Last week when I was in my English class, a bug flew onto my computer screen. I immediately got scared and started to panic. Why did I react with fear when , since bugs are such a basic part of nature normal part of life? Everyone responds to elements of fear differently; thus, , and for some people, bugs pose no threat at all. Gothic literature and Magical realism highlight these two contrasting reactions by creating similar situations for characters,  while showing different reactions to the established conditions. Gothic literature is a style of writing that emphasizes elements of fear, horror, death, gloom, and high emotion, while Magical realism uses fantastic or mythic elements in a realistic style. Gothic author Edgar Allan Poe and Magical realist author Julio Cortázar successfully demonstrate similarities and differences between the genres throughout their short stories, The Fall of the House of Usher and House Taken Over. Although both Gothic literature and Magical realism have characters whose lives are disrupted by supernatural forces, the genres are fundamentally different in the darkness of the setting and the pathway of characters’ relationships.

In both genres, authors utilize specific settings that create struggles for the characters. In Poe’s story, the narrator pictures that his friend “was enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenanted...” (Poe). Poe uses the word “enchained” to illustrate that Usher’s house has an overwhelming power over him, which contributes to his rising distress. Similarly, in House Taken Over, after the “strange noise” has invaded a part of the house, the narrator mentions that he and his sister Irene have to cook “with the table in Irene’s room and platters of cold supper” (Cortázar). Just like in The Fall of the House of Usher, the two siblings’ in House Taken Over are also disturbed by the supernatural power of the house as they are forced to certain locations. Gothic Literature and Magical Realism utilize constructed frightening elements,  as both Poe’s and Cortázar’s stories emphasize that the setting takes away the characters’ control over themselves.

Even though the two genres utilize similar elements to generate tension, the setting in Gothic literature is develops to be significantly more dangerous. This is suggested through the ending of The Fall of the House of Usher when the main character Usher dies, as his sister’s “final death agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse...” (Poe). Usher and his sister’s savage torment to each other represents a deadly and dark setting of Gothic Literature. On the other hand, Magical Realism focuses on the strangeness of supernatural events rather than the danger that Gothic literature presents. When the noises in Cortazar’s story take over, the siblings are somewhat happy because “the cleaning was so much simplified” (Cortazar). The fact that the characters are not too upset by the house’s power and successfully escape at the end shows indicates the more casual,  and adventurous nature of Magical Realism. This feature in Magical Realism encourages audiences to view strange events more optimistically, whereas the danger in Gothic Literature aims to frighten the readers and allows them to experience fear.

In addition to the varying levels of danger in the setting, Gothic works and Magical Realist works focus on different sibling relationship changes due to fear. At the beginning of The Fall of the House of Usher, Usher shows deep caring to his sister as he illustrates her illness “with a bitterness which [his friend] can never forget” (Poe). Poe depicts a close connection between the siblings by showing that Usher suffers tremendously from his sister’s upcoming death. As the story progresses, however, the siblings’ relationship ultimately worsens because they violently kill each other. Contrarily, House Taken Over starts with the brother’s description that “Irene was only interested in the knitting and showed a wonderful dexterity” (Cortazar).

Readers are informed of the lack of connection  irrelevance and boredom between the brother and the sister because they barely have any interactions. In the later phases in the story, however though, the strange noise in the house brought them closer as they coped started to cope with their struggle together.

Both Gothic literature and Magical Realism put characters in conditions that include some elements of fear, yet the protagonists respond to them with different approaches. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe and House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar both create a setting that takes away the characters’ control over themselves. Poe’s work identifies their struggles with extremity, ultimately worsening the sibling relationship and developing a more dangerous setting. Cortázar’s story, however, creates such difficulty to bring the siblings closer, which makes  and therefore the setting seem seems less dangerous. These differences suggest that there are different possible reactions towards the unexpected, multiple reactions to the unexpected exist, and it all depends on how one perceives the threat and how one decides to act on it.