2 a : cast as a single piece < a monolithic concrete wall> b : formed or composed of material without joints or seams < a monolithic floor covering> c : consisting of or constituting a single unit
3 a : constituting a massive undifferentiated and often rigid whole < a monolithic society> b : exhibiting or characterized by often rigidly fixed uniformity
-Merriam-Webster Online
Page 51: "He found Francisco the Man, like a monolithic chameleon, sitting in the midst of a circle of bystanders."
2. After Ursula finds the nearby village, Macondo changes dramatically. Ursula opens a candy animal shop, and the town in general flourishes. Pilar gives birth to a son, Arcadio, by Jose Arcadio. A young, thumb-sucking orphan arrives mysteriously one day, and the Buendia family receives her as one of their own. Unfortunately the girl is affected with an extremely contagious insomnia plague, and the whole town contracts it in time. The plague causes them to stay awake at all hours, leading to drastic memory loss. Eager to retain their memories, the townsfolk begin labeling everything from "clock" to "cow," giving specific instructions on what to do with each. One day, just as things begin looking severely melancholy for Macondo, Melquiades shows up with a remedy and a daguerreotype, the later of which fascinates the healed Jose Arcadio Buendia. He seeks to use the machine to prove that God either exists or does not exist. Aureliano, meanwhile, has become a highly successful silversmith, but seems to have a problem connecting with the opposite gender. A magistrate arrives, attempting to force all of the houses to be painted blue, but after much conflict with Jose Arcadio Buendia and other townsfolk, he gives up. His family, the Moscotes, consisting of seven daughters and his wife, moves to Macondo, and although the conflict was resolved, Jose Arcadio Buendia continues to hold hard feelings. Unbeknownst to him, Aureliano falls in love with the youngest daughter, Remedios. Fighting to hold back his emotions, he sleeps with Pilar, who soon after helps him woo Remedios. Amaranta and Rebeca, the two daughters of the Buendia family, both fall madly in love with Pietro Crespi, the energetic and refined young Italian who comes to set up their pianola. Crespi chooses Rebeca, much to Amaranta's dismay. Melquiades passes away, creating the first death in Macondo. Pilar becomes pregnant with Aureliano's child, but he is engaged to Remedios and does not pay much mind to the pregnancy. Jose Arcadio Buendia dreams of the man he killed again, and in a frenzy he asserts that it has been Monday for a week. He completely loses his mind, and his family and neighbors are forced to tie him to a tree in order to detain him.
3. It's interesting that while, in the previous section no progress was made, in this section progress is made, but it is not necessarily a good thing. The town of Macondo becomes more urbanized by the arrival of the nearby townsfolk; businesses boom, people move in, and it seems that capitalism is rising. However, although the magistrate eventually comes to an agreement with Jose Arcadio Buendia, they start off on extremely bad terms. This could be a metaphor for government in general. Although it is said that Marquez does not put his communist beliefs in this novel, he could be trying to make a subtle statement about government control. The town spacing seemed awfully communist to me, with each house receiving the same amount of shade and sun each day, and each property the same distance from the water. Also, as the town flourishes, and people arrive, so do undesirable situations. There is a young woman who sleeps with seventy men a night in order to pay her grandma back, and although Pilar was in essence prostituting herself, this girl takes it to a much greater level. Overall, I got the sense that with progress comes a kind of harsh, real-world lifestyle that seems incredibly crude compared to the innocence of earlier Macondo. Is the lack of purity worth it? Solitude again plays a critical role, exemplified particularly strongly by Jose Arcadio Buendia. After throwing himself passionately into his work yet again, he loses his mind. His family sees no choice but to tie him to a tree like an animal, where he sits raving in a foreign tongue day in and day out. This is the ultimate solitude: to live among humans, but not be allowed within them. To be treated like another species, chained to a tree to endure the elements. Aureliano, who previously seemed to dislike solitude, has isolated himself completely. He spends all of his time in the lab, never concerning himself with finding friends or a woman until he meets Remedios. He does not necessarily seems happy in his solitude, but he seems content. Even after meeting young Remedios, he tries to force his emotion aside. This uncomfortable dealing with of emotion seems to be a common trait of the Buendia family, who in their isolation seem to have lost the capacity to truly feel. The character Rebeca really interested me in this section, with her soil and wall-chipping eating tendencies and her mysterious origins. I love that Ursula did not question the child when she showed up, simply accepted her as a child and raised her as such, tough love and all. Magic again runs prominently through the novel, but again in a subtle, almost believable way. When the insomnia plague curses the village, it does not seem fantastically far-fetched; rather, it seems like something that could truly happen. Melquiades returns with his magic remedies, both saving the day and tempting Jose Arcadio Buendia with an innovation one last time. The gypsy seemed immortal, but when he died at the Buendia house, he could not come back. I wonder if this will be the case throughout the novel or if he will make another appearance.
4. Is Melquiades and his "final" death symbolic of something? He seemed immortal until the very point of his death... is he truly dead? Does his death after beating so many odds represent something?
Where did Rebeca come from? Were her parents really friends of the Buendias, even though they cannot remember them? What final purpose will she serve?
Will Jose Arcadio Buendia become sane again? If so, what will he say of his time as a lunatic? If not, why did the author choose to include this terrible fate? Is the tree symbolic of genesis, when Eve took the forbidden fruit of knowledge from the tree and in turn fated herself and her kin to sin and suffering? Is Jose Aracdio Buendia representative of Eve?
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