Abstract:
This study focuses on investigating the presentation of ghost like characters in Watu wa
Gehenna (Tom Olali) and Babu Alipofufuka (Said Ahamed Mohammed). The presentation in
this study has been prompted by the interactive nature of the characters which creates a
complexity for the readers in capturing the messages conveyed by the characters in these
selected experimental novels. The term 'magical realism', originally used by painters in the
1920s, used to describe the literary works of Argentina's Jorge Luis Borges, as well as the
works of writers such as Gabriel García Marquez of Colombia, Isabel Allende of Chile,
Günter Grass of Germany, Italo Calvino of Italy, and John Fowles of England. These authors
combine a specially formulated reality in an ever changing pattern, representing a series of
detailed descriptions of fantasy and using fantasy elements such as myths and legends in their
works. Their works presuppose that through magical transformations, the co-relation between
magic and artistic expression is evident. When magical transformations are utilized in literary
works, they foreground meaning. In essence, this is a form of defamiliarization or deviation
from the usual mode, aimed at making society to examine itself more critically. The authors
of these works use a variety of writing techniques to the point of making these novels
challenging to read. Magical realism leaves a lot of readers in confusion. A mode that exists
somewhere between fantasy and reality, many readers get mixed up with speculative fiction,
urban fantasy, and much more. It can be unsettling, and some readers find it absolutely
infuriating. It is in this context that the research seeks to analyze magical transformations in
the above mentioned novels. The research will be mainly library based. The data will be
analyzed and presented in the form of explanation. The findings of this study aim to promote
and expand the understanding of novel and multimodal approaches. This research will inspire
other researchers to study more effectively the diversities of characters and magical
presentations on the basis of Magical Realism in literature.
