Abstract

This study explores the intricate interplay between reality and magical elements in Neil Gaiman’s novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Drawing upon Jean Baudrillard's theoretical framework, this study investigates how Gaiman challenges the traditional notion of reality through the use of magical realism. Baudrillard claims that the postmodern individual lives in “the desert of the real” where there is no absolute reality anymore as the endless proliferation of simulacra marks the end of reality and truth, leading to the emergence of hyperreality and marked by extraordinarily vivid traumatic memories. By delving into the blurred boundaries between reality and magical realism, this research sheds light on the transformative and subversive potential of literature in transcending traditional realities. Non-recognition boundaries between reality and hyperreality create a world of blurred reality in the novel. This study explores the hyperreality and magical realism in Ocean at the End of the Lane by British author Neil Gaiman.

Key Words

Magical Realism, Hyper-reality, British Fiction

Introduction

British author Neil Gaiman has written novels, graphic novels, short tales, nonfiction books and audiobooks. He has written numerous works, including the popular The Sandman series, the critically acclaimed children's Coraline, and the macabre graphic novel The Graveyard. Once he realized he had written a novel instead of a short story, the author of The Ocean at the End of the Lane expressed shock. During a brief interview for Google's Talks series in 2013, Gaiman said that he was initially inspired to write in order to keep his wife entertained while she was away on business in Melbourne. It had to be different from other fantasy novels because she rarely read them. So, in order to win her approval, the author had to make his work more in line with her tastes and tone down the spectacular elements that run throughout most of his works. As a result, Gaiman's novel is highly autobiographical, with the fictional narrator serving as a kind of self-referential version of the author focusing on his feelings and personal experience. 

The man is on his way to Sussex to attend his father's funeral when he begins to randomly visit the locations he frequented as a child. Since he can vividly recall three generations of fascinating and powerful Hempstock ladies, he feels compelled to visit the Hempstock farmhouse. The smallest of the three, Lettie, was called the duck pond they shared an Ocean due to its expansiveness. The narrator, at the water's edge, thinks back to his seven-year-old self, remembering both happy and sad times. We enter the domain of hyper-reality as the hero awakes with a coin suffocating his throat. He and Lettie go to the older Hempstock women, who advise them to take precautions when attempting to bind the evil. 

Following this, a never-ending chain of strange occurrences takes place. Combining elements of both reality and fiction, the genuine becomes practically impossible to uncover while the ambiguous variety of reality may be discovered almost anyplace. The reader is so engaged in the fantastical world that he can no longer distinguish between reality and fiction. There is no boundary between fantasy and reality, says Federico Fellin (2020). In this strange universe, where varmints exist and the ocean is a pond, the reader is never sure if the little kid is making up everything he sees or if he is indeed living in this odd realm. Due to his harsh upbringing, the novel's young protagonist, John, creates an imaginary playmate named Lettie. Children who rely on their imaginations may be seen as socially inept by adults. This article explores how in The Ocean at the End of the Lane human mind is controlled by magic and how real and the hyper-real commingle to produce a world of blurred reality.

Literature Review

Jean Baudrillard, a French sociologist, created the term hyper-reality in Simulacra and Simulation in the 1980s (Baudrillard, 1994). Hyperreality refers to representations, signs, and the construction of a real without origin or reality by models. Commodities in this theoretical state, according to Baudrillard, do not have use-value as described by Karl Marx, but might instead be viewed as signs, as defined by Ferdinand de Saussure (Lepschy, 1985). In his view, hyperreality requires the creation of a sign or a set of signifiers that symbolise something that does not actually exist, such as Santa Claus. He takes from Jorge Luis Borges' On Exactitude in Science (which was originally borrowed from Lewis Carroll) an analogy of society where the map is so accurate that it completely hides what the cartographers were trying to show (Borges & Hurley, 1999). The map disappears into the countryside as the empire crumbles. In this circumstance, he claims, neither the representation nor the real survives, but only the hyperreal. In magical realism, the barriers between fiction and reality are blurred. Franz Roh, a German art critic, invented the term magischer realismus in his 1925  Nach Expressionismus: Magischer Realismus (After Expressionismus: Magical Realism) (Roh, 1925). 

Latin American authors were been writing novels about everyday life with mythical elements long before the term magical realism was used to describe them. For example, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis was published in 1915 (Kafka, 2018), a good decade before Roh argued about magic realism and decades before it debuted in Latin American literature, a novel containing themes that modern critics would label magical realism (Bloom, 2008). There are certain fantasy elements in this piece of literature that are not found in the real world, yet the setting is known to the reader, and the story is about something that does not happen in our world (Brooker, 1992). Magic is left unexplained in order to make it as commonplace as possible and to support the idea that it is a part of everyday life. It does not have a normal narrative arc like other literary genres, with a beginning, middle, and end.




Magical Realism

One of the most original literary trends of the 20th century was magical realism. Despite the widespread belief that Latin American writers are responsible for the genre's success, authors from all over the world have made significant contributions. Those works of literature belonging to magical realism show the world as it actually is but with a magical undercurrent. The subgenre of realism known as magical realism exists. Fantasy elements are not out of the ordinary in a magical realist work because the setting is still based on reality. When it comes to magical realism, the line between fiction and reality is often fuzzy, much like in a fairy tale. The artistic movement known by the same name as the term magical realism gave rise to the term magical realism. At the Modern Language Association Conference in 1955, Angel Flores presented her work titled Magical Realism in Spanish-American Literature. This was the first time the term magical realism was used in the context of literary criticism. The term magical realism is one that Flores defines as an amalgamation of realism with fancy (Hegerfeldt, 2005). Latin American and postcolonial literature both provide a rich foundation for magical realism, which is something that has been addressed within the domain of magical realism. Researchers that specialise in postcolonial literature in Latin America and the Caribbean are more engaged in the study of magical realism (Shahab, Faruk, & Rokhman, 2020).




Hyper-Reality

It was the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard who coined the word hyperreality to describe the postmodern semiotic situation of current civilization. It is a mental condition in which a person cannot distinguish between objective reality and personal interpretation of it. A hyper-real culture is one in which "the actual thing is demanded and, to get it, the absolute false is fabricated; where the lines of game and illusion are blurred”, as Umberto Eco puts it (Eco, 2014).




Historical Evolution of Hyper-Reality

Saussure's structural linguistics disturbed the links between words and things, language and reality, which is essential to grasp the concept of hyperreality (Kellner, 1989). This theory posits that there is a fundamental arbitrariness in the relationship between the referent (the thing in the real world to which a word refers) and the sign (the signified, or mental image of the referent) that is created when the two are combined through language. As a result of the lack of a consistent connection between names and the things that they designate, the fact that the names themselves are fully circular, a series of signifiers looking back at each other sans the grounding essential to render meaning broadens the breadth of the uncontrolled naming problem ( Manning, 2010; Schmitz, 2006). To address this chasm between reality and fiction, Baudrillard took Saussure's theoretical foundations and applied them to everyday life. The four phases of the image (Baudrillard, 1994) occur between a representation and a simulacrum. The first kind consists of works of art that merely reflect reality, such as paintings and novels. In the third stage three, where the image seems just as real as the Real, you start having trouble telling them apart, because stage three masks the absence. Notwithstanding this, the fourth stage of the image has no connection to any reality altogether. Instead, it is a recreation of reality that was created by patterns of an actual without origin or actuality: a hyperreal. According to Baudrillard, Disneyland represents the actual nation, all of true America, and the purpose of the theme park is solely to conceal this information. This indicates that the hyperrealism of Disneyland is there for the purpose of concealing the fact that there is no basic reality outside of the theme park.




Supporting Baudrillard's Concept of Hyper-Reality via Other Literary Evidences

The most complete explanation of Baudrillard's concept of hyperreality can be found in Simulacra and Simulations, which was published for the first time in 1981. Here, Baudrillard acknowledges his debt to the works of Walter Benjamin and Marshall McLuhan, he adds that the former is the person who was the first to comprehend technology as an instrument instead of as a 'productive force' (where at point the Marxist theory retreats), as the shape and principle of an altogether new generation of meaning (Benjamin & Eiland, 2003; Marchand, 1998). Also influential is Daniel J. Boorstin's The Image (2012), in which he discusses the societal impact of technology by stating, fantasy is more real than reality, where the image had more dignity than the original (Boorstin, 2012) and, later, Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle (1977), that investigates the impact that shows have on people's lives (Debord, 1977). 




Magical Realism

Magic realism refers to a subgenre of literary fiction and visual art. The term magic realism is typically applied to works of literature, such as novels and stage productions, that feature the presentation of magical or supernatural phenomena in what would otherwise be a realistic or mundane setting (Shahab et al., 2020; Bowers, 2004). Magical Realism emerged sometime in the early 20th century. The term magical realism refers to a style of art that was first described by Franz Roh in his 1925 article Magical Realism: Post Expressionism. For his definition of Magical Realism, Roh looks back at the history of art to find its historical precedents. Impressionism and Expressionism are his primary areas of interest. Magischer Realismus in 1925 describes the work of painters who adhered to the Neue Sachlichkeit ('New Objectivity') movement (Slemon, 1988).

Textual Analysis

Presence of Long-Dead Religious and Folkloric Practices

There are a number of references to old English folklore scattered throughout The Ocean at the End of the Lane. To begin, the "fleas" that live on the Hempstock farm can be found tucked away in the woods. In European mythology, forests are frequently portrayed as enchanted regions where fantastic creatures, such as fairies, witches, and extraordinary beasts, can be encountered. However, the forest creatures of Hempstock farm give off an aura of antiquity, which makes sense given the farm's supposed existence in the Doomsday and the likelihood that it existed a long time before the book was written. In addition, the farm's forest animals give off an air of antiquity. Second, the presence of the fairy ring gives rise to the suspicion that elements of English mythology are also involved. When the narrator steps within what he jokingly refers to as a "fairy ring" on the grass in front of his house, he is protected from the hunger birds and able to continue his story uninterrupted.




Magical Realist Focalizer

It is common for authors of magical realist literature to switch to an ex-centric focalized. According to Hegerfeldt, the narrative's ex-centric focalized is the perspective of its marginalized individuals, who convey a non-dominant worldview (p. 116). In magical realism, authors are free to express their own unique worldviews and critique established institutions and cultures by using the voices of their fictional characters. The reason why the viewpoint of children is utilized in magical realist fiction is due to the fact that, in general, adults view children as being on the periphery of society due to their ability to exert authority over children. There were times when the narrator made it abundantly evident how adults treated him, as a child, as an outcast in their society. A silver shilling was lodged in the narrator's windpipe when he woke up, and he felt he could not tell anyone about it, certainly not his parents. Even while he was certain that what he had just experienced was real and that it had actually taken place, he was also aware that no one would believe him.

The narrator's reluctance to share the details of a magical experience he had with adults is evidence of the fact that adults and children see the world in very different ways. He was able to convince himself, even as a young child, that magic was real and that the things that happened to him were not concocted. The shilling's presence in his neck could not be explained from a logical and scientific standpoint. On the other hand, he was unable to disclose this information to grownups. When he was an adult, he realized that people would not believe in magic. When compared to adults, youngsters live in a fantastically fantastical world. Rationality is essential for adults in making sense of the world. For this reason, it is clear that children and adults have quite different ways of understanding the world, particularly when it comes to the existence of magical phenomena.




Mirroring and Repetition

Events that brought the narrator to Hempstock farm, which appear repeatedly throughout The Ocean at the End of the Lane, are an example of this theme of repetition. Both when he first arrives at the farm and the first time he sees Lettie, who brought him there, somebody is dying. In the novel's prologue, the protagonist has just left a funeral and is on a long journey before visiting his sister. After a while of aimless travelling, he comes to the sad realization that his hometown no longer exists. He then continues down the road that leads to the Hempstock farm after arriving at the new house.

He runs into a woman who reminds him of Mrs Hempstock at that place. He starts to think back on Lettie as well as the duck pond after chatting with her for a long. He is moving in the direction of the latter and recalling more details. In his memories of his childhood, he recalls an incident in which he and his father discover their car is stolen one morning. The cops promptly call them to inform them that they've located the vehicle. The opal miner who was staying with them has apparently killed himself in their vehicle. After witnessing the body in the automobile, the narrator goes with his father and the police to the car, where he is forced to wait on the side of the road opposite the vehicle. After some time, Lettie approaches him and invites him to the Hempstock farm.

“You were here once when you were twenty-four, I remember. You had two young children, and you were so scared. You came here before you left these parts; you were, what, in your thirties then? I fed you a good meal in the kitchen, and you told me about your dreams and the art you were making” (Gaiman, 2013, p. 229).

The Ocean at the End of the Lane contains both repetitive and mirrored text. Lettie's Ocean (the pond) is one such place. Due to its shiny black surface, it can be mistaken for a mirror. The exterior mimics the appearance of a pond or body of water, leading onlookers to believe that nothing unusual is going on inside. On the other hand, underneath the surface, or on the other side of the mirror, is a whole new universe, one that has an infinite amount of information but in which a single person cannot survive for very long before being destroyed. As the narrator enters this hidden world to escape the ravenous birds, he is exposed to its secrets for the first time. At that point, the narrator has a sudden epiphany: he knows everything there is to know.




Art of the Words

Many people have used the metaphor of "the ocean of (undiscovered) knowledge" to refer to the vast amount of information that has yet to be uncovered. This allegory is represented in The Ocean at the End of the Lane by the duck pond located behind the Hempstock home. Lettie's "Ocean," a pond, has a limitless amount of information just below the surface. Humanity is unlikely to ever learn most of this information. Lettie is correct that spending too much time in the ocean is suicidal. Another downside to diving is that as you come up for air, you forget all you learned. Once the narrator gets out of the pond, he forgets what he learned there.

The fictional subgenre of literature known as magical realism often blends aspects of the real world into its stories in order to present a convincing narrative of events that are highly improbable. The novel creates a paradox that is typical of the literary subgenre to which it belongs because of the way in which it combines magical and ordinary elements in this way. Gaiman is a great master of horror, and as a storyteller, he has a good grasp of the dynamic that exists between the storyteller, reader, and fictitious protagonist. His works include American Gods and American Gods: The protagonist of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, a young child, is resourceful and determined in the face of a terrible and foreign world, similar to the protagonists of "Coraline" and "The Graveyard " (Faris, 2004, p. 90). When the narrator comes to, he discovers that he has a penny lodged in his neck, which is a horrifying scene that has been waiting for him. When he and Lettie seek advice from the older two Hempstock ladies, they tell him that in order to protect themselves from any potential consequences, they need to take precautions before attempting to "bind" the evil. Throughout the entirety of the book, the author devotes a significant amount of attention and time to the same tried-and-true defence strategy: "Adults follow paths. Children explore" (Gaiman, 2013, p.74).

The scene in which the narrator's father bursts down the bathroom door and tosses the scared youngster into a frigid bath while holding him under the water is the most wonderfully realized and dramatic section in the novel. This is because the child is holding his breath the entire time. During this particular scenario, the narrator's father is seen holding the boy under the water before tossing him into the body of water.

Take a look at the gruesomely realistic hyperrealism that it displays in its application: "I looked at him [the father], at the intent expression on his face. He was wearing a light blue shirt and a maroon paisley tie. He pulled off his watch on its expandable strap, and dropped it on the window ledge." Take a look at how well Gaiman caught the authoritative figure of a parent in this essay and one will see how precisely he did it. It's wonderful. It seems as though time has stopped going forward because the narrator is focusing on the "intent expression" as well as the minutest details. It was incredible how the watch was removed in such a cautious manner; this demonstrated the calm and prepared demeanour of a torturer who was about to begin their task. The tender care taken in taking off the watch was touching. 

In a flash, the kid would reach out and "clamp" his teeth into the maroon paisley tie, right below the knot, holding on so valiantly that his father could not force him down and drown him. This will prevent his father from being able to push him down and drown him. Because of this, it will be impossible for his father to drag him against his will into the ocean and drown him. We take in the situation, comprehend it on its own terms, endure it, and, most importantly, feel the feelings that it produces in us as a direct outcome of the situation. In addition to that, it causes a feeling of chilliness because it presents the circumstances in an honest manner. There will be none of the foolishness associated with the supernatural, such as ghosts or monsters. This event will not take place. There are no incidences of the supernatural included in this. "I saw the world I had walked since my birth, and I understood how fragile it was, that the reality I knew was a thin layer of icing on a cake." The narrator reflects after having a surreal experience of space and time and entering the pond that is an ocean. It is enough to shake our sense that "everyday reality" is particularly real to try to wrap our brains around scientific images of space and time, light and black holes, the Big Bang and its consequences.

According to the findings of the investigation, every distinguishing feature can be related to the others by a common thread that runs through them all. The Hempstocks, Ursula Monkton, and the ravenous birds are all examples of irreducible aspects that combine with the phenomenal world that the characters inhabit to create a melting of worlds. This melting occurs because the Hempstocks, Ursula Monkton, and the ravenous birds all exist simultaneously. The story's action revolves around the blending of different worlds in some way. Even as the narrator and protagonist are left wondering whether or not Lettie and her family are human, he is also left wondering whether or not the water in Lettie's world is indeed an ocean or just a duck pond, which exemplifies the unsettling doubts brought on by the merging of worlds. The narrator and protagonist are left wondering whether or not the water in Lettie's world is indeed an ocean or just a duck pond.

Conclusion

The barrier between real and unreal is blurred because magical realism and hyperreality both blur the line between fantasy and reality. In order to demonstrate that there are ties between the various characteristics that are predicated upon the two fundamental conceptions of magical realism and hyper-reality, this barrier was purposefully blurred. The building of the phenomenal world makes use of models and criteria for aesthetic excellence that were already established in the past. The study presents the combination of magical realism, hyper-realism, and references to the real world, and via its utilization of these features, it depicts how children are capable of presenting an original view of the world.  The author of The Ocean at the End of the Lane gives the audience a view inside the mind of the main character, who serves as a conduit for the audience's own exploration, through the intertwining of elements of magical realism throughout the story of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Both the protagonist and the narrator go through substantial shifts in their worldview as a result of the unusual events that take place throughout the course of the novel's storyline. These alterations are a direct consequence of the larger narrative thread that runs throughout the book.

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