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The Blending of the Real and Unreal in Mumbo Jumbo

     Throughout Mumbo Jumbo, Ishmael Reed offers several fictional narratives that are crucial to the plot of the book, including the Hoodoo elements, and the historical narrative in chapter 52. These elements drive forward both the plot and the general themes of the book, but if these elements are just offered forwards, readers are unlikely to be convinced by the reality of these elements. However, Ishmael Reed uses the inclusion of many real, historical elements, which drives forward the readers' belief of the fictional elements, and ultimately, the themes and overall message of the book.
     Throughout the book, real events, such as the US invasion of Haiti, or the election of Warren Harding, frame and actively shape the plot of the book, and the actions that the fictional characters take, even without being major elements of the plot. When Reed offers his historical narrative in chapter 52, with the millennia long war between Atonism and Jes Grew, the readers witness a view of history almost entirely different than any 'conventional' view of history, and while it initially seems ridiculous, the establishment of all of the real historical figures and events previously in the book allows the readers to more easily believe the whole framing, as small elements of it that are actually real and historical, have already been established. 

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