Towards a subjective reality: Narrative strategies in the early Garcia Marquez (1947-1955)

The early fiction of Gabriel Garcia Marquez is often dismissed as overly fantastic, obsessed with death, and largely imitative. However, in terms of both content and narrative technique, these works reveal the author's literary maturation and the early development of concepts later elaborated in Cien anos de soledad. While the earliest short stories (1947-1949) are purely fantastic, Garcia Marquez soon begins to incorporate a social context, thus questioning the dividing line between empirical reality and individual perceptions of that reality.;When the short stories are examined chronologically, it becomes evident that the author gradually grew more adept at making the subjective world-visions indistinguishable from the objective or "possible" reality. The characters gradually cease to express surprise or fear at the lack of rationality in their worlds. Thus the reader is thrust into an active role, one of questioning both the narrator's reliability and the limits of his own perceived reality.;La hojarasca represents the most extensive depiction of separate, individual realities; the worlds of the three narrators coexist side-by-side, but with no communication or understanding between them. It is this type of interiorization, examining both the causes and the effects of subjective realities, which provides most insight into the solitary and impenetrable characters of Cien anos.;The contemporaneous journalism reflects similar tendencies; although often ignored in literary criticism, it provides insight into Garcia Marquez's developing narrative style as well as his growing fascination with Colombian folk culture. Where relevant, it must be included in studies of the literary production of those years.