed using Faris’ magical realism theory which gives five elements to determine either the text considered magical realism or not. These five elements include the irreducible element (magical events), the phenomenal world (realistic events), unsettling doubt (doubts from reader), merging realm (combination of opposing world), and the disrupted time, space and identity (bizzare events that disrupt the normal time, space, and identity). Additionally, these elements will be analyzed using defocalization as a narrative technique. Later, the defocalization is used to determine the ideological construction from the narrative. Qualitative research is used in this study because the data are in the form of words and sentences. The data are divided into primary and secondary data. The primary data are taken directly from the novel, Jeremy Visick, in form of direct quotation. The data can be dialogue or paragraphs that represent the magical realism in the novel. The secondary data are taken from books, thesis, and internet journals which related to the topic discussed to support the study of magical realism in Jeremy Visick. In Jeremy Visick, the magic element is defined by the presence of ghosts of dead people, and the illogical experience that happened to the main character ix Matthew, while the realism in the novel is the real world he lives in. The five characteristics in Faris’ theory to define magical realism found in this novel are to define the treatment of magical realism in Jeremy Visick. The first element, irreducible events can be seen in the presence of ghosts in the text. The second element, the phenomenal world is evident through the real world places and historical figure mentioned in the novel: classroom, James Watt, and mining areas in Cornwall. The third element, unsettling doubts is when readers doubt Matthew’s ability to see Jeremy and the other dead people, whether it is real or it is just a dream. The fourth element is merging realms which are shown when two timelines, past (Jeremy’s) and present (Mathhew’s) merge into one. The last element, disruption of space, time, and identity, is shown in the narrative when Matthew sees and experiences the past and the traces of the event itself. Wiseman uses defocalization as a narrative strategy since two different perspectives exist in Jeremy Visick. Wiseman presented the encounter of a twelve-year-old young boy with another boy who was already dead hundred years ago in the appearance of a ghost or spirit. Through magical events, the narrative repeatedly explains the difficult kind of life Jeremy has as a boy compared to Matthew. Hence, the narrative is linked not only through the spirit presence of its defocalized mode but also to historical and social contexts. Wiseman presents social issues within the narrative with magical events which can be said to relate to postmodernism. The defocalized narrative, by the presence of two perspective, can be seen as an attempt to recover the history of child labor in the mines in the 1800s. This novel stands in opposition to real history of child labor in Cornwall mines in the eighteenth century where many children were employed to work in the mines and died because of it. Jeremy is fictional but a representative character for all the children who worked and died because of the harsh conditions while working in the mines.