1. Pessaries: 1 : a vaginal suppository
2 : a device worn in the vagina to support the uterus, remedy a malposition, or prevent conception
-Merriam-Webster Online
P 349: "Since Aureliano Segundo had no other pictures except those of his wedding and the copies were all in the family album, he kept searching all through the house when his wife was not looking, and finally, in the bottom of the dresser, he came across a half-dozen pessaries in their original box."
2. Ursula, refreshed by the end of the four-year rain, decides to fix the house. She finds Jose Arcadio Segundo, and Aureliano Segundo returns to Petra Cotes. With their animals dead, they spend more time enjoying each other, eventually falling deeply into a passionate love. Ursula dies, small and weak and definitely over 120 years of age. Rebeca also dies. A heat wave begins affecting the town, and a strange creature is said to be wandering the streets. The "Wandering Jew," as it is called, concerns the townspeople greatly. Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo near death, with Aureliano rushing to finance Amaranta Ursula's education and Jose Arcadio struggling to decipher Melquiades' prophecies. The two men die at the same time, and at the last moment, their coffins are switched and they are buried in one another's places. Aureliano (II) seems to inherit Aureliano Buendia's love of solitude, and he spends much of his time in Melquiades's lab, sometimes even encountering the ghost of Melquiades, who tells him that the manuscripts will only be decipherable when they reach one hundred years of age. Santa Sofia de la Piedad, who has been serving as an unofficial and unrecognized servant to the family, gathers her things and leaves in frustration. Fernanda dies in this section as well, and her son Jose Arcadio (II) comes to claim the glory and wealth she boasted about in her letters. He, in fact, has not been in the seminary, but instead living in wait for his inheritance. He discovers the falsity of his mother's illustrations of grandeur, but not long after he also discovers the fortune of the Saint Joseph statue. He invites over children from the town and lives recklessly, also attempting to make a connection with Aureliano (II). The last son of Aureliano Buendia, the one hidden in the mountains, comes asking for help, but is shot in front of the house. The section ends with one of the children from the town killing Jose Arcadio (II) to steal the gold.
3. Ursula, in her shrinking old age, serves as a parallel to Macondo. As she advances in age, she becomes smaller, eventually looking "like a newborn old woman." "Little by little she was shrinking, turning into a fetus, becoming mummified in life to the point that in her last months she was a cherry raisin lost inside her nightgown, and the arm that she always kept raised looked like the paw of a marimonda monkey." This descent, or rather return, to childhood is also visible in Macondo, which is returning to its infancy as well. Ignorant and repellant of progress, Macondo has returned to the way it was at the commencement of the novel; in fact, the gypsies come to town again, bringing the magnifying glasses and magnets, and the residents are as amazed as they were in Jose Arcadio Buendia's time. This demonstrates the cyclical movement of time, particularly within the novel, as once again, Macondo is back to its origins. Arcadio (II) attempts to tell the true story of what happened with the banana plantation workers, but the people of Macondo refuse to listen to what they do not want to hear. Because of this unwillingness to accept or even listen to reality, the people have created a false reality of their own. They are essentially living in a fiction, but to them it is absolute truth. Once again, this really made me question reality vs. perception. Who is to say that what one person views as reality is, in fact, reality? We could all be blocking out important facts, or having things hidden from us. Just because we aren't aware of something does not mean that it did not happen. The extremes in this novel are fascinating, particularly those of weather and progress. The weather constantly switches from one far-fetched extreme to another. First, Macondo experiences a draught. Soon after the draught begins wearing the town down, the rain starts, and does not ease up for well over four years. Once the town is suitably destroyed, or cleansed, depending on the interpretation, the rain stops and gives way to a heat stroke. There is no middle ground, no pleasant weather. Everything is one end of the spectrum or the other. Likewise, with progress, Macondo is either extremely far behind and isolated or much too connected. The town goes from being entirely solitude-based and innocent to corrupt and political. It then regresses into solitude and naivety again. The town never seems to stop changing, whether toward or away from progress.
4. Will anyone decipher Melquiades' manuscripts? Many a Buendia has tried to read the prophecies, but so far nobody has succeeded. Melquiades's ghost seemed to give clues that they will be read, however. Who will read them?
Water seems to be becoming more significant; in fact, I had not noticed prior to this section its prominence within the story, but it plays a large part. Between the fish, the rain, the quest for the land route, the attempt to bring a ship to Macondo, and the death of Jose Arcadio (II) in the bathtub, it is obviously a common theme. What is it suggesting?
Will fire make another appearance? It was suggested strongly throughout much of the earlier book, from blatant mentions to the hidden references to yellow. Will it appear again before the novel concludes?
How old was Ursula really? I know age is not a huge meticulous matter in the book, but I'm confused. I thought she was older than Pilar?
Showing posts with label one hundred years of solitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label one hundred years of solitude. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 8
1. Cataclysm: 1 : flood, deluge
2 : catastrophe 3a
3 : a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition; broadly : an event that brings great changes.
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 305: "A seismic voice, a volcanic breath, the roar of a cataclysm broke out in the center of the crowd with a great potential of expansion."
2. After Fernanda's attack of Mauricio, Meme stops talking altoghether. Fernanada sends her to a convent in her hometown, and in her sorrow, Meme never protests. She never gets over Mauricio, however, and spends her remaining days pining for her lost love. While in the convent, Meme gives birth to Mauicio's child, who is named Aureliano (II), and Fernanda hides the child in Aureliano's workshop, claiming that she found him in a basket. Jose Arcadio Segundo helps with the banana plantation's worker's strike protesting poor working conditions, and when the government asks for a meeting of all of the workers, they believe their protests have been heard. The meeting is a trick, however, and the government massacres all attendees, shipping the bodies off silently in the night and dumping them into the sea. Jose Arcadio Segundo is the lone survivor, and despite his efforts, the rest of the town believes he imagined the incident. It begins to rain, a rain that lasts four years and virtually destroys Macondo. The government comes looking for Jose Arcadio Segundo, but as he hides in Melquiades's room, the search party looks right over him, seeing the decay around him but not Jose Arcadio Segundo himself. He then shuts himself up in Melquiades's room, studying the texts of the gypsy and making little to no human contact. Aureliano Segundo, meanwhile, loses his affinity for the extravagent. His fortune is diminished because of the rain, but he devotes much of his time to trying to find the treasure from the statue of Saint Joseph. Ursula's health deteriorates even farther, and Aureliano (II) escapes from his seclusion in Aureliano's workshop.
3. I got the feeling that Meme's lost love and then return to Fernanda's convent was kind of circular, drawing a comparison to the life Fernanda lived and escaped from. However, things happened backwards for Meme. She found love, but had it ripped away from her, and in her misery she was forced to move to the convent, where she spent the rest of her life in a state of melancholy reflection. She in a sense fulfilled her mother's destiny, which was changed when Aureliano Segundo came and took her away. Had he not done so, she likely would have spent the remainder of her life in the convent, pining for wealth and affluence. It's almost as if the two women shared a fate, each carrying part of the burden. In this way, it's as if the life comes full circle, with the latter generation finally finishing what was started by the first. Jose Arcadio Segundo echoes the life of Colonel Aureliano Buendia, as he rises to power supporting the less fortunate and eventually crossing the government. After the massacre, he locks himself up in solitude, again mirroring Aureliano. Even Ursula seems to notice this, as she proclaims that, "It's as if the world were repeating itself." Magical realism is very strong in this section, as the massacre, which seems absolutely ludicrous, is more real than the flying carpets and mystic gypsies of earlier in the tale. Why would a government wipe out three thousand of its own people? It seems like a horrifying fiction to imagine a whole town able to deny such occurrances, yet this event is based in reality. This idea really makes one question what reality is, as well. If a whole town denies that an event happens, did it happen? If nobody remembers, or recognizes, something as reality, is it really reality? Jose Arcadio Segundo is the only one who knows what happened the night of the massacre, yet nobody believes him. To the other citizens of Macondo, he is the one telling falsities, while they "know" the truth. This is applicable in life outside of the novel, as well. Reality is really decided by what the majority think or choose to remember. The rain that makes its appearance in this section reminds me of the forty-day flood in the Bible. In the Bible, the flood erases everything from earth, with the exception of Noah and two of each kind of animal. In a way, this is what's happening in Macondo; although everything does not disappear, much is destroyed, and only a few of Aureliano's animals live. It's almost as if God is punishing the people for their excessive materialism, as well as cleansing the town after the massacre.
4. Will Fernanda ever repent for the way she treated her children and her husband? Will she bring Meme home, or will Meme die alone in the convent? Will Fernanda accept Aureliano (II)?
Who are the "invisible" doctors Fernanda keeps consulting? I do not understand this storyline at all... are they real doctors? Are they in her imagination? What's going on?
Will Macondo ever return to its former glory? After the rains nearly demolish the town, is a recovery even possible?
2 : catastrophe 3a
3 : a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition; broadly : an event that brings great changes.
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 305: "A seismic voice, a volcanic breath, the roar of a cataclysm broke out in the center of the crowd with a great potential of expansion."
2. After Fernanda's attack of Mauricio, Meme stops talking altoghether. Fernanada sends her to a convent in her hometown, and in her sorrow, Meme never protests. She never gets over Mauricio, however, and spends her remaining days pining for her lost love. While in the convent, Meme gives birth to Mauicio's child, who is named Aureliano (II), and Fernanda hides the child in Aureliano's workshop, claiming that she found him in a basket. Jose Arcadio Segundo helps with the banana plantation's worker's strike protesting poor working conditions, and when the government asks for a meeting of all of the workers, they believe their protests have been heard. The meeting is a trick, however, and the government massacres all attendees, shipping the bodies off silently in the night and dumping them into the sea. Jose Arcadio Segundo is the lone survivor, and despite his efforts, the rest of the town believes he imagined the incident. It begins to rain, a rain that lasts four years and virtually destroys Macondo. The government comes looking for Jose Arcadio Segundo, but as he hides in Melquiades's room, the search party looks right over him, seeing the decay around him but not Jose Arcadio Segundo himself. He then shuts himself up in Melquiades's room, studying the texts of the gypsy and making little to no human contact. Aureliano Segundo, meanwhile, loses his affinity for the extravagent. His fortune is diminished because of the rain, but he devotes much of his time to trying to find the treasure from the statue of Saint Joseph. Ursula's health deteriorates even farther, and Aureliano (II) escapes from his seclusion in Aureliano's workshop.
3. I got the feeling that Meme's lost love and then return to Fernanda's convent was kind of circular, drawing a comparison to the life Fernanda lived and escaped from. However, things happened backwards for Meme. She found love, but had it ripped away from her, and in her misery she was forced to move to the convent, where she spent the rest of her life in a state of melancholy reflection. She in a sense fulfilled her mother's destiny, which was changed when Aureliano Segundo came and took her away. Had he not done so, she likely would have spent the remainder of her life in the convent, pining for wealth and affluence. It's almost as if the two women shared a fate, each carrying part of the burden. In this way, it's as if the life comes full circle, with the latter generation finally finishing what was started by the first. Jose Arcadio Segundo echoes the life of Colonel Aureliano Buendia, as he rises to power supporting the less fortunate and eventually crossing the government. After the massacre, he locks himself up in solitude, again mirroring Aureliano. Even Ursula seems to notice this, as she proclaims that, "It's as if the world were repeating itself." Magical realism is very strong in this section, as the massacre, which seems absolutely ludicrous, is more real than the flying carpets and mystic gypsies of earlier in the tale. Why would a government wipe out three thousand of its own people? It seems like a horrifying fiction to imagine a whole town able to deny such occurrances, yet this event is based in reality. This idea really makes one question what reality is, as well. If a whole town denies that an event happens, did it happen? If nobody remembers, or recognizes, something as reality, is it really reality? Jose Arcadio Segundo is the only one who knows what happened the night of the massacre, yet nobody believes him. To the other citizens of Macondo, he is the one telling falsities, while they "know" the truth. This is applicable in life outside of the novel, as well. Reality is really decided by what the majority think or choose to remember. The rain that makes its appearance in this section reminds me of the forty-day flood in the Bible. In the Bible, the flood erases everything from earth, with the exception of Noah and two of each kind of animal. In a way, this is what's happening in Macondo; although everything does not disappear, much is destroyed, and only a few of Aureliano's animals live. It's almost as if God is punishing the people for their excessive materialism, as well as cleansing the town after the massacre.
4. Will Fernanda ever repent for the way she treated her children and her husband? Will she bring Meme home, or will Meme die alone in the convent? Will Fernanda accept Aureliano (II)?
Who are the "invisible" doctors Fernanda keeps consulting? I do not understand this storyline at all... are they real doctors? Are they in her imagination? What's going on?
Will Macondo ever return to its former glory? After the rains nearly demolish the town, is a recovery even possible?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 7
1. Proboscidian: A mammal of the order Proboscidea, such as the elephant or its extinct relatives, having a long trunk, large tusks, and a massive body.
-Free Online Dictionary.
P 256: "Later on, when he saw her consume a side of veal without breaking a single rule of good table manners, he commented seriously that that delicate, fascinating, and insatiable proboscidian was in a certain way the ideal woman."
2. Ursula, in her old age, begins to lose her vision. However, by memorizing the placement of items and the habits of her family members, she is able to hide her ailment. She remains certain that Jose Arcadio II will become pope, sending him to seminary while Meme attends school. Amaranta begins weaving a shroud for Rebeca, determined that she will outlive her sister, but Death appears to her and tells her to weave her own shroud instead. Fernanda continues to dominate the household, and in frustration, Aureliano Segundo moves in with Petra Cotes. The house, emptier than it has been for years, seems unnaturally quiet with the exception of Meme's visits home, when Aureliano Segundo returns to the house in an act of normality. Jose Arcadio Segundo returns to the house and begins speaking with Colonel Aureliano Buendia, who is drawing toward death. Eventually he does die, but during his mourning period Fernanda gives birth to a son, who they name Amaranta Ursula, and in this way life goes on. Amaranta finishes her shroud and passes away, just as death predicted. Before her death she offers to take letters to the dead loved ones of the townsfolk, and many people take her up on her offer. After Amaranta's death, Ursula gets into bed, and in her weariness does not get up for many years. Meme becomes a clavichord virtuoso but only feigns interest in order to please her strict mother. She becomes very close with her father, Aureliano Segundo, as they share a careless nature and a dislike of Fernanda. Meme befriends white settler girls and falls in love with Mauricio Babilonia, a mechanic who is constantly followed by yellow butterflies. Fernanda dislikes the man, however, and tells a guard that someone has been stealing her chickens, setting the guard up to shoot the intruder. When Mauricio sneaks in to see her daughter, the guard shoots him, paralyzing him just as Fernanda had hoped.
3. Ursula makes a lot of observations on time in this section, particularly as she begins to age quite rapidly. She says that children grow up much more quickly now than they did when Macondo was young, and that time in general has sped up. It's strange to think about how old Ursula really is; her children, after all, begin dying of old age in this chapter. Although she is losing her vision and decides to stay in bed for the majority of this section, she is still fairly youthful in mentality. She is alert and aware of her surroundings, demonstrating her intelligence in the way she is able to hide her blindness through memorization and careful attention. I think she makes a valid point with the theory about children maturing faster. In the beginning of the novel, time was a slow-moving, confused thing. It was hard to tell how old any character was meant to be, and their youth seemed to drag on and on. However, as the book has progressed, the younger characters seem to be more rushed through childhood, and therefore, innocence. This could have to do with Macondo's loss of innocence. It is much easier to remain pure in a town that is untouched by death, unaware of modern technology and advancements, and in most ways completely naive. However, as Macondo became "modernized" and experienced death, sin, and greater knowledge in general, children began losing their innocence much sooner. I believe that these two ideas are meant to mirror each other, and their alignment is not simply a coincidence. The idea of pointless repitition near death makes an appearance in this section as well, particularly in Aureliano Buendia's habit of making two fishes each day, melting them down, and then beginning again the following day, and in Amaranta's weaving and unweaving of the funeral shroud. This suggests that the characters wish to prolong death, but eventually both characters succomb to death, which is inevitable. Ursula, although she has quite obviously slowed down, shows no sign of impending death. She seems to be stuck in life, watching the suffering of her family but unable to stop the tragedies from reoccurring.
4. Why is Ursula able to live for so long? Her husband passed away long ago, and her children have begun to die of old age. What makes her able to avoid death?
Meme attempted to start a relationship out of the family and found love, possibly the first true relationship not involving incest. However, her mom ruined the relationship before it had time to truly develop. Is this part of the "curse" of the Buendia family? Nobody can form a successful outside connection... is this, more than anything, why the relationship was doomed to failure?
Will Jose Arcadio II continue the path to priesthood? Ursula has wanted a holy life for her children before, but none of them have made it there. Will he be the first?
-Free Online Dictionary.
P 256: "Later on, when he saw her consume a side of veal without breaking a single rule of good table manners, he commented seriously that that delicate, fascinating, and insatiable proboscidian was in a certain way the ideal woman."
2. Ursula, in her old age, begins to lose her vision. However, by memorizing the placement of items and the habits of her family members, she is able to hide her ailment. She remains certain that Jose Arcadio II will become pope, sending him to seminary while Meme attends school. Amaranta begins weaving a shroud for Rebeca, determined that she will outlive her sister, but Death appears to her and tells her to weave her own shroud instead. Fernanda continues to dominate the household, and in frustration, Aureliano Segundo moves in with Petra Cotes. The house, emptier than it has been for years, seems unnaturally quiet with the exception of Meme's visits home, when Aureliano Segundo returns to the house in an act of normality. Jose Arcadio Segundo returns to the house and begins speaking with Colonel Aureliano Buendia, who is drawing toward death. Eventually he does die, but during his mourning period Fernanda gives birth to a son, who they name Amaranta Ursula, and in this way life goes on. Amaranta finishes her shroud and passes away, just as death predicted. Before her death she offers to take letters to the dead loved ones of the townsfolk, and many people take her up on her offer. After Amaranta's death, Ursula gets into bed, and in her weariness does not get up for many years. Meme becomes a clavichord virtuoso but only feigns interest in order to please her strict mother. She becomes very close with her father, Aureliano Segundo, as they share a careless nature and a dislike of Fernanda. Meme befriends white settler girls and falls in love with Mauricio Babilonia, a mechanic who is constantly followed by yellow butterflies. Fernanda dislikes the man, however, and tells a guard that someone has been stealing her chickens, setting the guard up to shoot the intruder. When Mauricio sneaks in to see her daughter, the guard shoots him, paralyzing him just as Fernanda had hoped.
3. Ursula makes a lot of observations on time in this section, particularly as she begins to age quite rapidly. She says that children grow up much more quickly now than they did when Macondo was young, and that time in general has sped up. It's strange to think about how old Ursula really is; her children, after all, begin dying of old age in this chapter. Although she is losing her vision and decides to stay in bed for the majority of this section, she is still fairly youthful in mentality. She is alert and aware of her surroundings, demonstrating her intelligence in the way she is able to hide her blindness through memorization and careful attention. I think she makes a valid point with the theory about children maturing faster. In the beginning of the novel, time was a slow-moving, confused thing. It was hard to tell how old any character was meant to be, and their youth seemed to drag on and on. However, as the book has progressed, the younger characters seem to be more rushed through childhood, and therefore, innocence. This could have to do with Macondo's loss of innocence. It is much easier to remain pure in a town that is untouched by death, unaware of modern technology and advancements, and in most ways completely naive. However, as Macondo became "modernized" and experienced death, sin, and greater knowledge in general, children began losing their innocence much sooner. I believe that these two ideas are meant to mirror each other, and their alignment is not simply a coincidence. The idea of pointless repitition near death makes an appearance in this section as well, particularly in Aureliano Buendia's habit of making two fishes each day, melting them down, and then beginning again the following day, and in Amaranta's weaving and unweaving of the funeral shroud. This suggests that the characters wish to prolong death, but eventually both characters succomb to death, which is inevitable. Ursula, although she has quite obviously slowed down, shows no sign of impending death. She seems to be stuck in life, watching the suffering of her family but unable to stop the tragedies from reoccurring.
4. Why is Ursula able to live for so long? Her husband passed away long ago, and her children have begun to die of old age. What makes her able to avoid death?
Meme attempted to start a relationship out of the family and found love, possibly the first true relationship not involving incest. However, her mom ruined the relationship before it had time to truly develop. Is this part of the "curse" of the Buendia family? Nobody can form a successful outside connection... is this, more than anything, why the relationship was doomed to failure?
Will Jose Arcadio II continue the path to priesthood? Ursula has wanted a holy life for her children before, but none of them have made it there. Will he be the first?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 6
1. Dirge: 1 : a song or hymn of grief or lamentation; especially : one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites
2 : a slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music
3 : something (as a poem) that has the qualities of a dirge
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 205: "She had been born and raised in a city six hundred miles away, a gloomy city where on ghostly nights the coaches of the viceroys still rattled through the cobbled streets. Thirty-two belfries tolled a dirge at six in the afternoon."
2. Fernanda del Carpio, the mysterious "queen" who married Aureliano Segundo, was raised in a highly unusual situation. The daughter of old but fading money, Fernanda was raised believing she would one day be queen. Brought up to be haughty, she attended school at the cost of her family's remaining wealth, and she separated herself all throughout her youth in an arrogant delusion of innate greatness. Despite all of this, Aureliano Segundo sees wondrous beauty in her, and goes to great lengths to track her down and bring her back to Macondo. Because of her strict religious refusal to consummate the marriage and her uptight ways, Aureliano continues sleeping with Petra Cotes, also ensuring continued livestock fertility. Fernanda goes on a crusade to transform the Buendia household. She becomes a dictator within the family, only fearing Colonel Aureliano Buendia. Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda have two children, Renata Remedios (Meme) and Jose Arcadio (II). Ursula is determined to bring Jose Arcadio up as a holy man, even asserting that he will one day be pope. The president of the Republic decides to have a ceremony honoring Aureliano, much to the latter's dismay. Coincidentally, all seventeen of Aureliano's illegitimate sons show up at the same time to attend the celebration, and when they receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, the marks will not wash off. Aureliano Triste and Aureliano Centeno decide to stay in Macondo and open an ice factory that has immediate success. Aureliano Triste also builds a railroad, bringing a train to Macondo. Foreigners come in with the railroad, establishing a banana plantation and a settlement of their own with high fences. Remedios the Beauty makes another appearance, still as oblivious but breathtaking as ever. She becomes connected to death as men who love her begin meeting immediate fatality. One day, as she is folding a sheet in the backyard, Remedios the Beauty is lifted by the sheets and a breeze, and simply floats away blissfully. Meanwhile, Aureliano becomes angered by the foreign invaders, and wishes to start a rebellion. He threatens to gather his seventeen sons and start a war, and the boys are killed one by one as a result. Only one gets away, escaping into the mountains.
3. There has been a definite change in the sense of wonder felt by the characters from the beginning of the novel to this point. When the train arrives, nobody seems absolutely enthralled. Granted, a woman exclaims that it is "a kitchen dragging a village behind it," but the characters do not seem to show the strange vehicle much interest. This contrasts greatly with Jose Arcadio Buendia at the beginning of the novel, whose fascination with various "magical" objects such as magnets, magnifying glasses, and ice was both humorous and endearing. It seems as though the more technology and innovation that makes its way to Macondo, the more the residents are able to take new inventions for granted. Fernanda's entrance into the Buendia family also marks a turning point. She is cold, methodical, and religious, all characteristics that really have not existed within the family to this point. Her attempts to make the family more proper and "respectable" are futile, but they also provoke negative reader reactions. I believe this serves to criticize organized religion. Fernanda, with her rosary-saying habits and strict religious values, is painted in such a disapproving light that I cannot imagine Gabriel Garcia Marquez putting her in the novel for any other reason. She also demonstrates the irony of the haughtiness of many "religious" folk. She believes that, as a holy woman, she is better than the crude, immoral family she has married into. This again ties into the idea mentioned in my previous posts that Macondo was a better place before the church arrived, more innocent and more peaceful. While Fernanda wallows in misery with her uptight values, Petra Cotes lives freely and immorally as a concubine, enjoying great wealth and romance with Fernanda's husband. Remedios the Beauty was a fascinating character to me. Representing both innocence and naivety, I believe she was a metaphor for Macondo in general. Beginning as a beautiful, pure town, with the emergence of technology and expansion, the youth and beauty of the town "blew away," so to speak. She might also be representative of Eden, once again. Remedios the Beauty's lack of shame in the face of nudity and obliviousness to lust could be a reference to Adam and Eve prior to the fruit of knowledge, when they were entirely free from sin. There was a quote that I really liked in this section, as well. On page 242 it is written that "The others, more honorable, were still waiting for a letter in the shadow of public charity, dying of hunger, living through rage, rotting of old age amid the exquisite shit of glory." The quote is talking about the soldiers that Aureliano tried to arouse into action, awaiting the payment they were promised. The part that especially struck me was the idea of the "exquisite shit of glory." Although crude, it sums up so much of what the novel represents, particularly the war sections: glory is fleeting, and often an excuse for unnecessary struggle and violence.
4. Is Remedios the Beauty supposed to be supposed to have floated to heaven? Did she go somewhere specific, or is it intended to remain an unanswered question?
What will happen to the remaining illegitimate son of Aureliano? Will he make another appearance? Is his survival significant?
I assume the fertility of the animals via the Petra Cotes-Aureliano Segundo affair is supposed to draw significance to the immoral activity, which seems to be rewarded. Is Gabriel Garcia Marquez trying to make a point regarding conventional values? Is he disregarding morality?
2 : a slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music
3 : something (as a poem) that has the qualities of a dirge
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 205: "She had been born and raised in a city six hundred miles away, a gloomy city where on ghostly nights the coaches of the viceroys still rattled through the cobbled streets. Thirty-two belfries tolled a dirge at six in the afternoon."
2. Fernanda del Carpio, the mysterious "queen" who married Aureliano Segundo, was raised in a highly unusual situation. The daughter of old but fading money, Fernanda was raised believing she would one day be queen. Brought up to be haughty, she attended school at the cost of her family's remaining wealth, and she separated herself all throughout her youth in an arrogant delusion of innate greatness. Despite all of this, Aureliano Segundo sees wondrous beauty in her, and goes to great lengths to track her down and bring her back to Macondo. Because of her strict religious refusal to consummate the marriage and her uptight ways, Aureliano continues sleeping with Petra Cotes, also ensuring continued livestock fertility. Fernanda goes on a crusade to transform the Buendia household. She becomes a dictator within the family, only fearing Colonel Aureliano Buendia. Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda have two children, Renata Remedios (Meme) and Jose Arcadio (II). Ursula is determined to bring Jose Arcadio up as a holy man, even asserting that he will one day be pope. The president of the Republic decides to have a ceremony honoring Aureliano, much to the latter's dismay. Coincidentally, all seventeen of Aureliano's illegitimate sons show up at the same time to attend the celebration, and when they receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, the marks will not wash off. Aureliano Triste and Aureliano Centeno decide to stay in Macondo and open an ice factory that has immediate success. Aureliano Triste also builds a railroad, bringing a train to Macondo. Foreigners come in with the railroad, establishing a banana plantation and a settlement of their own with high fences. Remedios the Beauty makes another appearance, still as oblivious but breathtaking as ever. She becomes connected to death as men who love her begin meeting immediate fatality. One day, as she is folding a sheet in the backyard, Remedios the Beauty is lifted by the sheets and a breeze, and simply floats away blissfully. Meanwhile, Aureliano becomes angered by the foreign invaders, and wishes to start a rebellion. He threatens to gather his seventeen sons and start a war, and the boys are killed one by one as a result. Only one gets away, escaping into the mountains.
3. There has been a definite change in the sense of wonder felt by the characters from the beginning of the novel to this point. When the train arrives, nobody seems absolutely enthralled. Granted, a woman exclaims that it is "a kitchen dragging a village behind it," but the characters do not seem to show the strange vehicle much interest. This contrasts greatly with Jose Arcadio Buendia at the beginning of the novel, whose fascination with various "magical" objects such as magnets, magnifying glasses, and ice was both humorous and endearing. It seems as though the more technology and innovation that makes its way to Macondo, the more the residents are able to take new inventions for granted. Fernanda's entrance into the Buendia family also marks a turning point. She is cold, methodical, and religious, all characteristics that really have not existed within the family to this point. Her attempts to make the family more proper and "respectable" are futile, but they also provoke negative reader reactions. I believe this serves to criticize organized religion. Fernanda, with her rosary-saying habits and strict religious values, is painted in such a disapproving light that I cannot imagine Gabriel Garcia Marquez putting her in the novel for any other reason. She also demonstrates the irony of the haughtiness of many "religious" folk. She believes that, as a holy woman, she is better than the crude, immoral family she has married into. This again ties into the idea mentioned in my previous posts that Macondo was a better place before the church arrived, more innocent and more peaceful. While Fernanda wallows in misery with her uptight values, Petra Cotes lives freely and immorally as a concubine, enjoying great wealth and romance with Fernanda's husband. Remedios the Beauty was a fascinating character to me. Representing both innocence and naivety, I believe she was a metaphor for Macondo in general. Beginning as a beautiful, pure town, with the emergence of technology and expansion, the youth and beauty of the town "blew away," so to speak. She might also be representative of Eden, once again. Remedios the Beauty's lack of shame in the face of nudity and obliviousness to lust could be a reference to Adam and Eve prior to the fruit of knowledge, when they were entirely free from sin. There was a quote that I really liked in this section, as well. On page 242 it is written that "The others, more honorable, were still waiting for a letter in the shadow of public charity, dying of hunger, living through rage, rotting of old age amid the exquisite shit of glory." The quote is talking about the soldiers that Aureliano tried to arouse into action, awaiting the payment they were promised. The part that especially struck me was the idea of the "exquisite shit of glory." Although crude, it sums up so much of what the novel represents, particularly the war sections: glory is fleeting, and often an excuse for unnecessary struggle and violence.
4. Is Remedios the Beauty supposed to be supposed to have floated to heaven? Did she go somewhere specific, or is it intended to remain an unanswered question?
What will happen to the remaining illegitimate son of Aureliano? Will he make another appearance? Is his survival significant?
I assume the fertility of the animals via the Petra Cotes-Aureliano Segundo affair is supposed to draw significance to the immoral activity, which seems to be rewarded. Is Gabriel Garcia Marquez trying to make a point regarding conventional values? Is he disregarding morality?
Monday, April 5, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 5
1. Emissary: 1 : one designated as the agent of another : representative
2 : a secret agent.
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 167: "He sat in a chair between his political advisers and, wrapped in his woolen blanket, he listened in silence to the brief proposals of the emissaries."
2. Jose Raquel Moncada, the man put in charge of Macondo in the absense of a leader during the time of war, is sentenced to death. Moncada was a friend of Aureliano, even though the two were supposed to be rivals. Because of this implied rivalry, Aureliano allows the sentence to be carried out. Both Gerineldo Marquez and Aureliano become more depressed, feeling that the war has become a pointless power struggle. Marquez spends more time attempting to woo Amaranta, who refuses him although she seems to feel something for him. Aureliano isolates himself even more than usual, completely withdrawing from society and his family. Marquez is tried and sentenced to death, but Aureliano frees him and they fight against the Liberals, who they were fighting for. They eventually sign a peace treaty, leading to such feelings of failure that Aureliano attempts to commit suicide via bullet. The bullet misses every single vital organ, however, and Aureliano survives. Ursula sees his miraculous aversion of death as a final chance for peace, so she moves him into the house and throws herself into cleaning it up. Despite her best attempts, however, Aureliano remains withdrawn. He spends his time making golden fish in the workshop. Aureliano Segundo gets permission to enter Melquiades's room, where he finds a mysterious book. Upon reading the book, Melquiades himself appears, and the two have many conversations. Jose Arcadio Segundo becomes involved in a brief stint in the church, but he then changes his focus to cockfighting. The two both sleep with Petra Cotes, unbeknownst to her, as she believes she is sleeping with one man. After she gives Jose Arcadio Segundo an STD he ends the relationship, but Aureliano maintains their relationship. While they are lovers, Aureliano's livestock reproduces at a fantastic rate. He becomes extravagantly wealthy, throwing parties and pasting money to the walls of Ursula's home. Jose Arcadio Segundo, more and more resembling Jose Arcadio Buendia with his fleeting whims and frenzies, decides to make the river passable by boat. He eventually succeeds in bringing a raft carrying French women into Macondo via water, and the newcomers arrange for a tremendous festival. Remedious the Beauty is chosen to be Queen of the festival, as she is the most gorgeous woman alive. During the carnival, strangers arrive with a queen of their own, Fernanda del Carpio, and the men fire into the crowds, shouting, "Long live the Liberal party!" After the riot, Fernanda del Carpio is looked after by Ursula, and eventually she marries Aureliano Segundo in an elaborate celebration.
3. Aureliano finally feels again, as evident when he attempts to take his own life. He seems to finally come out of his black stupor, realizing that the war is being fought for all the wrong reasons and that the only solution is to end it once and for all. His suicide attempt demonstrates his small descent back into reality, but also his ever remaining solitude. The twins are two very intriguing characters; they both seem to be the incarnation of previous characters. Jose Arcadio Segundo, contrary to his name, is not large and crude like Jose Arcadio was. Rather, he is thin and intense, like the elder Aureliano. However, he embodies a lot of what Jose Arcadio Buendia was, particularly in his passionate exploits. He attempted to create a water-navigable route to Macondo, much as Jose Arcadio Buendia devoted much time and attention to trying to find a land route away from Macondo. He devotes himself wholeheartedly to first the church, then to cockfighting, always searching for that which will prove to be successful and fulfilling. This whimsical nature is very similar to that of Jose Arcadio Buendia, whose life was full of ever-changing obsessions and passions. Aureliano Segundo, on the other hand, is larger and more crude, similar to Jose Arcadio. However, he spends much of his time locked in Melquiades's workshop, uncovering ancient secrets and probably dabbling in experiments of his own. He also embodies a lot of Jose Arcadio Buendia, particularly in his reading. He seems fascinated by magical ideas and mystical histories contained in Melquiades's books. This adoration of the unknown is similar to the love Jose Arcadio Buendia showed toward the flying carpets, magnets, and ice brought by the gypsies. Aureliano is prone to excess, though, especially monetary extravagance. The twins, in general, seem like a mixture of many of the characters previously seen in the story. They combine names, traits, and resemblances to create a confused identity. Although this is clear repetition within the family, there is no exact replication at any point. The same characteristics and names appear quite often, but never in the exact same way. Traits are combined to create a character who, while very similar to many characters, is ultimately unique and provides new experiences for the Buendia family. I also think it's interesting that Aureliano breaks the incest line, but in a way that is certainly unconventional. He marries Fernanda del Carpio, the beauty who arrives from a mysterious land, but he keeps Petra Cotes as a concubine. This is never said to be frowned upon. In fact, it is never mentioned at all, with the exception of its first explanation. It seems to be widely accepted, or at least not given a second thought. Granted, Ursula and the rest of the remaining Buendia family might welcome anything other than incest, but I would think that someone would find his wife and mistress situation unusual. The arrangement once again emphasizes the inability of any Buendia to have a normal, functioning relationship. Also, this all occurs after the priest has set up his church in Macondo. Apparently religious convictions hold little or no sway on the citizens of Macondo. Jose Arcadio Segundo joins the church for some time, but soon after he begins having sex with donkeys. This blatant lack of concern for the church seems to be significant: I believe Gabriel Garcia Marquez may be making a point about religion, particularly about its foolishness. Before the church came to Macondo, the town was innocent and vibrant. Since its arrival (but not necessarily resulting from its arrival), the town has declined in morality and in quality of life. Does this connect with the church? Should the church be able to save the town?
4. Similar to the conclusion of my analysis, shouldn't the church have a moral bearing on the town? Why does the priest not intervene? Highly immoral things are going on within the Buendia family, yet nobody seems to want to step in. Why?
Will Macondo continue to flourish, welcoming new arrivals like the French women? It seems that as time goes on, Macondo becomes more urbanized and diverse. Maybe flourish isn't the correct word, but will Macondo continue to grow?
The twins feel very significant to me for some reason. Will they do something to severely impact the story? They're the first two characters who truly include traits of every prior character, not really having an identity of their own, but one made up of a multitude of other personalities. Is this important? Will they play a major role in the coming action?
2 : a secret agent.
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 167: "He sat in a chair between his political advisers and, wrapped in his woolen blanket, he listened in silence to the brief proposals of the emissaries."
2. Jose Raquel Moncada, the man put in charge of Macondo in the absense of a leader during the time of war, is sentenced to death. Moncada was a friend of Aureliano, even though the two were supposed to be rivals. Because of this implied rivalry, Aureliano allows the sentence to be carried out. Both Gerineldo Marquez and Aureliano become more depressed, feeling that the war has become a pointless power struggle. Marquez spends more time attempting to woo Amaranta, who refuses him although she seems to feel something for him. Aureliano isolates himself even more than usual, completely withdrawing from society and his family. Marquez is tried and sentenced to death, but Aureliano frees him and they fight against the Liberals, who they were fighting for. They eventually sign a peace treaty, leading to such feelings of failure that Aureliano attempts to commit suicide via bullet. The bullet misses every single vital organ, however, and Aureliano survives. Ursula sees his miraculous aversion of death as a final chance for peace, so she moves him into the house and throws herself into cleaning it up. Despite her best attempts, however, Aureliano remains withdrawn. He spends his time making golden fish in the workshop. Aureliano Segundo gets permission to enter Melquiades's room, where he finds a mysterious book. Upon reading the book, Melquiades himself appears, and the two have many conversations. Jose Arcadio Segundo becomes involved in a brief stint in the church, but he then changes his focus to cockfighting. The two both sleep with Petra Cotes, unbeknownst to her, as she believes she is sleeping with one man. After she gives Jose Arcadio Segundo an STD he ends the relationship, but Aureliano maintains their relationship. While they are lovers, Aureliano's livestock reproduces at a fantastic rate. He becomes extravagantly wealthy, throwing parties and pasting money to the walls of Ursula's home. Jose Arcadio Segundo, more and more resembling Jose Arcadio Buendia with his fleeting whims and frenzies, decides to make the river passable by boat. He eventually succeeds in bringing a raft carrying French women into Macondo via water, and the newcomers arrange for a tremendous festival. Remedious the Beauty is chosen to be Queen of the festival, as she is the most gorgeous woman alive. During the carnival, strangers arrive with a queen of their own, Fernanda del Carpio, and the men fire into the crowds, shouting, "Long live the Liberal party!" After the riot, Fernanda del Carpio is looked after by Ursula, and eventually she marries Aureliano Segundo in an elaborate celebration.
3. Aureliano finally feels again, as evident when he attempts to take his own life. He seems to finally come out of his black stupor, realizing that the war is being fought for all the wrong reasons and that the only solution is to end it once and for all. His suicide attempt demonstrates his small descent back into reality, but also his ever remaining solitude. The twins are two very intriguing characters; they both seem to be the incarnation of previous characters. Jose Arcadio Segundo, contrary to his name, is not large and crude like Jose Arcadio was. Rather, he is thin and intense, like the elder Aureliano. However, he embodies a lot of what Jose Arcadio Buendia was, particularly in his passionate exploits. He attempted to create a water-navigable route to Macondo, much as Jose Arcadio Buendia devoted much time and attention to trying to find a land route away from Macondo. He devotes himself wholeheartedly to first the church, then to cockfighting, always searching for that which will prove to be successful and fulfilling. This whimsical nature is very similar to that of Jose Arcadio Buendia, whose life was full of ever-changing obsessions and passions. Aureliano Segundo, on the other hand, is larger and more crude, similar to Jose Arcadio. However, he spends much of his time locked in Melquiades's workshop, uncovering ancient secrets and probably dabbling in experiments of his own. He also embodies a lot of Jose Arcadio Buendia, particularly in his reading. He seems fascinated by magical ideas and mystical histories contained in Melquiades's books. This adoration of the unknown is similar to the love Jose Arcadio Buendia showed toward the flying carpets, magnets, and ice brought by the gypsies. Aureliano is prone to excess, though, especially monetary extravagance. The twins, in general, seem like a mixture of many of the characters previously seen in the story. They combine names, traits, and resemblances to create a confused identity. Although this is clear repetition within the family, there is no exact replication at any point. The same characteristics and names appear quite often, but never in the exact same way. Traits are combined to create a character who, while very similar to many characters, is ultimately unique and provides new experiences for the Buendia family. I also think it's interesting that Aureliano breaks the incest line, but in a way that is certainly unconventional. He marries Fernanda del Carpio, the beauty who arrives from a mysterious land, but he keeps Petra Cotes as a concubine. This is never said to be frowned upon. In fact, it is never mentioned at all, with the exception of its first explanation. It seems to be widely accepted, or at least not given a second thought. Granted, Ursula and the rest of the remaining Buendia family might welcome anything other than incest, but I would think that someone would find his wife and mistress situation unusual. The arrangement once again emphasizes the inability of any Buendia to have a normal, functioning relationship. Also, this all occurs after the priest has set up his church in Macondo. Apparently religious convictions hold little or no sway on the citizens of Macondo. Jose Arcadio Segundo joins the church for some time, but soon after he begins having sex with donkeys. This blatant lack of concern for the church seems to be significant: I believe Gabriel Garcia Marquez may be making a point about religion, particularly about its foolishness. Before the church came to Macondo, the town was innocent and vibrant. Since its arrival (but not necessarily resulting from its arrival), the town has declined in morality and in quality of life. Does this connect with the church? Should the church be able to save the town?
4. Similar to the conclusion of my analysis, shouldn't the church have a moral bearing on the town? Why does the priest not intervene? Highly immoral things are going on within the Buendia family, yet nobody seems to want to step in. Why?
Will Macondo continue to flourish, welcoming new arrivals like the French women? It seems that as time goes on, Macondo becomes more urbanized and diverse. Maybe flourish isn't the correct word, but will Macondo continue to grow?
The twins feel very significant to me for some reason. Will they do something to severely impact the story? They're the first two characters who truly include traits of every prior character, not really having an identity of their own, but one made up of a multitude of other personalities. Is this important? Will they play a major role in the coming action?
One Hundred Years of Solitude 4
1. Convalesce: : to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness.
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 136: "He knew, however, that as soon as he put those scruples aside he would break the vicious circle of the war. Convalescence gave him time to reflect."
2. The war seems to have drawn to an end, with the Conservatives victorious and Liberal leaders captured. Aureliano and Colonel Gerineldo Marquez, his close friend, are both sentenced to the firing squad. They are brought to Macondo to be killed, but Jose Arcadio saves the two men just in time. Aureliano immediately begins another fight, raising a small militia for the Liberal cause. His band of soldiers go up and down the country, striking up revolts, largely unsuccessful but never giving up. Eventually they recapture Macondo, but as the war draws on, Aureliano begins to question the fighting. He realizes they are fighting solely for power and pride, not for any direct "just" cause. He sinks into a depression and begins writing poetry. Back in Macondo, Santa Sofia de la Piedad gives birth to the twins Jose Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo. Jose Arcadio and Rebeca move houses, but almost imminently after doing so Jose Arcadio is mysteriously murdered. Rebeca is suspected, although she proclaims innocence, and she locks herself up in the house in solitude. Gerineldo Marquez, who has always had an interest in Amaranta, tries to strike up a romance. Jose Arcadio Buendia, still living tied to the tree, dies, as a shower of yellow flowers rains from the sky. Aureliano Jose, Aureliano and Pilar's son, becomes a young man. He develops a lust for his aunt, Amaranta, who raised him as her son. The two come very close to becoming lovers, but she realizes what is happening and cuts ties. Aureliano Jose flees to join the army with his father, Aureliano. He returns, however, to attempt to marry Amaranta. He is killed by a Conservative soldier, ending that particular storyline. All seventeen sons of Aureliano soon make their way to Macondo, each baptized with the name Aureliano by Ursula. Aureliano returns to Macondo, more solitary and solemn than ever.
3. One of my favorite parts of this section of the novel was the death of Jose Arcadio Buendia. When he finally passes away, after a long, passion-fueled life, he is given the final dignity. Although he dies tied to a tree, like a dog, the heavens rain down mounds and mounds of beautiful yellow flowers in his honor. No matter how lonely and pitiful he seemed in the end, he clearly deserved the ultimate respect. I thought of this as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's way of giving him final recognition; he was a great, powerful man, founding a great city and beginning a tragic, albeit interesting, line of descendents. It is also an instance of magical realism, as flowers do not really rain from the heavens, no matter how deserving the mortal is or was. There are a lot of deaths in the family in this section. Jose Arcadio Buendia dies, followed by Arcadio and Aureliano Jose. The latter two both die in the midst of the war. The lack of flowers, although it could simply indicate their lower status, could also imply that to die in war is a far less noble death than in old age. Being shot by a firing squad may seem a more exciting way to die than chained a tree in complete isolation, but in the end, it is no more honorable. The incest theme again makes an appearance in this section, with Aureliano Jose desiring to sleep with Amaranta, who raised him as her child. If viewing incest as being a curse passed through the generations, as it is portrayed in Middlesex by Geoffrey Eugenides, then the prevalence of incest-laden relationships in the Buendia family makes more sense. It's important to not forget that Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula were cousins, but married ayway. Arcadio yearned for Pilar, who is his mother. Jose Arcadio and Rebeca, although not technically related by blood, are "siblings" through nature of raising. Aureliano Jose pursues Amaranta, who is his aunt. The incest also points to extreme isolation. When marrying and reproducing within one's family, the need for outside contact is limited. After all, much of society's connecting is made up of the search for a mate. If relationships stay within a single family, there is no need to branch out. The Buendia family is able to maintain strict isolation from society, which is added to by the isolation they maintain from one another. Finally, the incest also signifies the reptition I mentioned in my previous post, and the idea that nothing is permanently gone. Names repeat; family genes repeat, as well. Even when a character dies, such as Jose Arcadio Buendia, his family carries on his legacy both in his frequently reoccurring genes and in his often repeated name.
4. Will the war ever truly end? Aureliano keeps drawing it on, even when it seems to be over. Is the war another example of things never coming to closure?
Did Gabriel Garcia Marquez put the yellow flowers in also to contrast the stark, precision-fueled military deaths of Arcadio and Aureliano Jose? Or were they there simply to honor Jose Arcadio Buendia?
Will Aureliano's seventeen sons play a role later in the story? What is their significance at this point? Are they there to simply show Aureliano's recklessness throughout the war? He seems to have lost himself, in a way. Do they have greater meaning?
-Merriam-Webster Online.
P 136: "He knew, however, that as soon as he put those scruples aside he would break the vicious circle of the war. Convalescence gave him time to reflect."
2. The war seems to have drawn to an end, with the Conservatives victorious and Liberal leaders captured. Aureliano and Colonel Gerineldo Marquez, his close friend, are both sentenced to the firing squad. They are brought to Macondo to be killed, but Jose Arcadio saves the two men just in time. Aureliano immediately begins another fight, raising a small militia for the Liberal cause. His band of soldiers go up and down the country, striking up revolts, largely unsuccessful but never giving up. Eventually they recapture Macondo, but as the war draws on, Aureliano begins to question the fighting. He realizes they are fighting solely for power and pride, not for any direct "just" cause. He sinks into a depression and begins writing poetry. Back in Macondo, Santa Sofia de la Piedad gives birth to the twins Jose Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo. Jose Arcadio and Rebeca move houses, but almost imminently after doing so Jose Arcadio is mysteriously murdered. Rebeca is suspected, although she proclaims innocence, and she locks herself up in the house in solitude. Gerineldo Marquez, who has always had an interest in Amaranta, tries to strike up a romance. Jose Arcadio Buendia, still living tied to the tree, dies, as a shower of yellow flowers rains from the sky. Aureliano Jose, Aureliano and Pilar's son, becomes a young man. He develops a lust for his aunt, Amaranta, who raised him as her son. The two come very close to becoming lovers, but she realizes what is happening and cuts ties. Aureliano Jose flees to join the army with his father, Aureliano. He returns, however, to attempt to marry Amaranta. He is killed by a Conservative soldier, ending that particular storyline. All seventeen sons of Aureliano soon make their way to Macondo, each baptized with the name Aureliano by Ursula. Aureliano returns to Macondo, more solitary and solemn than ever.
3. One of my favorite parts of this section of the novel was the death of Jose Arcadio Buendia. When he finally passes away, after a long, passion-fueled life, he is given the final dignity. Although he dies tied to a tree, like a dog, the heavens rain down mounds and mounds of beautiful yellow flowers in his honor. No matter how lonely and pitiful he seemed in the end, he clearly deserved the ultimate respect. I thought of this as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's way of giving him final recognition; he was a great, powerful man, founding a great city and beginning a tragic, albeit interesting, line of descendents. It is also an instance of magical realism, as flowers do not really rain from the heavens, no matter how deserving the mortal is or was. There are a lot of deaths in the family in this section. Jose Arcadio Buendia dies, followed by Arcadio and Aureliano Jose. The latter two both die in the midst of the war. The lack of flowers, although it could simply indicate their lower status, could also imply that to die in war is a far less noble death than in old age. Being shot by a firing squad may seem a more exciting way to die than chained a tree in complete isolation, but in the end, it is no more honorable. The incest theme again makes an appearance in this section, with Aureliano Jose desiring to sleep with Amaranta, who raised him as her child. If viewing incest as being a curse passed through the generations, as it is portrayed in Middlesex by Geoffrey Eugenides, then the prevalence of incest-laden relationships in the Buendia family makes more sense. It's important to not forget that Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula were cousins, but married ayway. Arcadio yearned for Pilar, who is his mother. Jose Arcadio and Rebeca, although not technically related by blood, are "siblings" through nature of raising. Aureliano Jose pursues Amaranta, who is his aunt. The incest also points to extreme isolation. When marrying and reproducing within one's family, the need for outside contact is limited. After all, much of society's connecting is made up of the search for a mate. If relationships stay within a single family, there is no need to branch out. The Buendia family is able to maintain strict isolation from society, which is added to by the isolation they maintain from one another. Finally, the incest also signifies the reptition I mentioned in my previous post, and the idea that nothing is permanently gone. Names repeat; family genes repeat, as well. Even when a character dies, such as Jose Arcadio Buendia, his family carries on his legacy both in his frequently reoccurring genes and in his often repeated name.
4. Will the war ever truly end? Aureliano keeps drawing it on, even when it seems to be over. Is the war another example of things never coming to closure?
Did Gabriel Garcia Marquez put the yellow flowers in also to contrast the stark, precision-fueled military deaths of Arcadio and Aureliano Jose? Or were they there simply to honor Jose Arcadio Buendia?
Will Aureliano's seventeen sons play a role later in the story? What is their significance at this point? Are they there to simply show Aureliano's recklessness throughout the war? He seems to have lost himself, in a way. Do they have greater meaning?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 3
1. Homeopathy: : a system of medical practice that treats a disease especially by the administration of minute doses of a remedy that would in larger amounts produce symptoms in healthy persons.
-Merriam-Webster Online
P 97: "Embittered by failure, yearning for a safe place where he could await old age, the false homeopath took refuge in Macondo."
2. Pietro and Rebeca's wedding is put off on account of Pietro's mother becoming "gravely ill," an illness that proves to be made up, with Amaranta suspected of foul play. Remedios becomes a woman, regularly having a menstrual cycle, so her marriage to Aureliano is arranged. She proves to be a wonderful wife and addition to the Buendia family, getting along well with everyone and even offering to raise Aureliano Jose, Aureliano and Pilar's son. The state of bliss cannot last long, however, and Remedios dies suddenly. This again pushes back the date of Rebeca and Pietro's wedding, as a state of mourning is called for. Amaranta feels guilty for Remedios's death, suspecting that her wishes of tragedy to make the marriage of Pietro and Rebeca an impossibility have been answered in a way she did not imagine. A priest comes to town, deciding to build a tremendous church, and it is decided that Rebeca and Pietro will be the first couple married in the church. The priest also finds out that Jose Arcadio Buendia's apparent gibberish is actually Latin. Jose Arcadio, the son who ran off with the gypsies, returns, gruff and covered completely with tattoos. Rebeca becomes enamored by his crude masculinity, and the two become lovers, eventually getting married. Pietro, heartbroken, finds solace in Amaranta, who loved him all along. Aureliano, in the wake of Remedios's death, turns to the war as an outlet for his emotion and want for solitude. He works his way to leader of the Liberal forces, garnering tremendous respect and reputation along the way. He fathers seventeen children, each by a different woman, on his various military wanderings. Arcadio, son of Jose Arcadio and Pilar, is left in charge of the town in Aureliano's absense, and he inflicts cruel and tyrannical rule on Macondo as an effort to gain power and respect. He tries to force Pilar to sleep with him, unaware that she is his mother, but she tricks him by sending Santa Sofia de la Piedad. Arcadio and Sofia de la Piedad begin a relationship and are eventually married, having three kids: Remedios the Beauty, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo. Arcadio is executed for his Liberal dictatorship, however, and never gets to see the twins Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo. Pietro repeatedly proposes to Amaranta, who repeatedly turns him down, eventually driving him to commit suicide. In sorrow, as she really did love him, Amaranta severely burns her own hand, then covering it with black bandages that will remain as a sign of her penitence for the remainder of her life.
3. This section particularly demonstrated the novel's tendency to jump from storyline to storyline, from event to event, without much warning or explanation. This jumbled view of time is interesting, providing a more difficult to follow but ultimately more attention-holding story overall. As long as the reader is able to keep track of the characters with their similar names, the unexpected transitions are a positive tactic to build the novel structure. It is also interesting to note that many of the stories have similar, if not completely reoccurring, themes. Most of the young men sleep with or attempt to sleep with Pilar. There is obviously a common element of solitude in all of the characters. Time does not seem to affect anyone normally, with parents and children seeming much closer in age than they should be. The similar names are also important. Nobody and nothing ever truly dies in Macondo: even when something or someone seems dead, it makes a reappearance at some point. When the people lose their memories, they are not truly gone. Although they seem to be lost, they are brought back when Melquiades reappears with the magical cure. Melquiades is another clear example, as he continues to disappear and reappear. Although he is said to be dead at the moment, I have no doubt that he will reappear later in the story. The bones of Rebeca's parents played a large role in the earlier story, showing that her parents, although dead, were not entirely gone. They lived on, so to speak, through their lingering remains. Even if a character seems to truly leave the picture, it is almost guaranteed that through the repetition of the same few names, he or she will be "reinvented" through another generation of Buendia. Because many of the characters share characteristics, and at the very least an affinity for isolation, the distinction between characters is blurred. This suggests that nothing is final in Macondo, and nobody is gone forever. I though the emergence of a church in Macondo was another turning point in the story. Throughout the novel thus far, I've seen Macondo as somewhat representative of Eden. Jose Arcadio Buendia serves as Eve, acquiring the fruit of knowledge at the cost of innocence. It's ironic that Macondo "gains faith," in the form of a church, at a point where it is truly losing its remaining innocence. A war is raging, building in scope and in destruction, and in the midst of the chaos and dictatorship under Arcadio, a priest arrives proclaiming salvation. The people of Macondo have thus far survived incredible odds. They have been peaceful, albeit isolated, people. Although they have not had a formal church, I believe they have been more church-like than most church-going nations. Now, on the eve of the peak of their revolution, "holiness" enters. This paradox seems really important to me.
4. Will Macondo embrace the church or push it away? Will it change the lives of the people? Will it ever be completed?
Will Aureliano return, and if so, how will he react to the way Arcadio ruled the town in his absense? Granted, Arcadio has been executed, but will he try to make amends or will he be angry?
Will Melquiades return? So far no absense has been permanent. If he does return, will it be in physical form, or in another way?
-Merriam-Webster Online
P 97: "Embittered by failure, yearning for a safe place where he could await old age, the false homeopath took refuge in Macondo."
2. Pietro and Rebeca's wedding is put off on account of Pietro's mother becoming "gravely ill," an illness that proves to be made up, with Amaranta suspected of foul play. Remedios becomes a woman, regularly having a menstrual cycle, so her marriage to Aureliano is arranged. She proves to be a wonderful wife and addition to the Buendia family, getting along well with everyone and even offering to raise Aureliano Jose, Aureliano and Pilar's son. The state of bliss cannot last long, however, and Remedios dies suddenly. This again pushes back the date of Rebeca and Pietro's wedding, as a state of mourning is called for. Amaranta feels guilty for Remedios's death, suspecting that her wishes of tragedy to make the marriage of Pietro and Rebeca an impossibility have been answered in a way she did not imagine. A priest comes to town, deciding to build a tremendous church, and it is decided that Rebeca and Pietro will be the first couple married in the church. The priest also finds out that Jose Arcadio Buendia's apparent gibberish is actually Latin. Jose Arcadio, the son who ran off with the gypsies, returns, gruff and covered completely with tattoos. Rebeca becomes enamored by his crude masculinity, and the two become lovers, eventually getting married. Pietro, heartbroken, finds solace in Amaranta, who loved him all along. Aureliano, in the wake of Remedios's death, turns to the war as an outlet for his emotion and want for solitude. He works his way to leader of the Liberal forces, garnering tremendous respect and reputation along the way. He fathers seventeen children, each by a different woman, on his various military wanderings. Arcadio, son of Jose Arcadio and Pilar, is left in charge of the town in Aureliano's absense, and he inflicts cruel and tyrannical rule on Macondo as an effort to gain power and respect. He tries to force Pilar to sleep with him, unaware that she is his mother, but she tricks him by sending Santa Sofia de la Piedad. Arcadio and Sofia de la Piedad begin a relationship and are eventually married, having three kids: Remedios the Beauty, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo. Arcadio is executed for his Liberal dictatorship, however, and never gets to see the twins Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo. Pietro repeatedly proposes to Amaranta, who repeatedly turns him down, eventually driving him to commit suicide. In sorrow, as she really did love him, Amaranta severely burns her own hand, then covering it with black bandages that will remain as a sign of her penitence for the remainder of her life.
3. This section particularly demonstrated the novel's tendency to jump from storyline to storyline, from event to event, without much warning or explanation. This jumbled view of time is interesting, providing a more difficult to follow but ultimately more attention-holding story overall. As long as the reader is able to keep track of the characters with their similar names, the unexpected transitions are a positive tactic to build the novel structure. It is also interesting to note that many of the stories have similar, if not completely reoccurring, themes. Most of the young men sleep with or attempt to sleep with Pilar. There is obviously a common element of solitude in all of the characters. Time does not seem to affect anyone normally, with parents and children seeming much closer in age than they should be. The similar names are also important. Nobody and nothing ever truly dies in Macondo: even when something or someone seems dead, it makes a reappearance at some point. When the people lose their memories, they are not truly gone. Although they seem to be lost, they are brought back when Melquiades reappears with the magical cure. Melquiades is another clear example, as he continues to disappear and reappear. Although he is said to be dead at the moment, I have no doubt that he will reappear later in the story. The bones of Rebeca's parents played a large role in the earlier story, showing that her parents, although dead, were not entirely gone. They lived on, so to speak, through their lingering remains. Even if a character seems to truly leave the picture, it is almost guaranteed that through the repetition of the same few names, he or she will be "reinvented" through another generation of Buendia. Because many of the characters share characteristics, and at the very least an affinity for isolation, the distinction between characters is blurred. This suggests that nothing is final in Macondo, and nobody is gone forever. I though the emergence of a church in Macondo was another turning point in the story. Throughout the novel thus far, I've seen Macondo as somewhat representative of Eden. Jose Arcadio Buendia serves as Eve, acquiring the fruit of knowledge at the cost of innocence. It's ironic that Macondo "gains faith," in the form of a church, at a point where it is truly losing its remaining innocence. A war is raging, building in scope and in destruction, and in the midst of the chaos and dictatorship under Arcadio, a priest arrives proclaiming salvation. The people of Macondo have thus far survived incredible odds. They have been peaceful, albeit isolated, people. Although they have not had a formal church, I believe they have been more church-like than most church-going nations. Now, on the eve of the peak of their revolution, "holiness" enters. This paradox seems really important to me.
4. Will Macondo embrace the church or push it away? Will it change the lives of the people? Will it ever be completed?
Will Aureliano return, and if so, how will he react to the way Arcadio ruled the town in his absense? Granted, Arcadio has been executed, but will he try to make amends or will he be angry?
Will Melquiades return? So far no absense has been permanent. If he does return, will it be in physical form, or in another way?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 2
1. Monolithic: 1 a : of, relating to, or resembling a monolith : huge, massive b (1) : formed from a single crystal < a monolithic silicon chip> (2) : produced in or on a monolithic chip < a monolithic circuit>
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?
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?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
One Hundred Years of Solitude 1
1. Incipient:: beginning to come into being or to become apparent .
-Merriam-Webster Online
Page 23: "His voice had changed. An incipient fuzz appeared on his upper lip."
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude essentially begins at the end, with Colonel Aureliano Buendia going through memories from his earlier life. Jose Arcadio Buendia, Aureliano's father and the founder of the town, was a fervent supporter of the gypsies who frequently visited the town, bringing with them strange and wonderful wares. He trades much of his livelihood and possession for the fascinating contraptions, much to the dismay of his more practical wife, Ursula. His purchases range from magnets to navigation to alchemy. Because of his zany pursuits, Jose Arcadio becomes extremely isolated from his family and his community. In one of his wild tangents he becomes obsessed with finding other civilization, traveling in all directions in an unsuccessful search of something other than water. He plans to move Macondo, the village he founded, to another location, but without the support of his community or of his wife he never follows through. Disappointed, he becomes more interested in his children, the younger Jose Arcadio, who is brooding and seems to enjoy solitude, and Aureliano, the only character who sincerely seems to long for human contact regularly. The elder Jose Arcadio takes his sons to see the gypsies one last time and becomes transfixed by ice. The narrative then switches to long before Jose Arcadio Buendia and his wife were born. It turns out the two are cousins, with their great-grandparents having a business partnership and their families remaining particularly close ever since. In the early days of their marriage, Ursula was terrified to have children because of a child born with a pig's tail into another incest-based relationship within the family. Jose Arcadio is patient for a long time, but when he kills a man after a duel protecting his dignity, he forces Ursula to have intercourse with him. Haunted by the ghost of the man he murdered, Jose Arcadio and Ursula move, taking many neighbors with them, and found Macondo. The story switches back to the previous narrative, and this time Jose Arcadio and Aureliano work to establish a city of ice, while the younger Jose Arcadio carries on a secret love affair with an older woman, Pilar. When she becomes pregnant with his child, Jose Arcadio flees with the gypsies, and Ursula goes looking for him. She returns months later with a troop of people from a nearby village, and claims that although she did not find the gypsies, she found a flourishing town nearby.
3. The novel is written in the form of magical realism, a genre that I was previously unfamiliar with but have taken an immediate liking to. Everything is presented as larger than life, with extravagant exaggerations and unbelievable ideas thrown into what seems like reality. I found a line on page 9 very interesting and ironic. It is mentioned that Ursula must plug her ears and block out the sound of the singing birds throughout the village "so as not to lose her sense of reality." In a land of flying carpets and serenity in the face of a duel, Ursula's irritation at something as commonplace as birds seems highly ironic. A prevalent theme throughout the first two sections was progress, or lack thereof. Although Jose Arcadio Buendia formed Macondo in a progressive, innovative way, it was arguably the only progressive action of his that we've seen thus far. All of his explorative ventures since the foundation of the village have failed; his passionate experiments and purchases, although filled with well-meaning, have been highly unsuccessful. It seems that Jose Arcadio has hit a stalemate with progress. Even his marriage, as one of incest, is a standstill. Instead of connecting with others, progressing with new genes and relationships, the two families that Jose Arcadio and Ursula belong to have been intermingling for generations. When his son Jose Arcadio is faced with the prospect of progression in the form of new life, he flees. Instead of staying to raise his child, he leaves with the gypsies. Another theme that plays an important role in chapters one and two is solitude. Each character, with the exception of Aureliano, has shown a tendency toward isolation. The elder Jose Arcadio isolates himself through his ventures and experiments: his community does not understand nor do they approve, yet he squanders his time and resources freely. His wife, Ursula, lives in isolation because of her lack of connection with her whimsical husband. The younger Jose Arcadio isolates himself through his lack of willingness to participate with his family, particularly with his father's experiments. On page 17, Jose Arcadio Sr. takes the children to see the ice with the gypsies, and although he paid for them to touch the ice, "Little Jose Arcadio refused to touch it." When he begins his affair, it is not one of love; rather, it is one of isolation and lust. The sex begins during his formative teen years. He is a brooding, angst-ridden young man with an unexplainable attraction to an older woman. She seduces him, and they meet regularly, but there is no true love connection. They are together, but they do not speak when Pilar comes to his house during the day. Thus it is a solitude-based relationship, not a companionship-based one. Aureliano is the only character who does not seek isolation. He spends much of his time attempting to connect with his father and his brother, whether taking part in the former's attempts at alchemy or speaking to the latter about his sexual encounters. Because of the situation he is in, though, and the people he is attempting to connect with, Aureliano remains in a state of solitude.
4. Names were obviously chosen very carefully in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Aureliano, the son interested in alchemy, takes his name from gold, whose chemical formula is Au and has Latin roots in aurum, meaning "shining dawn." Ursula means little bear, indicative of her strong character. Remedios could refer to medicine, and Buendia literally means "good day" in Spanish. What is the significance of Jose Arcadio? Was Pilar chosen randomly?
Ice vs. Burning... I see the significance of it so far, as it's mentioned quite frequently. I'm not sure I'm fully understanding its meaning, however. From the "burning town" to the burning passions, and the stove that the great-grandma sits on, fire is obviously prominent. Likewise, Jose Arcadio dreams of ice walls, and the ice fascinates him. Are these two elements symbolic of something deeper?
This is probably not an easily answerable question, but was Gabriel Garcia Marquez at all inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales? I was reminded heavily of them in the first two chapters, mainly because of the abundance of small, easy to miss falsities throughout the text. There are many hidden "treasures," if you will, that are easy to skim over but at closer glance prove to be absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
-Merriam-Webster Online
Page 23: "His voice had changed. An incipient fuzz appeared on his upper lip."
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude essentially begins at the end, with Colonel Aureliano Buendia going through memories from his earlier life. Jose Arcadio Buendia, Aureliano's father and the founder of the town, was a fervent supporter of the gypsies who frequently visited the town, bringing with them strange and wonderful wares. He trades much of his livelihood and possession for the fascinating contraptions, much to the dismay of his more practical wife, Ursula. His purchases range from magnets to navigation to alchemy. Because of his zany pursuits, Jose Arcadio becomes extremely isolated from his family and his community. In one of his wild tangents he becomes obsessed with finding other civilization, traveling in all directions in an unsuccessful search of something other than water. He plans to move Macondo, the village he founded, to another location, but without the support of his community or of his wife he never follows through. Disappointed, he becomes more interested in his children, the younger Jose Arcadio, who is brooding and seems to enjoy solitude, and Aureliano, the only character who sincerely seems to long for human contact regularly. The elder Jose Arcadio takes his sons to see the gypsies one last time and becomes transfixed by ice. The narrative then switches to long before Jose Arcadio Buendia and his wife were born. It turns out the two are cousins, with their great-grandparents having a business partnership and their families remaining particularly close ever since. In the early days of their marriage, Ursula was terrified to have children because of a child born with a pig's tail into another incest-based relationship within the family. Jose Arcadio is patient for a long time, but when he kills a man after a duel protecting his dignity, he forces Ursula to have intercourse with him. Haunted by the ghost of the man he murdered, Jose Arcadio and Ursula move, taking many neighbors with them, and found Macondo. The story switches back to the previous narrative, and this time Jose Arcadio and Aureliano work to establish a city of ice, while the younger Jose Arcadio carries on a secret love affair with an older woman, Pilar. When she becomes pregnant with his child, Jose Arcadio flees with the gypsies, and Ursula goes looking for him. She returns months later with a troop of people from a nearby village, and claims that although she did not find the gypsies, she found a flourishing town nearby.
3. The novel is written in the form of magical realism, a genre that I was previously unfamiliar with but have taken an immediate liking to. Everything is presented as larger than life, with extravagant exaggerations and unbelievable ideas thrown into what seems like reality. I found a line on page 9 very interesting and ironic. It is mentioned that Ursula must plug her ears and block out the sound of the singing birds throughout the village "so as not to lose her sense of reality." In a land of flying carpets and serenity in the face of a duel, Ursula's irritation at something as commonplace as birds seems highly ironic. A prevalent theme throughout the first two sections was progress, or lack thereof. Although Jose Arcadio Buendia formed Macondo in a progressive, innovative way, it was arguably the only progressive action of his that we've seen thus far. All of his explorative ventures since the foundation of the village have failed; his passionate experiments and purchases, although filled with well-meaning, have been highly unsuccessful. It seems that Jose Arcadio has hit a stalemate with progress. Even his marriage, as one of incest, is a standstill. Instead of connecting with others, progressing with new genes and relationships, the two families that Jose Arcadio and Ursula belong to have been intermingling for generations. When his son Jose Arcadio is faced with the prospect of progression in the form of new life, he flees. Instead of staying to raise his child, he leaves with the gypsies. Another theme that plays an important role in chapters one and two is solitude. Each character, with the exception of Aureliano, has shown a tendency toward isolation. The elder Jose Arcadio isolates himself through his ventures and experiments: his community does not understand nor do they approve, yet he squanders his time and resources freely. His wife, Ursula, lives in isolation because of her lack of connection with her whimsical husband. The younger Jose Arcadio isolates himself through his lack of willingness to participate with his family, particularly with his father's experiments. On page 17, Jose Arcadio Sr. takes the children to see the ice with the gypsies, and although he paid for them to touch the ice, "Little Jose Arcadio refused to touch it." When he begins his affair, it is not one of love; rather, it is one of isolation and lust. The sex begins during his formative teen years. He is a brooding, angst-ridden young man with an unexplainable attraction to an older woman. She seduces him, and they meet regularly, but there is no true love connection. They are together, but they do not speak when Pilar comes to his house during the day. Thus it is a solitude-based relationship, not a companionship-based one. Aureliano is the only character who does not seek isolation. He spends much of his time attempting to connect with his father and his brother, whether taking part in the former's attempts at alchemy or speaking to the latter about his sexual encounters. Because of the situation he is in, though, and the people he is attempting to connect with, Aureliano remains in a state of solitude.
4. Names were obviously chosen very carefully in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Aureliano, the son interested in alchemy, takes his name from gold, whose chemical formula is Au and has Latin roots in aurum, meaning "shining dawn." Ursula means little bear, indicative of her strong character. Remedios could refer to medicine, and Buendia literally means "good day" in Spanish. What is the significance of Jose Arcadio? Was Pilar chosen randomly?
Ice vs. Burning... I see the significance of it so far, as it's mentioned quite frequently. I'm not sure I'm fully understanding its meaning, however. From the "burning town" to the burning passions, and the stove that the great-grandma sits on, fire is obviously prominent. Likewise, Jose Arcadio dreams of ice walls, and the ice fascinates him. Are these two elements symbolic of something deeper?
This is probably not an easily answerable question, but was Gabriel Garcia Marquez at all inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales? I was reminded heavily of them in the first two chapters, mainly because of the abundance of small, easy to miss falsities throughout the text. There are many hidden "treasures," if you will, that are easy to skim over but at closer glance prove to be absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
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