The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a fictional story dually narrated by the two protagonists, Celia and Marco, two magicians in training who are set to compete against one another in an age old competition held by their tutors. Celia Bowen is the daughter of Hector Bowen, a famous stage magician operating in England, who discovers her natural ability for magic when her mother sends her back to him, claming she was the "devil's child". Marco Alisdair is an orphan who is adopted by Alexander, refered to as the alusive "man in the grey suit", for his part in the game. Much less connected and invovled with Marco than Celia and Hector, Alexander works as a watchful guardian who gives Marco the teachings necessary and nothing more, when Hector follows his daughter and raises her with the competition in mind.

The compeition, which has not been directly stated as to what it will involve yet, starts with Celia and Marco at a young age. When Hector Bowen and Alexander meet to verify the competion, a rematch from a previous game, Alexander first asks if Prospero has "at least considered the possibility that she could be lost, should the competition not play out in her favor" (17).  A detail that brings the fate of the competitors into the the mind of the reader and creates even more confusion of the compeition itself. This slight note to the menacing intentions of the game also show the relationship between Hector and Celia, giving the author the decision as to whether Hector believes in her inability to fail or lack of care for her life. Once Hector has assured Alexander of her ability, by allowing her to levitate then destroy and reassemble a pocket watch, Alexander takes off his ring and places it around Celia's finger, where it burns and fuses with her scaring her skin, marking her admission into the game. Propsero gives Alexander a similar ring to give to his student once he selects one as to lock in the contestants.

The Reason that the book is called The Night Circus is because Hector and Alexander decide that the arena for their game should be held in a circus. This circus has become the main theme of the book so far with the activities there being the warm up between Celia and Marco. A man named Chandresh, a rich man a need for a new activity, is sought out by Alexander and convinced to start a circus, the Circus des Reves or the Circus of Dreams. He becomes the head of the circus, organizing and building it up. He brings together all arrangements of performers from contortionists to performing identical twins and gymnasts, but the most important pieces of the circus are Celia and Marco themselves. They each operate within the circus, but independently. Due to the rules of the game, they are not allowed to directly interact with one another, but the circus allows them to show off and experiment with their skills. The first part of the game is to show off what the two can do and try to best the other contender. Celia, for example, has specific tents that she operates on opening nights where she causes a contorionists to disappear in a cloud of smoke out of a sealed glass box, or when she designs a magical carrousel that baffels and excites the guests. Marco also gets to show his abilities in his own tents, a tent that is a garden of flowers and fruits all made of ice, or a grand bonfire that glows all colors of the rainbow and extends ten feet high.

The parts that stick out the most for me with regard to literary presence and what we have been doing this year in english are that of the description of the circus itself and some key literary devices that have been used. Obviously there is the foil between the two main characters of Celia and Marco, their interaction with one another and the different backgrounds they have coming into the compeition. There is the interesting way the story is arranged by chapter with short excerpts stemming from Celia's point of view then shifting to Marco's or of a third party member like the circus' members or even Hector/ Alexander. The most gripping part though has been the emphasis on colors and presentation of the circus. Everything is in a glimmering silver, a charcoal black, or a glowing white that seems to permeat all aspects of the circus. The magical realism of the circus can be seen in the actual magical feats that occur within the circus and the interactions that the vistors have. I believe that my research on the project should be into magic and its precieved effects because the term "magical realism" is perfect for the The Night Circus. The cricus is run by actual magic and has a magical air about it for all the vistors that come through the silver and gold gates.