Question

My father knew I understood more than I could say. He told me stories about Cuba after Columbus came. He said that the Spaniards wiped out more Indians with smallpox than with muskets.

Which best describes an element of magic realism used by Garcia in this excerpt?
She shows the close relationship that Pilar had with her father.
She connects the events to the colonial history of Latin America.
She is a modern writer developing a story about Spanish history.
She characterizes Columbus’s discovery as an extraordinary event.

Answer 1

She connects the events to the colonial history of Latin America.

Magic realism often blends personal/family narrative with broader historical and cultural realities; the passage ties Pilar’s intimate memories to the colonial past (Columbus, Spaniards, smallpox).