Magical Realism In Axolotl By Julio Cortazar

In the short story, Axolotl, the author, Julio Cortazar, illustrates a person’s lack of ability to express their thoughts or emotions to other people through elements of Magical Realism and the symbol of the axolotl. Cortazar shows the axolotls ability to not be able to show their emotions by using diction when the boy “imagin[es] them aware, slaves of their bodies, condemned infinitely to the silence of the abyss, to a hopeless meditation. Their blind gaze, the diminutive gold disc without expression,”(??). One’s emotions are said to be found in their eyes, as they are “windows to the soul”, but without them the axolotl does not convey any emotion. Furthermore, the axolotls are unable to vocalize their thoughts, their only ability is to think.