Imagine this is a corner cafe in Macondo...it's hot...people are eating little iced animals and waving fans and trying to remember...discuss the events of the middle section of the book. No revolutions, please, unless your name is Aureliano...
In the second third of the novel,One Hundred Years of Solitude,Gabriela Garcia Marquez would be constantly using repetition of events,not only to remind the reader, but to utilize simultaneously with the style of foreshadowing to give the reader the effect of how the story will unfold. For example on page 103, the story would countdown to how Colonel Aureliano Buendia would be in front of firing squad and the event that take place after the transformation of Aureliano Buendia to Colonel AurelianBuendia. "Colonel Aureliano Buendia organized thirty-two armed uprisings and he lost them all. He had seventeen male children...and they were exterminated one after one after another before the oldest one had reached the age of 35...He survived 14 attempts on his life, 73 ambushes and a firing squad"(103) This author uses this type of style only to give an allusion fo how how the time goes in a circle. Simple Quotes hyperbole from several characters display a hint of foreshadowing in the lines of ten to tell wher the book is going.
I too noticed that Marquez repeats events throughout the books to show importance but always expands on these events later in the book. An example of that is Coronel Aureliano Buendia's 17 sons who earlier in the book were just mentioned by their deaths, but later, the book reflects on their lives.
Another thing that I was thinking of was how Macondo has evolved over time. In the beginning of the book, Macondo was only a "village of twenty adobe houses" (1) but then it became much bigger with railways being built and war erupting in the city.
All the people in the city have changed from simple but happy to being hungry for technology and power. The only person that still represented what Macondo originally stood for was Ursula. She remained dedicated to her religion and tried everything she could to keep her family together. I feel that Ursula is the one who will live longer than everyone in her family tree because she is the one that is remaining pure and true to the city of Macondo.
In the second part of the novel , One Hundred Years of Solitude, the need for affection or love becomes prominent. This struggle becomes apparent in more than one character. With the women it seems that their struggle is that they have what they want and then no longer want it. To them it is like a game of some sort. Amranta was the perfect example. She had originally tortured Rebeca about marrying Pietro Crespi, and then once he set a date she told him to not to "be so simple" (109) becasue she would never marry him . This shows her lack of trust and that she herself liked her own independence. The women of Maconda are very dependent on themselves. They do not rely on the men for anything. Ursula is the main example of this However in the men's case it is very different. They long for the touch of a women and they become border line obsessed with it. In Pietro Crespi's case he killed himself over his heart break of Aramant. Aureliano Jose "deserted the federal troops in Nicaragua... with a secret determination to marry Aramanta" his own aunt. This shows the men as more vulnerable and open to let their emotions show. This is their downfall in most cases. Aureliano Jose end up getting killed becasue he came back to Maconda. I think that later on in the book we will find the real reason why the men are so vulnerable to women.
I agree with steph113's comment about Macondo. Macondo used to be an utopian community. There was no authority in the town and everyone seems to be happy. Then Macondo starts to connect with the outside world. On the bright side, villagers in Macondo can enjoy the new technology that is introduced: railroad(222). But on the other hand, they are also exposed to the new horrors as byproduct. Civil war takes place in this once peaceful town. This situation is somewhat similar to the contact of America and Europe in 16th century. The native Americans might gain contact with other civilizations and different types of food. But at the same time, they were not immune to the diseases from Europe and the Europeans attacked them for more territory. As a result, many of the Indian tribes were destroyed. From how the story goes, I think that Macondo may have the same outcome.
Adding on to bond_smoka's and steph's comment about the repetition of events, it does feel like time is in fact repeating itself. Because the author begins with what appears to be the end of the novel, it gives off the allusion that time is stuck in the past(and it slow leads to the present as the book progresses). Quite a few of the Buenda's family have a one point have gotten amnesia which in turn doesn't allow them remember the past, be stuck in the present, thus not allowing them to have a future (José Arcadio Buendía comes to mind). Another example of repetition of an event is with Colonel Aureliano Buendía's golden fishes, which he later on melts in order to make another batch of gold fishes again. This symbolizes him being stuck in the present unable to progress with time. Of course there's also Rebeca who choses to lock herself up and live in the past with her old memories rather than with the outside society showing that she wants to relive in the past. What I'm trying to get at is that it seems like the Buendia family seems to be only stuck in the past and present and never in the future, which foreshadows their eventual downfall.
Throughout the novel many things like the names of people have been repeated a lot.What is disturbing is that when a new child is born into the family they often re-use names, which ultimately befalls a curse on the child to become just like the person who has been named from another. For example when the two twins Auerliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo they are automatically doomed from the moment that they were named. The novel so far has progressed in quiet a repeating way. Like everyone so far has commented, the Buendia family seems to always follow into a pattern of life. The family has really been stuck in one time zone. They neither move forward but they rely a lot on the past events to get them by. As we further read this zone in which the Buendia's are stuck is really what leads up to their complete downfall, like Paul as said.
Like the above posters, I also noticed that Marquez repeated names and events throughout the book. As a result, I concluded that nostalgia was a theme in the book. Ursula always recalls what the family is like the past and wishes that those days would come back. Amaranta continously thinks about Pietro Crespi, his love letters, and his scent. She refuses to let herself live beyond that point in life. Colonel Aureliano Buendia always refers back to the time when "his father his taken him to see ice" (169). He mentally lives in the same date, Tuesday October 11 day after day. Also, during the war the new barracks were always referred to as the old school house. The Buendia family seems to have a problem of giving newborns new names, so they always give the same names to their children. This results in repetition in life of all Arcadios, Aurelianos, Remedios, etc. Ursula, then, always recalls past events of each Arcadio, Aureliano, Remedios, etc.
A continous occurence in this book is the arrival of foreigners. The gypsies began it all. After them, each chapter seemed to present some new group that came to Macondo to introduce new technology and new ideas. Thinking back to Paul's first post in the first section of One Hundred Years of Solitude, the gypsies definitely foreshadowed negative changes in the Macondo society. Each new group that arrived brought changes to which Ursula resisted against. As years went by, Macondo changed. A church, a theater, barracks, etc were built in Macondo. Even a government was once set up. These events are symbolic. They showed that even the strongest society, as Macondo had once been when it was first settled, eventually fall to new changes despite how they had once sworned to always rule themselves with their own customs and traditions. For example, all of the houses in Macondo had once been constructed the same way. After many years of foreign vistations, houses began to be constructed differently to accomodate these foreigners: by adding more rooms, more furniture, etc.
Marquez also employs irony in this text. Ursula, who did not see the real personalities of her children when she had perfect vision, sees them all so clearly once she becomes blind. Now, blindness always resembles wisdom and knowledge beyond that of mortals. Think of Teresias. Marquez clearly understands that the audience will make this connection, so he has Ursula go blind in order to figure out what her children are truly like. It is also ironic that Rebeca is seen by Ursula as the child she has always wanted. Yet, Rebeca is not of her own blood whatsoever.
Meme represents the new changing generation in One Hundred Years of Solitude. She is described has not having the same solitary feeling that Buendias give off. For this, we can conclude that because Ursula and Fernanda decided to send her away for education and did not grow up in the Buendia household, she has grown up separated from the Buendias' fate. Meme also mixes herself with friends from different cultures and joins them in different activities that the Buendias do not find suitable for Macondo; Fernanda is absolutely against having chat times with girlfriends, going out to movies, etc. At the same time, Amaranta died of old age. Her solitary and nostaglic self died along with her body. Marquz can be foreshadowing the changing fate of the Buendia family through these two events: Meme being completely different from the typical Buendia and Amaranta dying with all of the nostalgia.
The second part of One Hundred Years of Solitude was when it started getting a little more interesting to me. Colonel Aureliano has gone through so much and lost his main cause of fighting in the war. Instead of what he fought for in the beginning, the twisted Conservative Party, he begins fighting for pride.
I agree with steph113 when she says that Macondo had evolved over time. It was just a village with adobe houses, as she said, but now, transformed into a more modernized society because of outside influences. Railroads and ships transporting goods to and from are found in Macondo now. I think Macondo changing was a both positive and negative. It was positive because the new technology made life in Macondo easier and more suitable. It was a negative too because certain people began coming into the village wanting to rule what wasn't theirs before. This reminds me of the Native Americans in the United States and the Americans that "discovered North America" and all of a sudden wanting to take over land that didn't belong to them. The Native Americans try to fight back, but in the end, lose the fight, just like in Macondo. The "government" suddenly wants to take over a village that wasn't theirs in the first place.
I agree with mary when she says that nostalgia is a theme in the novel. Amaranta constantly knitting in solitude, thinking of Pietro Crespi and all of his qualities. Ursala was especially nostalgic because she is the oldest in the family. She gets to live one hundred years of age and with that, she sees how each of the family members have grown and changed. Things aren't the same in the Buendia household anymore and to return to the past is what she yearns for the most.
Does anyone else find it interesting how the twins Jose Arcadio and Aureliano Segundo don't come out the way their names suggest them to be? Ursala also notices it, too. "...she examined her old memories and confirmed the belief that at some moment in childhood he had changed places with his twin brother, because it was he and not the other one who should have been called Aureliano," (261-262). Jose Arcadio is the more reserved one, just like Colonel Aureliano is. But, Aureliano Segundo is the wild one, just like Jose Arcadio was when he came back from the gypsies. It's pretty obvious.
I noticed also that Meme was different from the Buendias. Her fate isn't easily chosen like the others. From the names of the Buendia children after Jose Arcadio and Colonel Aureliano, one could already see what will befall the child before it already happens.
I agree with everyone that Marquez uses repetition a lot throughout the novel. Not only does he repeat phrases such as "As he faced the firing squad", but he also repeats the names of the characters and their fates. I also noticed, as mary and nessa said, that the twins Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo both have the fates of their opposite ancestors. Aureliano Segundo is the one who has a wife and a concubine. He throws lavish parties for everyone and lives in excess just as Jose Arcadio had when he came back from traveling the world. Jose Arcadio Segundo, on the other hand, is more solitary and incapable of having emotions, just like Colonel Aureliano Buendia.
Vallygirl's comment about the need for affection is very interesting. I had not noticed how all the men, at one point need the affection of a woman. They fall in love and try to persue women to be their wives. Aureliano Segundo traveled far just to bring Fernnda del Carpio back home with him. Also, meny men have fallen victim to Remedios the Beauty's attraction. The women, however, seem to be a lot stronger. They withstand the wooing of so many men and most of the time end up raising their children and maintaining the household. Ursula seems to be like a strong force that through all the mayhem in her "madhouse" and in the town of Macondo, she managed to keep her composure. As Mary already said, Ursula got keener and saw more in depth, the older and blinder she got. It was ironic that she had the ability to really see and understand her children only when she was blind. One of my favorite passages so far is the one that begins, "She was sure of it..." on page 248 and ends with "Ursula had wanted for her line," on page 25. In this passage the reader gets a different perspective of all that has happebend and how times have changed from one of the oldest members of Macondo.
Within the passage I mentioned, my question was answered as to why Amaranta was so stubborn with love. It was, "a mortal struggle between a measureless love and an invincible cowardice...and an irrational fear" (249). I had predicted that it was pride or fear, so i guess I was half correct.
Anotehr thought I had as I read this second part of the novel, was athat if there was going to be a climax. The story has so many ups and downs and characters but what i have not notuced was a clear plot. The way i see it, it just tells of the lives of the Buendia family and the town of Macondo. Maybe in the third part I will get what I am looking for, although I am not complaining about how the story is going so far.
One final thought is about the title itself, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. In the veru beginning of the novel i thoguth that maybe it would be about how the town of Macondo was secluded for others for one hundred years, but then the gypsies came and then the gringos, so my theory was wrong. Later on I thought that maybe the solitude refered to Ursula, who has lived over 100 years. It could very well be that Ursula will eventually be the only living person who was there when Macondo was founded and will be alone in being the only one who remembered how everything used to be.
Any ideas as to what the title means? I'd love to find out what others think.
In reply to Cynthia's question, where the title came from, I noticed along with the several other trends of repetition, the repetition of the word "solitude" in the second part of the novel. Different members of the Buendia family are being described as solitary and drowning in their solitude at certain parts.
On page 163, Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes, "One August afternoon, overcome by the unbearable weight of her own obstincy, Amaranta locked herself in the bedroom to weep over her solitude unto death...." Colonial Aureliano Buenia attempted to kill himself...an act he wouldn't have committed if he didn't feel so solitary and alone after many years of war. Remedios the Beauty was solitary in her state of supernatural beauty, as Fernanda del Carpio is in solitude because of her husband's unfaithful tendencies and because she doesn't get along with the Buendia household.
Ironically, while many of the characters have traits just as opposite as Jose Arcadio Buendia and Colonel Aureliano Buendia had, they all share the common emotion of feeling solitary had one point or another in their lives. Thus, the title One Hundred Years of Solitude could possibly come from the passing down of this unpleasant feeling from generation to generation, like a curse.
The second section of One Hundred Years of Solitude reinforces the idea that the women of Macondo are very strong and they do not depend on assistance from men to help them through difficult situations. I agree with valleygirl 09 that Ursula exemplifies this idea because from the first section of One Hundred Years of Solitude “thanks to her the floors of tamped earth, the unwhitewashed mud walls, the rustic, wooden furniture they had built themselves were always clean…” (9) Not only is Ursula able to take care of the house, her “…capacity for work was the same as that of her husband,” (8) especially when she had to paint and fix things in her house and take care of all of the children because José Arcadio Buendía consumed all of his time with scientific inventions. I think this concept of women taking the lead role in their families is very intriguing because in the book, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, women came second to their husbands and they were seen as inferior to men. The difference in their beliefs causes me to wonder what Okonkwo would think of José Arcadio Buendía for allowing his wife to become the main provider for their family.
The women’s desire to do things on their own may cause them to push love and affection from men in their village away. For instance Remedios the Beauty was known as one of the most beautiful women in Macondo and the men in Macondo would go to great lengths just to get a glimpse of her beauty, however, she never allowed herself to become involved with these men. Fernanda del Carpio is also a woman who shows her independence by continuing to uphold the beliefs that she was taught by her mother, even though her husband, Aureliano Segundo and his family do things differently. She also continues to raise her daughter, Renata Remedios by very strict rules, despite Aureliano Segundo’s resistance. I feel that Fernanda is also a courageous and determined woman because she never becomes angry or upset with her husband despite the fact that she and everyone else in Macondo know that he often visits his mistress, Petra Cotes. I think that the women’s resistance to have a relationship with other men in the village or their unwillingness to leave their husbands is fueled by their desire to focus on the important aspects in theirs lives, such as their children and their well being.
Steph113 predicts that Ursula will live longer than her family members and I agree with her prediction because Ursula is the only one who held the Buendía family together through many of their difficult times and she was able to uphold the original beliefs of Macondo. While José Arcadio Buendía was tied to the Chestnut tree, Ursula would bath him, bring him clean cloth and food, and she would confide many things in him, while other people neglected him and infatuated themselves in the new inventions that were brought to the village. Ursula did not allow herself to become involved in new technology or occupied with the war and the conflicts between the Liberals and the Conservatives. Through all of the destruction and chaos that occurred in Macondo, Gabriel García Márquez later revealed in the book that, “…no one discovered that she was blind.” (246) For Ursula to have endured all of the pain, mistrust, and deception that has evolved in the Buendía family over the years, I feel that Ursula deserves to live the longest and to see how the village can be restored. She has seen how Macondo developed into a destructive and dangerous village, but it is time for her to see how the village she took so much pride in many years ago, can change for the better and become a prosperous and unified village once again.
In the second third of the novel, Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses repetition of events. From my perspective, the reason why Marquez uses repetition is because the characters itselves are always remembering what their old lives used to be before technology was introduced to Macondo and also before the war. The arrival of new groups to this village have changed the Buendia's family so much that they are stuck living in the past. Like Mary said, "repetition in life of all Arcadios, Aurelianos, Remedios, Amaranta, etc" proves the point of how the family is and will always live in the past.
Also, I agree with steph and her observation. Macondo was a small village where no one has ever died and now Macondo is a war erupting city where many have died. As for Ursula. She is the only that still represents the old Macondo with its beliefs and culture. While everybody else got caught up with technology and power. For example, Jose Arcadio Buendia, her husband. Now he is spending the last years or days of his life tight to a Chestnut tree as all his family falls apart(89).
I just love reading the previous blog posts! So fun to read, plus I get a lot of insights into the book.
First off, when ashley8 wrote about the contrasts between Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart and Jose Arcadio, I was immediately struck by another topic: the "invasion of utopian Macondo." (for those who haven't read Things Fall Apart, I apologize-please skip my blog post, or read on if you want) I was immediately struck between the similarities of Macondo and Umuofia- both are not "modernized" in a sense i.e "twenty adobe houses" (1) in Macondo, a tribal system in Things Fall Apart. With the arrival of foreigners, as Mary suggests, Macondo suffers through negative circumstances (war, urbanization, loss of villege community, etc.) The same thing happens to Umuofia, with the arrival of missionaries and colonial powers (the tribe's culture is ridiculed, the tribe loses its traditions/ways of life). While positives do exist for both communities with the arrival of foreigners (Macondo gains new technologies and ideas while Umuofia's missionaries stop the killing of twins), the stories are both written with an emphasis toward the negative consequences.
I find Fernanda to be a facinating character. She tolerates her husband's philandering with Petra Cotes. She, to me, seems rather cold. She banishes her daughter for sleeping with the town mechanic. She hides her grandson away from the public, and she has these set ideas about running a household that are so strict and unbending. She uses a gold chamberpot, and she has an "obsession" for being a "queen." Quite a complex character! Does she represent anything?
In the second part of the novel, I too notice that there exists a sort of a cycle in events and names. History is constantly repeating itself in the fates of each Buendia. The Buendia men at one point experience immense success whether it be Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s prominence in the war or Aureliano Segundo’s prosperity with his farm animals. However with each case of success, a cycle repeats itself as each man faces a downfall in which they are banned to their own solitude. Marquez personifies solitude on many occasions making it seem as a companion that the Buendia’s have “an honorable pact” (199) with. Each case of solitude leaves the Buendias isolated from the outside world. To me the title may refer to a one hundred year curse the Buendias have in their family in which each generation carrying the same cursed names will repeat a cycle of facing solitude unto death.
The corruption and chaos brought on by the introduction of technology as well as different markings of modern day society shows Marquez’s view on the modern world. He seems to mock the impacts of modern technology and advancements as it transforms a peaceful city to a destructive and uncivilized one. He calls the arrival of all the deathly temptations to be a “tumultuous and intemperate invasion.” (228) This invasion undoubtedly lures the innocent city of Macondo into temptations and ways of the outside world that only serve to turn the people towards savagery fuelled by a hunger for power as steph113 has mentioned. (i.e. the mass killing of workers by the banana company pg. 302) In many ways the arrival of the foreigners is like the opening of Pandora’s Box, releasing all evils of man.
Mary makes a good point about Marquez’s use of irony as exemplified in Ursula who sees clearly despite her physical blindness as she realizes that “time was not passing…but it was turning in a circle.” (335)
On a final note, I find the character of Aureliano Buendia II to be quite interesting because he is the only character to experience solitude immediately, from the moment of his birth where he is banned to isolation.
Referencing the repeated events throughout the book, while I do believe they are important, I find it less of a method of enforcing the importance of the event than more of a way to emphasize the possible meaning behind the story.
Unlike some other people, I found the title One Hundred Years of Solitude to not reference each family member feeling isolated with their experiences. If you look at the family tree, the author Marquez limits his choices for names with the family for a reason. I personally believe that in a way, Marquez is stating that Macondo is almost in a state of perpetual sameness. While the town does make discoveries, with the random bouts of amnesia and the apparent inability to separate the present from the future, “Wednesday…‘this is a disaster,’ [Jose Arcadio Buendia] said. ‘Look…today is Monday too.’” (77) The town finds itself in a odd paradox of sorts. It’s saying that while the time may continuously change, and with it the inventions and techniques of the world, people ultimate stay the same, even inheriting the characteristics of those before them. For instance, as Dario said before, JAB’s personalities seemed to have been split between his two sons, Jose Arcadio and Aureliano Buendia. While Jose is seen as a strong and fierce character, Aureliano is curious, and just as much of a genius as his father was.
As for the events in this part of the story, we can once again refer to the aptly titled tale Things Fall Apart. With the exposure to new technologies that people can enjoy, i.e. the railroad, the town succumbs to the trivial problems of the supposed ‘civilized’ world. While I agree with many of the details pointed out by earlier posters, Vallygirl’s comment was especially interesting in that I hadn’t really noticed the trend of the need for affection. I found it really interesting in the aspect that unlike common society, where usually the woman is the one seen as the chaser of affection, with the men being more independent, in One Hundred Years it’s the exact opposite. While the men go at great lengths to bring the one they want home with them, you have someone like Ursula representing a strong force, with the ability to see greatly. With blindness coming into play, the author “wants to emphasize other levels of sigh and blindness beyond the physical,” (202). Like How to Read Literature Like a Professor stated so succinctly, they’re blind for a reason.
One Hundred Years of Solitude frequents so much action yet so little changes and so little happens. As many of noted, the newer generations simply represent a carbon copy of the old (whom are tied by the same names) and thus the events are already predetermined and repeat themselves.
Mary and Nessa commented on the continued presence of Ursula throughout the book. In terms of her, it was noted that she has lived the longest of any family member even to the extent of becoming great-great grandmother. Having established such, it's evident that she provides the historical perspective to the book. She has been present through all Buendia tribulations and therefore can comment and analyze the trends and patterns that have developed throughout her 100 years. It is Ursula who seems to possess the richest understanding of her family line in spite of the fact that she's blind, (ironically).
The character Meme diverges slightly from the expected Buendia inheritance. Unlike many of the other characters in the book, especially the women, she does not make a conscious desicion to cloyster herself off into solitude. As Mary discussed, she suggests more of a shift into the contemporary, most closely resembling her enthusiastic father Aureliano Segundo. As Marquez himself wrote, "..unlike Amaranta, unlike all of them, Meme still did not reveal the solitary fate of the family and she seemed entirely in conformity with the world" (259). Whether or not it is accomplished consciously, she is still bound to the Buendia fate of solitude as her own love Mauricio Babilonia was shot and "ostracized as a chicken theif," (291), the implication being that the lovers did not remain together.
Many dissected women's roles within Macondo society and came to the conclusion that it was the women who harnessed most of the power. To provide further evidence to attest to this, I'd like to cite Petra Cotes. As the concubine of Aureliano Segundo, she overtly manipulated him for both material objects and for his affection. Marquez even noted that she was required to "reconquer the husband" (274), once his relationship with Meme was vitalized. Having said that, one could concede that not only do the women of Macondo seem to possess great authority but that they use their sexuality as a means to gain this power. Beyond Petra Cotes, Pilar Ternera, Remedios the Beauty, and even Amaranta exemplify this characteristic.
It does seems as if the crux of the whole novel is when Colonel Buendia was taken to see the ice. Ice: Cold, frozen (in time?), solid, rare(?)... melts...
Can I compare the Buendia family to ice by saying that when they were formed they were as solid, strong, and awesome as this specific block of ice, but ice doesn't last forever. I'm just throwing out ideas here.
I believe that Pilar Ternera is the Buendia's passage throught to their future. She is always the one they go to for card readings. She has also contributed family members.
But moving on, Macondo is like the Garden of Eden, (with a highly communist-driven setting) and Ursula and Jose Arcadio are Adam and Eve. Remedios the beauty can easily be compared to an Eve before the forbidden fruit incident. This can also be compared to Macondo as a whole, before the dratted banana factory, it was the Garden of Eden. The banana, or "forbidden fruit" was the beginning of the end of Macondo.
Remedious the Beauty ended up being far too innocent and pure for a town like Macondo in the state it was in. So she had to be returned to heaven where she belonged.
I read that over and chuckled. I'm a little proud.
Kayla once again. Wow! Gypsyloo, can I just say that was some AWESOME insight? I totally agree that the family was like ice. They were together in the beginning, a solid force, but they soon broke apart, melted if you will.
So, as many people have pointed out, Meme is very different from her mother, and from the rest of the family. First of all, she does what she wants. She isn’t old fashioned. She does go out to visit with her friends, and all in all lives a more carefree life than most of the other members of the family. Until she gets sent away that is. I feel like she symbolizes the possibility of change. There is no one else called Meme, and even though that’s a nickname, perhaps she can escape from the fate set out for her. I think even getting away from her mother is the best thing that can be done.
I think the repetition of names is to show that people just don’t change. In How to Read Literature, the author said that there is only one story ever, and stories always contain parts from other stories. So we have all these men with the same names, and even the women have the same names. No author would do that without a reason. What I don’t understand is why they would keep naming them the same names if they realize they have fallen into a trap. Ursula realizes their fates have been laid down, because she said she always wondered if the twins had gotten their names switched at some point or another.
Amaranta seemed to be giving into love with her nephew. I think this really shows that the family is living their lives in circles. It was as if she was destined to fall in love with a family member. She rejected those outside of her family, yet gives into the lust she feels towards Aureliano Jose, for at least a while. It’s like she really doesn’t want to, but somehow keeps going back to him, or in the very least, letting him come to her. Aureliano Jose of course is totally into the idea, much like all the men before him. He doesn’t care who thinks what, or what animal curse the baby would be born with.
The wars in this book all confuse me. I don’t even know what to say about them. I’m never sure what they are for. I sort of want to reread the book because I think I’d get more out of it. Who knows.
I wanted to immediately comment on babaloo's post. So the idea of fate and reusing names is a huge sort of theme to the novel. Once the name is chosen it is foreshadowing what the fate of that child is. Also, everything seems to relate to time. I'm thinking that it is a major theme? Once someone dies, it is like it is forgotten. It is as if it is just a continues cycle. The one thing I am curious about, what if the cycle is suddenly ended for some reason? What will happen?
I also feel like before the war, the past was focussed on. Now, it is like the past just repeats itself all the time. Maybe even without the people even noticing. Can it somehow symbolize something on the lines of the "circle of life?"
I found it interesting how allthatjazz_07 said it was like a "curse." That ties in to the theme of fate.
I didn't realize that a book that is so repetitive can be completely different at the same time. Ironic huh?
I just found Kris10’s last comment a bit funny… It is ironic that this book is, as you say “repetitive” but that it is, at the same time, completely different each time. However, I did not really pick up on the repetitive nature of the novel because of the fact that, though Jose Arcadio Buendia and Aureliano seem to encounter similar fates in their old age, the circumstances of their lives are eerily dissimilar at the same time. For that reason, I would like to purpose that instead of “repetitive,” a better word to describe this narrative would be “reoccurring,” simply because it has a less boring connotative meaning.
What I found intersrting about the Buendia family is how diverse it is even amongst itself. Jose Arcadio Buendia is inventive but eventually becomes delirious and alone in his mind. His son, Jose Arcadio has a child at the age of around 15, joins a group of gypsies, travels the world, comes back to Macondo, becomes a sex legend there, maries his sister (though not related by blood), and later dies from a mysterious gunshot to the head. Jose Arcadio Buendia’s other son, Aureliano Buendia, marries a very young girl who is poisoned by his sister and later dies while pregnant with twins, has a child by Pilar Ternera, joins the Liberals, goes to war, becomes a general, starts and loses 32 civil wars, has 17 children all by different women, returns home a war hero, settles with the government he greatly opposes, has his 17 children killed by the same government he spent his life fighting, secludes himself in his workshop manufacturing little gold fish until the day of his death. I do not think I have to continue to writing run on sentences for the other family members to convince everyone that the family itself is very diverse. It just feels really unlikely to me that people from such a small village could go on to live such extravagant lives (Colonel Aureliano Buendia especially).
Moving on, let me just comment on bond_smoka’s observation- one that I also made several times, often to my annoyance –Garcia Marquez will say “he would never see her again” and either begin a new chapter or a new topic. Though it is a very creative, and I am sure difficult style to incorporate into one’s writing, often I found it annoying for two reasons: it did not fully develop the topic to a degree where the reader’s curiosity is satisfied and it did not leave any room for hope (for example, it is a bit depressing to know that Aureliano’s sons all die before that part in the story actually occurs). Though I understand that this is done to build suspense and enrich the reading- very effectively I might add –it still eats at me a little bit.
On the topic of the corruption of Macondo by the outside world, I have one word: government. I believe that that is what brought down the “utopian” society. Government in Macondo started at mandating all houses be painted blue and evolved into one whose officials butchered little children because of childish behavior and, at one point under the rule of Arcadio, fired on innocent people all the meanwhile instilling fear in a once peaceful society. Before government was introduced to Macondo, it was a land that had no cemeteries and no need for cemeteries.
Finally, to answer c-rod’s question regarding the title, I think I agree mostly with Taylor in saying that the entire Buendia family is essentially a very lonely one. All of the characters born into the Buendia family (excluding the ones that married a Buendia) become very solitary at a certain age, some even from birth. The “100 Years” part could indicate or foreshadow an end to the Buendia line… along with the family tree at the beginning of the book.
Sorry to make everyone read that long post. Hope it helps though. :)
Hey everyone i noticed one thing that there has to be some serious curse on them because no one can ever get what they want and can never get anything right death seems to be an occurance every step of the way its insane. I completley agree with dario this books has tons of reoccurences i feel like with every new generation there is another oppritunity for them to get it right but it nevers works out. For example its like every new generation is the soul of the ones before trying to undo their past mistakes but it never happens.
I think its interesting they way Coronel Aureliano Buendias childrens deaths are mentioned first and then later on the author talks about their lives.
I have to ask, why would Jose Aracadio Segundo have sex with donkeys? -_-
Anyways, I agree with Taylor also when she said that the family was “cursed” and that it ties in with fate. This is probably the theme for this upcoming year, a person’s fate.
I agree with babaloo with the names that are repeated. The fate of the person with the name first is repeated to those with the same name later on. If they noticed that Ursula was name that represented bad luck to anyone with that name, why didn’t they notice “Jose Arcadio” or “Amaranta” or “Remedios” or “Aureliano”, which had been most used. There is more incest when Aureliano Jose develops an interest to his aunt, Amaranta, however she refuses. What happened to Remedios the Beauty? Are all girls named Remedios destined to never get married? It is probably because she just reached puberty when she got married and couldn’t handle having a child.
Why would Fernanda de Caprio be fine with her husband going to bed with Petra Cotes? This again shows that the Buendia family tend to focus a lot on pleasure. Since his wife does not want to give in to his temptations, Aureliano Segundo goes to his concubine.
Colonel Aureliano becomes like his father, isolated for a long while, with his hobby of making gold fishes, which I have yet to understand the meaning of them. Then he dies. Aureliano Segundo’s child, Meme, both dislike Fernanda and build a companionship. If Fernanda is so cruel, why don’t they leave her? She ruined Meme’s life when she had a guard shoot and paralyze her lover, Mauricio Babilonia
So, after reading the second part of the book, I came across a few things that I found to be of interest to mention.
First, on page 162, it talks about how Colonel Gerineldo Marquez treated the war as an "activity, and irresistible passion of his youth." Its just kind of ironic how someone can enjoy killing and fighting “against priests” (162) and then presents Amaranta with a prayer book.
Responding to bond_smoka and and the benefactor is...dario's comment on the foreshadowing, I believe that Gabriel Garcia Marquez feels that revealing the future--deaths--is not something shocking, because after being a good amount through the book, it is expected that the reader realizes that everyone in the family will die in the end. So, the fact that he keeps mentioning ahead of time that people pass away is just supposed to stress that point. However the fact that he does this is meant to say that the end isn’t as significant as the process. He is one of those people who believes that you should remember someone by their life not their death.
I also want to stress how confusing it is to remember all of these characters and what is going on in the war. I feel thrown all over the place as I am reading parts about the war—and I find myself rereading the paragraphs many times to understand who’s who and who did what to who.
Lilly, I found no simple answer to your question. Actually, I didn't find a solid answer at all, just thoughts. But I think that Marquez made that happen just to show that the family is a bet crazy, almost like a plot complication. Because, you know, there can't be one normal person in the family.
A point that I found intersting was about the names. Everyone says how confusing it is to remember who was who, and who did what to who. And also many people have said how it seems like each generation is repeating the same mistakes. So I think that Marquez gives us limited names to work with so that we can make that connection that the family is living in the same mistakes. Maybe he is suggesting that human nature will not change, they will always make the same mistakes.
I completely agree that the family is living in their own mistakes. This is shown by the author emphasizing names when a child is born, and how that name suites their future actions, such as all the Jose's. The names are very much the same, this only stresses their reeated mistakes, such as falling for the wrong woman, being impulsive, starting revolutions... Anyway, the stress that Ursula goes through trying to hold together her family is immense, as she watxhed ans sees the flaws in her children, yet she can do nothing about them. Her doors though, are always open for them, which shows her strong maternal side.
The idea of incest reoccurs in the second section of the novel. In the first section of the novel, Ursula is concerned about her relationship with Jose Arcadio Buendia, because they are distant cousins, and the stories she has heard of children conceived by family members. Rebeca gets herself into a situation involving incest with Jose Arcadio, who calls her "sister", and are also somehow distantly related. Then, Arcadio wants to sleep with his mother, Pilar Ternera. Now, Aureliano Jose has feelings for Amaranta, who is his aunt, but does not give in to him. For the most part, it's the men lusting after the women. each relationship, there is one person seeking his or her relative. How To Read Lit. Like a Professor states that sex does not really mean sex, and it applies here. For example, Rebeca goes to Jose Arcadio through the stress and conflicts she goes with marrying Pietro Crespi and her relationship with her sister, Amarant, while Jose Arcadio Buendia demands to sleep with Ursula when he feels his masculinity questioned. Aureliano Jose lusts after Amaranta as a proof of his maturity. Marquez writes, "'You're a man now.' He had been for a long time, ever since that distant day when Amaranta thought he was still a child and continued getting undressed in front of him. . ." (141)
After reading part two, has anyone been reminded of their US History? The characters of this novel remind of me of the Lost Generation of World War II. It always seems as if the characters are somewhat lost and do not understand what their purpose is or what they wish to aspire from life. Think of all of these carefree, immature relationships going on. Also, when Colonel Gerineldo Marquez asks Colonel Aureliano Buendia why he is fighting the war, his response is inadequate and it seems as if they both do not know what they are doing with their lives.
Something that I found really interesting was the continuous rainfall mainly because I kind of enjoy thinking about Malden being rained on for so long, but now that I think of it, maybe not so much... Anyways chapter 10 in How to read Literature like a professor contributed to fully understanding the five years of continuous rain that fell on Macondo. The rain in this case is both destructive and rejuvenative. (Reminds me of Things Fall Apart and the greatly depended on rain falls.)
For the most part, the rain offers a new life for the town of Macondo. Before the rains, civil unrest in the town was rampant as many workers on the banana plantation became disillusioned by poor working conditions. The rain gives the town a new life by "cleansing" the town of the disastrous event of the violent plantations riot and the conditions that caused it. The rains also "wash" all of the memories of old and painful memories away. After the rains end, Ursula, the only remaining first generation Buendia, gets out of bed to revive Macondo and the town experiences a new stint of prosperity.
The rains, however, also were destructive. During the 5 years, flooding destroyed all of the banana plantations which produced much profit before the massacre. It also destroyed all of Jose Arcadio Segundo's livestock, which produced great wealth and supported his family.
Ok.. I loved what gypsyloo said! Great insight!! (about the ice compared to the Buendia family) And I cannot disagree more with stevie wonder ii (I hateee reading the previous blogs!)
Ok.. So, so far Ursula continues to be the strongest character and she is also my favorite. (I can relate in various ways.) The way I see it, Ursula can be compared to Christianity. In being a Christian, you must be salt and light of this world; you cannot conform to the world; you must not let circumstances change your mind about your beliefs; and whatever happens, you must continue to hold your head high. Ursula in all aspects seems herself to be a Christian. From the beginning she did not conform to her husband's beliefs or ideas (thought she did give in to his begging... which can symbolize giving into temptation, which ultimately can lead to destruction...). Ursula was different from the rest of her family (salt and light); she cared enough for them to give her life (p13) and she sticks to her word. After her husband is tied to the tree, and her son and his wife (her niece/daughter… incest, gross I know) have a downfall, and she is caught in the middle of the war, Ursula continues to stand firm on her beliefs and not give in to the outsiders' peer pressure to want to change her (with Christianity it would be that non-Christians would try and change the minds of Christians, fall into peer pressure, and make them more like themselves.) How I see it is that others saw something good in the Buendia’s family and the outsiders wanted to destroy it. Eventually they did, but Ursula remained the dedicated to her beliefs she always was.
This site will be the summer resource for students in Mr. Gallagher and Ms. Clapp's AP Literature courses. You'll come here to discuss summer reading, college searches and applications, and literary topics in general.
32 comments:
In the second third of the novel,One Hundred Years of Solitude,Gabriela Garcia Marquez would be constantly using repetition of events,not only to remind the reader, but to utilize simultaneously with the style of foreshadowing to give the reader the effect of how the story will unfold. For example on page 103, the story would countdown to how Colonel Aureliano Buendia would be in front of firing squad and the event that take place after the transformation of Aureliano Buendia to Colonel AurelianBuendia.
"Colonel Aureliano Buendia organized thirty-two armed uprisings and he lost them all. He had seventeen male children...and they were exterminated one after one after another before the oldest one had reached the age of 35...He survived 14 attempts on his life, 73 ambushes and a firing squad"(103) This author uses this type of style only to give an allusion fo how how the time goes in a circle. Simple Quotes hyperbole from several characters display a hint of foreshadowing in the lines of ten to tell wher the book is going.
I too noticed that Marquez repeats events throughout the books to show importance but always expands on these events later in the book. An example of that is Coronel Aureliano Buendia's 17 sons who earlier in the book were just mentioned by their deaths, but later, the book reflects on their lives.
Another thing that I was thinking of was how Macondo has evolved over time. In the beginning of the book, Macondo was only a "village of twenty adobe houses" (1) but then it became much bigger with railways being built and war erupting in the city.
All the people in the city have changed from simple but happy to being hungry for technology and power. The only person that still represented what Macondo originally stood for was Ursula. She remained dedicated to her religion and tried everything she could to keep her family together. I feel that Ursula is the one who will live longer than everyone in her family tree because she is the one that is remaining pure and true to the city of Macondo.
In the second part of the novel , One Hundred Years of Solitude, the need for affection or love becomes prominent. This struggle becomes apparent in more than one character. With the women it seems that their struggle is that they have what they want and then no longer want it. To them it is like a game of some sort. Amranta was the perfect example. She had originally tortured Rebeca about marrying Pietro Crespi, and then once he set a date she told him to not to "be so simple" (109) becasue she would never marry him . This shows her lack of trust and that she herself liked her own independence. The women of Maconda are very dependent on themselves. They do not rely on the men for anything. Ursula is the main example of this
However in the men's case it is very different. They long for the touch of a women and they become border line obsessed with it. In Pietro Crespi's case he killed himself over his heart break of Aramant. Aureliano Jose "deserted the federal troops in Nicaragua... with a secret determination to marry Aramanta" his own aunt. This shows the men as more vulnerable and open to let their emotions show. This is their downfall in most cases. Aureliano Jose end up getting killed becasue he came back to Maconda. I think that later on in the book we will find the real reason why the men are so vulnerable to women.
I agree with steph113's comment about Macondo. Macondo used to be an utopian community. There was no authority in the town and everyone seems to be happy. Then Macondo starts to connect with the outside world. On the bright side, villagers in Macondo can enjoy the new technology that is introduced: railroad(222). But on the other hand, they are also exposed to the new horrors as byproduct. Civil war takes place in this once peaceful town. This situation is somewhat similar to the contact of America and Europe in 16th century. The native Americans might gain contact with other civilizations and different types of food. But at the same time, they were not immune to the diseases from Europe and the Europeans attacked them for more territory. As a result, many of the Indian tribes were destroyed. From how the story goes, I think that Macondo may have the same outcome.
Adding on to bond_smoka's and steph's comment about the repetition of events, it does feel like time is in fact repeating itself. Because the author begins with what appears to be the end of the novel, it gives off the allusion that time is stuck in the past(and it slow leads to the present as the book progresses). Quite a few of the Buenda's family have a one point have gotten amnesia which in turn doesn't allow them remember the past, be stuck in the present, thus not allowing them to have a future (José Arcadio Buendía comes to mind). Another example of repetition of an event is with Colonel Aureliano Buendía's golden fishes, which he later on melts in order to make another batch of gold fishes again. This symbolizes him being stuck in the present unable to progress with time. Of course there's also Rebeca who choses to lock herself up and live in the past with her old memories rather than with the outside society showing that she wants to relive in the past. What I'm trying to get at is that it seems like the Buendia family seems to be only stuck in the past and present and never in the future, which foreshadows their eventual downfall.
Throughout the novel many things like the names of people have been repeated a lot.What is disturbing is that when a new child is born into the family they often re-use names, which ultimately befalls a curse on the child to become just like the person who has been named from another. For example when the two twins Auerliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo they are automatically doomed from the moment that they were named.
The novel so far has progressed in quiet a repeating way. Like everyone so far has commented, the Buendia family seems to always follow into a pattern of life.
The family has really been stuck in one time zone. They neither move forward but they rely a lot on the past events to get them by. As we further read this zone in which the Buendia's are stuck is really what leads up to their complete downfall, like Paul as said.
Like the above posters, I also noticed that Marquez repeated names and events throughout the book. As a result, I concluded that nostalgia was a theme in the book. Ursula always recalls what the family is like the past and wishes that those days would come back. Amaranta continously thinks about Pietro Crespi, his love letters, and his scent. She refuses to let herself live beyond that point in life. Colonel Aureliano Buendia always refers back to the time when "his father his taken him to see ice" (169). He mentally lives in the same date, Tuesday October 11 day after day. Also, during the war the new barracks were always referred to as the old school house. The Buendia family seems to have a problem of giving newborns new names, so they always give the same names to their children. This results in repetition in life of all Arcadios, Aurelianos, Remedios, etc. Ursula, then, always recalls past events of each Arcadio, Aureliano, Remedios, etc.
A continous occurence in this book is the arrival of foreigners. The gypsies began it all. After them, each chapter seemed to present some new group that came to Macondo to introduce new technology and new ideas. Thinking back to Paul's first post in the first section of One Hundred Years of Solitude, the gypsies definitely foreshadowed negative changes in the Macondo society. Each new group that arrived brought changes to which Ursula resisted against. As years went by, Macondo changed. A church, a theater, barracks, etc were built in Macondo. Even a government was once set up. These events are symbolic. They showed that even the strongest society, as Macondo had once been when it was first settled, eventually fall to new changes despite how they had once sworned to always rule themselves with their own customs and traditions. For example, all of the houses in Macondo had once been constructed the same way. After many years of foreign vistations, houses began to be constructed differently to accomodate these foreigners: by adding more rooms, more furniture, etc.
Marquez also employs irony in this text. Ursula, who did not see the real personalities of her children when she had perfect vision, sees them all so clearly once she becomes blind. Now, blindness always resembles wisdom and knowledge beyond that of mortals. Think of Teresias. Marquez clearly understands that the audience will make this connection, so he has Ursula go blind in order to figure out what her children are truly like. It is also ironic that Rebeca is seen by Ursula as the child she has always wanted. Yet, Rebeca is not of her own blood whatsoever.
Meme represents the new changing generation in One Hundred Years of Solitude. She is described has not having the same solitary feeling that Buendias give off. For this, we can conclude that because Ursula and Fernanda decided to send her away for education and did not grow up in the Buendia household, she has grown up separated from the Buendias' fate. Meme also mixes herself with friends from different cultures and joins them in different activities that the Buendias do not find suitable for Macondo; Fernanda is absolutely against having chat times with girlfriends, going out to movies, etc. At the same time, Amaranta died of old age. Her solitary and nostaglic self died along with her body. Marquz can be foreshadowing the changing fate of the Buendia family through these two events: Meme being completely different from the typical Buendia and Amaranta dying with all of the nostalgia.
The second part of One Hundred Years of Solitude was when it started getting a little more interesting to me. Colonel Aureliano has gone through so much and lost his main cause of fighting in the war. Instead of what he fought for in the beginning, the twisted Conservative Party, he begins fighting for pride.
I agree with steph113 when she says that Macondo had evolved over time. It was just a village with adobe houses, as she said, but now, transformed into a more modernized society because of outside influences. Railroads and ships transporting goods to and from are found in Macondo now. I think Macondo changing was a both positive and negative. It was positive because the new technology made life in Macondo easier and more suitable. It was a negative too because certain people began coming into the village wanting to rule what wasn't theirs before. This reminds me of the Native Americans in the United States and the Americans that "discovered North America" and all of a sudden wanting to take over land that didn't belong to them. The Native Americans try to fight back, but in the end, lose the fight, just like in Macondo. The "government" suddenly wants to take over a village that wasn't theirs in the first place.
I agree with mary when she says that nostalgia is a theme in the novel. Amaranta constantly knitting in solitude, thinking of Pietro Crespi and all of his qualities. Ursala was especially nostalgic because she is the oldest in the family. She gets to live one hundred years of age and with that, she sees how each of the family members have grown and changed. Things aren't the same in the Buendia household anymore and to return to the past is what she yearns for the most.
Does anyone else find it interesting how the twins Jose Arcadio and Aureliano Segundo don't come out the way their names suggest them to be? Ursala also notices it, too. "...she examined her old memories and confirmed the belief that at some moment in childhood he had changed places with his twin brother, because it was he and not the other one who should have been called Aureliano," (261-262). Jose Arcadio is the more reserved one, just like Colonel Aureliano is. But, Aureliano Segundo is the wild one, just like Jose Arcadio was when he came back from the gypsies. It's pretty obvious.
I noticed also that Meme was different from the Buendias. Her fate isn't easily chosen like the others. From the names of the Buendia children after Jose Arcadio and Colonel Aureliano, one could already see what will befall the child before it already happens.
I agree with everyone that Marquez uses repetition a lot throughout the novel. Not only does he repeat phrases such as "As he faced the firing squad", but he also repeats the names of the characters and their fates. I also noticed, as mary and nessa said, that the twins Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo both have the fates of their opposite ancestors. Aureliano Segundo is the one who has a wife and a concubine. He throws lavish parties for everyone and lives in excess just as Jose Arcadio had when he came back from traveling the world. Jose Arcadio Segundo, on the other hand, is more solitary and incapable of having emotions, just like Colonel Aureliano Buendia.
Vallygirl's comment about the need for affection is very interesting. I had not noticed how all the men, at one point need the affection of a woman. They fall in love and try to persue women to be their wives. Aureliano Segundo traveled far just to bring Fernnda del Carpio back home with him. Also, meny men have fallen victim to Remedios the Beauty's attraction. The women, however, seem to be a lot stronger. They withstand the wooing of so many men and most of the time end up raising their children and maintaining the household. Ursula seems to be like a strong force that through all the mayhem in her "madhouse" and in the town of Macondo, she managed to keep her composure. As Mary already said, Ursula got keener and saw more in depth, the older and blinder she got. It was ironic that she had the ability to really see and understand her children only when she was blind. One of my favorite passages so far is the one that begins, "She was sure of it..." on page 248 and ends with "Ursula had wanted for her line," on page 25. In this passage the reader gets a different perspective of all that has happebend and how times have changed from one of the oldest members of Macondo.
Within the passage I mentioned, my question was answered as to why Amaranta was so stubborn with love. It was, "a mortal struggle between a measureless love and an invincible cowardice...and an irrational fear" (249). I had predicted that it was pride or fear, so i guess I was half correct.
Anotehr thought I had as I read this second part of the novel, was athat if there was going to be a climax. The story has so many ups and downs and characters but what i have not notuced was a clear plot. The way i see it, it just tells of the lives of the Buendia family and the town of Macondo. Maybe in the third part I will get what I am looking for, although I am not complaining about how the story is going so far.
One final thought is about the title itself, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. In the veru beginning of the novel i thoguth that maybe it would be about how the town of Macondo was secluded for others for one hundred years, but then the gypsies came and then the gringos, so my theory was wrong. Later on I thought that maybe the solitude refered to Ursula, who has lived over 100 years. It could very well be that Ursula will eventually be the only living person who was there when Macondo was founded and will be alone in being the only one who remembered how everything used to be.
Any ideas as to what the title means? I'd love to find out what others think.
Taylor here.
In reply to Cynthia's question, where the title came from, I noticed along with the several other trends of repetition, the repetition of the word "solitude" in the second part of the novel. Different members of the Buendia family are being described as solitary and drowning in their solitude at certain parts.
On page 163, Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes, "One August afternoon, overcome by the unbearable weight of her own obstincy, Amaranta locked herself in the bedroom to weep over her solitude unto death...." Colonial Aureliano Buenia attempted to kill himself...an act he wouldn't have committed if he didn't feel so solitary and alone after many years of war. Remedios the Beauty was solitary in her state of supernatural beauty, as Fernanda del Carpio is in solitude because of her husband's unfaithful tendencies and because she doesn't get along with the Buendia household.
Ironically, while many of the characters have traits just as opposite as Jose Arcadio Buendia and Colonel Aureliano Buendia had, they all share the common emotion of feeling solitary had one point or another in their lives. Thus, the title One Hundred Years of Solitude could possibly come from the passing down of this unpleasant feeling from generation to generation, like a curse.
The second section of One Hundred Years of Solitude reinforces the idea that the women of Macondo are very strong and they do not depend on assistance from men to help them through difficult situations. I agree with valleygirl 09 that Ursula exemplifies this idea because from the first section of One Hundred Years of Solitude “thanks to her the floors of tamped earth, the unwhitewashed mud walls, the rustic, wooden furniture they had built themselves were always clean…” (9) Not only is Ursula able to take care of the house, her “…capacity for work was the same as that of her husband,” (8) especially when she had to paint and fix things in her house and take care of all of the children because José Arcadio Buendía consumed all of his time with scientific inventions. I think this concept of women taking the lead role in their families is very intriguing because in the book, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, women came second to their husbands and they were seen as inferior to men. The difference in their beliefs causes me to wonder what Okonkwo would think of José Arcadio Buendía for allowing his wife to become the main provider for their family.
The women’s desire to do things on their own may cause them to push love and affection from men in their village away. For instance Remedios the Beauty was known as one of the most beautiful women in Macondo and the men in Macondo would go to great lengths just to get a glimpse of her beauty, however, she never allowed herself to become involved with these men. Fernanda del Carpio is also a woman who shows her independence by continuing to uphold the beliefs that she was taught by her mother, even though her husband, Aureliano Segundo and his family do things differently. She also continues to raise her daughter, Renata Remedios by very strict rules, despite Aureliano Segundo’s resistance. I feel that Fernanda is also a courageous and determined woman because she never becomes angry or upset with her husband despite the fact that she and everyone else in Macondo know that he often visits his mistress, Petra Cotes. I think that the women’s resistance to have a relationship with other men in the village or their unwillingness to leave their husbands is fueled by their desire to focus on the important aspects in theirs lives, such as their children and their well being.
Steph113 predicts that Ursula will live longer than her family members and I agree with her prediction because Ursula is the only one who held the Buendía family together through many of their difficult times and she was able to uphold the original beliefs of Macondo. While José Arcadio Buendía was tied to the Chestnut tree, Ursula would bath him, bring him clean cloth and food, and she would confide many things in him, while other people neglected him and infatuated themselves in the new inventions that were brought to the village. Ursula did not allow herself to become involved in new technology or occupied with the war and the conflicts between the Liberals and the Conservatives. Through all of the destruction and chaos that occurred in Macondo, Gabriel García Márquez later revealed in the book that, “…no one discovered that she was blind.” (246) For Ursula to have endured all of the pain, mistrust, and deception that has evolved in the Buendía family over the years, I feel that Ursula deserves to live the longest and to see how the village can be restored. She has seen how Macondo developed into a destructive and dangerous village, but it is time for her to see how the village she took so much pride in many years ago, can change for the better and become a prosperous and unified village once again.
In the second third of the novel, Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses repetition of events. From my perspective, the reason why Marquez uses repetition is because the characters itselves are always remembering what their old lives used to be before technology was introduced to Macondo and also before the war. The arrival of new groups to this village have changed the Buendia's family so much that they are stuck living in the past. Like Mary said, "repetition in life of all Arcadios, Aurelianos, Remedios, Amaranta, etc" proves the point of how the family is and will always live in the past.
Also, I agree with steph and her observation. Macondo was a small village where no one has ever died and now Macondo is a war erupting city where many have died. As for Ursula. She is the only that still represents the old Macondo with its beliefs and culture. While everybody else got caught up with technology and power. For example, Jose Arcadio Buendia, her husband. Now he is spending the last years or days of his life tight to a Chestnut tree as all his family falls apart(89).
I just love reading the previous blog posts! So fun to read, plus I get a lot of insights into the book.
First off, when ashley8 wrote about the contrasts between Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart and Jose Arcadio, I was immediately struck by another topic: the "invasion of utopian Macondo." (for those who haven't read Things Fall Apart, I apologize-please skip my blog post, or read on if you want) I was immediately struck between the similarities of Macondo and Umuofia- both are not "modernized" in a sense i.e "twenty adobe houses" (1) in Macondo, a tribal system in Things Fall Apart. With the arrival of foreigners, as Mary suggests, Macondo suffers through negative circumstances (war, urbanization, loss of villege community, etc.) The same thing happens to Umuofia, with the arrival of missionaries and colonial powers (the tribe's culture is ridiculed, the tribe loses its traditions/ways of life). While positives do exist for both communities with the arrival of foreigners (Macondo gains new technologies and ideas while Umuofia's missionaries stop the killing of twins), the stories are both written with an emphasis toward the negative consequences.
I find Fernanda to be a facinating character. She tolerates her husband's philandering with Petra Cotes. She, to me, seems rather cold. She banishes her daughter for sleeping with the town mechanic. She hides her grandson away from the public, and she has these set ideas about running a household that are so strict and unbending. She uses a gold chamberpot, and she has an "obsession" for being a "queen." Quite a complex character! Does she represent anything?
In the second part of the novel, I too notice that there exists a sort of a cycle in events and names. History is constantly repeating itself in the fates of each Buendia. The Buendia men at one point experience immense success whether it be Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s prominence in the war or Aureliano Segundo’s prosperity with his farm animals. However with each case of success, a cycle repeats itself as each man faces a downfall in which they are banned to their own solitude. Marquez personifies solitude on many occasions making it seem as a companion that the Buendia’s have “an honorable pact” (199) with. Each case of solitude leaves the Buendias isolated from the outside world. To me the title may refer to a one hundred year curse the Buendias have in their family in which each generation carrying the same cursed names will repeat a cycle of facing solitude unto death.
The corruption and chaos brought on by the introduction of technology as well as different markings of modern day society shows Marquez’s view on the modern world. He seems to mock the impacts of modern technology and advancements as it transforms a peaceful city to a destructive and uncivilized one. He calls the arrival of all the deathly temptations to be a “tumultuous and intemperate invasion.” (228) This invasion undoubtedly lures the innocent city of Macondo into temptations and ways of the outside world that only serve to turn the people towards savagery fuelled by a hunger for power as steph113 has mentioned. (i.e. the mass killing of workers by the banana company pg. 302) In many ways the arrival of the foreigners is like the opening of Pandora’s Box, releasing all evils of man.
Mary makes a good point about Marquez’s use of irony as exemplified in Ursula who sees clearly despite her physical blindness as she realizes that “time was not passing…but it was turning in a circle.” (335)
On a final note, I find the character of Aureliano Buendia II to be quite interesting because he is the only character to experience solitude immediately, from the moment of his birth where he is banned to isolation.
Referencing the repeated events throughout the book, while I do believe they are important, I find it less of a method of enforcing the importance of the event than more of a way to emphasize the possible meaning behind the story.
Unlike some other people, I found the title One Hundred Years of Solitude to not reference each family member feeling isolated with their experiences. If you look at the family tree, the author Marquez limits his choices for names with the family for a reason. I personally believe that in a way, Marquez is stating that Macondo is almost in a state of perpetual sameness. While the town does make discoveries, with the random bouts of amnesia and the apparent inability to separate the present from the future, “Wednesday…‘this is a disaster,’ [Jose Arcadio Buendia] said. ‘Look…today is Monday too.’” (77) The town finds itself in a odd paradox of sorts. It’s saying that while the time may continuously change, and with it the inventions and techniques of the world, people ultimate stay the same, even inheriting the characteristics of those before them. For instance, as Dario said before, JAB’s personalities seemed to have been split between his two sons, Jose Arcadio and Aureliano Buendia. While Jose is seen as a strong and fierce character, Aureliano is curious, and just as much of a genius as his father was.
As for the events in this part of the story, we can once again refer to the aptly titled tale Things Fall Apart. With the exposure to new technologies that people can enjoy, i.e. the railroad, the town succumbs to the trivial problems of the supposed ‘civilized’ world. While I agree with many of the details pointed out by earlier posters, Vallygirl’s comment was especially interesting in that I hadn’t really noticed the trend of the need for affection. I found it really interesting in the aspect that unlike common society, where usually the woman is the one seen as the chaser of affection, with the men being more independent, in One Hundred Years it’s the exact opposite. While the men go at great lengths to bring the one they want home with them, you have someone like Ursula representing a strong force, with the ability to see greatly. With blindness coming into play, the author “wants to emphasize other levels of sigh and blindness beyond the physical,” (202). Like How to Read Literature Like a Professor stated so succinctly, they’re blind for a reason.
One Hundred Years of Solitude frequents so much action yet so little changes and so little happens. As many of noted, the newer generations simply represent a carbon copy of the old (whom are tied by the same names) and thus the events are already predetermined and repeat themselves.
Mary and Nessa commented on the continued presence of Ursula throughout the book. In terms of her, it was noted that she has lived the longest of any family member even to the extent of becoming great-great grandmother. Having established such, it's evident that she provides the historical perspective to the book. She has been present through all Buendia tribulations and therefore can comment and analyze the trends and patterns that have developed throughout her 100 years. It is Ursula who seems to possess the richest understanding of her family line in spite of the fact that she's blind, (ironically).
The character Meme diverges slightly from the expected Buendia inheritance. Unlike many of the other characters in the book, especially the women, she does not make a conscious desicion to cloyster herself off into solitude. As Mary discussed, she suggests more of a shift into the contemporary, most closely resembling her enthusiastic father Aureliano Segundo. As Marquez himself wrote, "..unlike Amaranta, unlike all of them, Meme still did not reveal the solitary fate of the family and she seemed entirely in conformity with the world" (259). Whether or not it is accomplished consciously, she is still bound to the Buendia fate of solitude as her own love Mauricio Babilonia was shot and "ostracized as a chicken theif," (291), the implication being that the lovers did not remain together.
Many dissected women's roles within Macondo society and came to the conclusion that it was the women who harnessed most of the power. To provide further evidence to attest to this, I'd like to cite Petra Cotes. As the concubine of Aureliano Segundo, she overtly manipulated him for both material objects and for his affection. Marquez even noted that she was required to "reconquer the husband" (274), once his relationship with Meme was vitalized. Having said that, one could concede that not only do the women of Macondo seem to possess great authority but that they use their sexuality as a means to gain this power. Beyond Petra Cotes, Pilar Ternera, Remedios the Beauty, and even Amaranta exemplify this characteristic.
-Tzivia
I absolutely want to name my daughter Remedios.
It does seems as if the crux of the whole novel is when Colonel Buendia was taken to see the ice.
Ice: Cold, frozen (in time?), solid, rare(?)... melts...
Can I compare the Buendia family to ice by saying that when they were formed they were as solid, strong, and awesome as this specific block of ice, but ice doesn't last forever. I'm just throwing out ideas here.
I believe that Pilar Ternera is the Buendia's passage throught to their future. She is always the one they go to for card readings. She has also contributed family members.
But moving on, Macondo is like the Garden of Eden, (with a highly communist-driven setting) and Ursula and Jose Arcadio are Adam and Eve. Remedios the beauty can easily be compared to an Eve before the forbidden fruit incident. This can also be compared to Macondo as a whole, before the dratted banana factory, it was the Garden of Eden. The banana, or "forbidden fruit" was the beginning of the end of Macondo.
Remedious the Beauty ended up being far too innocent and pure for a town like Macondo in the state it was in. So she had to be returned to heaven where she belonged.
I read that over and chuckled. I'm a little proud.
peace...
Kayla once again.
Wow! Gypsyloo, can I just say that was some AWESOME insight? I totally agree that the family was like ice. They were together in the beginning, a solid force, but they soon broke apart, melted if you will.
So, as many people have pointed out, Meme is very different from her mother, and from the rest of the family. First of all, she does what she wants. She isn’t old fashioned. She does go out to visit with her friends, and all in all lives a more carefree life than most of the other members of the family. Until she gets sent away that is. I feel like she symbolizes the possibility of change. There is no one else called Meme, and even though that’s a nickname, perhaps she can escape from the fate set out for her. I think even getting away from her mother is the best thing that can be done.
I think the repetition of names is to show that people just don’t change. In How to Read Literature, the author said that there is only one story ever, and stories always contain parts from other stories. So we have all these men with the same names, and even the women have the same names. No author would do that without a reason. What I don’t understand is why they would keep naming them the same names if they realize they have fallen into a trap. Ursula realizes their fates have been laid down, because she said she always wondered if the twins had gotten their names switched at some point or another.
Amaranta seemed to be giving into love with her nephew. I think this really shows that the family is living their lives in circles. It was as if she was destined to fall in love with a family member. She rejected those outside of her family, yet gives into the lust she feels towards Aureliano Jose, for at least a while. It’s like she really doesn’t want to, but somehow keeps going back to him, or in the very least, letting him come to her. Aureliano Jose of course is totally into the idea, much like all the men before him. He doesn’t care who thinks what, or what animal curse the baby would be born with.
The wars in this book all confuse me. I don’t even know what to say about them. I’m never sure what they are for. I sort of want to reread the book because I think I’d get more out of it. Who knows.
I wanted to immediately comment on babaloo's post. So the idea of fate and reusing names is a huge sort of theme to the novel. Once the name is chosen it is foreshadowing what the fate of that child is. Also, everything seems to relate to time. I'm thinking that it is a major theme? Once someone dies, it is like it is forgotten. It is as if it is just a continues cycle. The one thing I am curious about, what if the cycle is suddenly ended for some reason? What will happen?
I also feel like before the war, the past was focussed on. Now, it is like the past just repeats itself all the time. Maybe even without the people even noticing. Can it somehow symbolize something on the lines of the "circle of life?"
I found it interesting how allthatjazz_07 said it was like a "curse." That ties in to the theme of fate.
I didn't realize that a book that is so repetitive can be completely different at the same time. Ironic huh?
Hello fellow AP-Lits,
I just found Kris10’s last comment a bit funny… It is ironic that this book is, as you say “repetitive” but that it is, at the same time, completely different each time. However, I did not really pick up on the repetitive nature of the novel because of the fact that, though Jose Arcadio Buendia and Aureliano seem to encounter similar fates in their old age, the circumstances of their lives are eerily dissimilar at the same time. For that reason, I would like to purpose that instead of “repetitive,” a better word to describe this narrative would be
“reoccurring,” simply because it has a less boring connotative meaning.
What I found intersrting about the Buendia family is how diverse it is even amongst itself. Jose Arcadio Buendia is inventive but eventually becomes delirious and alone in his mind. His son, Jose Arcadio has a child at the age of around 15, joins a group of gypsies, travels the world, comes back to Macondo, becomes a sex legend there, maries his sister (though not related by blood), and later dies from a mysterious gunshot to the head. Jose Arcadio Buendia’s other son, Aureliano Buendia, marries a very young girl who is poisoned by his sister and later dies while pregnant with twins, has a child by Pilar Ternera, joins the Liberals, goes to war, becomes a general, starts and loses 32 civil wars, has 17 children all by different women, returns home a war hero, settles with the government he greatly opposes, has his 17 children killed by the same government he spent his life fighting, secludes himself in his workshop manufacturing little gold fish until the day of his death. I do not think I have to continue to writing run on sentences for the other family members to convince everyone that the family itself is very diverse. It just feels really unlikely to me that people from such a small village could go on to live such extravagant lives (Colonel Aureliano Buendia especially).
Moving on, let me just comment on bond_smoka’s observation- one that I also made several times, often to my annoyance –Garcia Marquez will say “he would never see her again” and either begin a new chapter or a new topic. Though it is a very creative, and I am sure difficult style to incorporate into one’s writing, often I found it annoying for two reasons: it did not fully develop the topic to a degree where the reader’s curiosity is satisfied and it did not leave any room for hope (for example, it is a bit depressing to know that Aureliano’s sons all die before that part in the story actually occurs). Though I understand that this is done to build suspense and enrich the reading- very effectively I might add –it still eats at me a little bit.
On the topic of the corruption of Macondo by the outside world, I have one word: government. I believe that that is what brought down the “utopian” society. Government in Macondo started at mandating all houses be painted blue and evolved into one whose officials butchered little children because of childish behavior and, at one point under the rule of Arcadio, fired on innocent people all the meanwhile instilling fear in a once peaceful society. Before government was introduced to Macondo, it was a land that had no cemeteries and no need for cemeteries.
Finally, to answer c-rod’s question regarding the title, I think I agree mostly with Taylor in saying that the entire Buendia family is essentially a very lonely one. All of the characters born into the Buendia family (excluding the ones that married a Buendia) become very solitary at a certain age, some even from birth. The “100 Years” part could indicate or foreshadow an end to the Buendia line… along with the family tree at the beginning of the book.
Sorry to make everyone read that long post. Hope it helps though. :)
Hey everyone i noticed one thing that there has to be some serious curse on them because no one can ever get what they want and can never get anything right death seems to be an occurance every step of the way its insane. I completley agree with dario this books has tons of reoccurences i feel like with every new generation there is another oppritunity for them to get it right but it nevers works out. For example its like every new generation is the soul of the ones before trying to undo their past mistakes but it never happens.
I think its interesting they way Coronel Aureliano Buendias childrens deaths are mentioned first and then later on the author talks about their lives.
I have to ask, why would Jose Aracadio Segundo have sex with donkeys? -_-
Anyways, I agree with Taylor also when she said that the family was “cursed” and that it ties in with fate. This is probably the theme for this upcoming year, a person’s fate.
I agree with babaloo with the names that are repeated. The fate of the person with the name first is repeated to those with the same name later on. If they noticed that Ursula was name that represented bad luck to anyone with that name, why didn’t they notice “Jose Arcadio” or “Amaranta” or “Remedios” or “Aureliano”, which had been most used.
There is more incest when Aureliano Jose develops an interest to his aunt, Amaranta, however she refuses. What happened to Remedios the Beauty? Are all girls named Remedios destined to never get married? It is probably because she just reached puberty when she got married and couldn’t handle having a child.
Why would Fernanda de Caprio be fine with her husband going to bed with Petra Cotes? This again shows that the Buendia family tend to focus a lot on pleasure. Since his wife does not want to give in to his temptations, Aureliano Segundo goes to his concubine.
Colonel Aureliano becomes like his father, isolated for a long while, with his hobby of making gold fishes, which I have yet to understand the meaning of them. Then he dies.
Aureliano Segundo’s child, Meme, both dislike Fernanda and build a companionship.
If Fernanda is so cruel, why don’t they leave her? She ruined Meme’s life when she had a guard shoot and paralyze her lover, Mauricio Babilonia
Hello everyone.
So, after reading the second part of the book, I came across a few things that I found to be of interest to mention.
First, on page 162, it talks about how Colonel Gerineldo Marquez treated the war as an "activity, and irresistible passion of his youth." Its just kind of ironic how someone can enjoy killing and fighting “against priests” (162) and then presents Amaranta with a prayer book.
Responding to bond_smoka and and the benefactor is...dario's comment on the foreshadowing, I believe that Gabriel Garcia Marquez feels that revealing the future--deaths--is not something shocking, because after being a good amount through the book, it is expected that the reader realizes that everyone in the family will die in the end. So, the fact that he keeps mentioning ahead of time that people pass away is just supposed to stress that point. However the fact that he does this is meant to say that the end isn’t as significant as the process. He is one of those people who believes that you should remember someone by their life not their death.
I also want to stress how confusing it is to remember all of these characters and what is going on in the war. I feel thrown all over the place as I am reading parts about the war—and I find myself rereading the paragraphs many times to understand who’s who and who did what to who.
Thanks.
Lilly, I found no simple answer to your question. Actually, I didn't find a solid answer at all, just thoughts. But I think that Marquez made that happen just to show that the family is a bet crazy, almost like a plot complication. Because, you know, there can't be one normal person in the family.
A point that I found intersting was about the names. Everyone says how confusing it is to remember who was who, and who did what to who. And also many people have said how it seems like each generation is repeating the same mistakes. So I think that Marquez gives us limited names to work with so that we can make that connection that the family is living in the same mistakes. Maybe he is suggesting that human nature will not change, they will always make the same mistakes.
I'd like to agree with katie about the repetition of character names and their actions in the story.
"I think that Marquez gives us limited names to work with so that we can make that connection that the family is living in the same mistakes"
I believe that this is a vicious cycle that will continue to repeat itself until the Buendia family is completely destroyed.
I completely agree that the family is living in their own mistakes. This is shown by the author emphasizing names when a child is born, and how that name suites their future actions, such as all the Jose's. The names are very much the same, this only stresses their reeated mistakes, such as falling for the wrong woman, being impulsive, starting revolutions...
Anyway, the stress that Ursula goes through trying to hold together her family is immense, as she watxhed ans sees the flaws in her children, yet she can do nothing about them. Her doors though, are always open for them, which shows her strong maternal side.
The idea of incest reoccurs in the second section of the novel. In the first section of the novel, Ursula is concerned about her relationship with Jose Arcadio Buendia, because they are distant cousins, and the stories she has heard of children conceived by family members. Rebeca gets herself into a situation involving incest with Jose Arcadio, who calls her "sister", and are also somehow distantly related. Then, Arcadio wants to sleep with his mother, Pilar Ternera. Now, Aureliano Jose has feelings for Amaranta, who is his aunt, but does not give in to him. For the most part, it's the men lusting after the women. each relationship, there is one person seeking his or her relative. How To Read Lit. Like a Professor states that sex does not really mean sex, and it applies here. For example, Rebeca goes to Jose Arcadio through the stress and conflicts she goes with marrying Pietro Crespi and her relationship with her sister, Amarant, while Jose Arcadio Buendia demands to sleep with Ursula when he feels his masculinity questioned. Aureliano Jose lusts after Amaranta as a proof of his maturity. Marquez writes, "'You're a man now.' He had been for a long time, ever since that distant day when Amaranta thought he was still a child and continued getting undressed in front of him. . ." (141)
by the way this is Angel
After reading part two, has anyone been reminded of their US History? The characters of this novel remind of me of the Lost Generation of World War II. It always seems as if the characters are somewhat lost and do not understand what their purpose is or what they wish to aspire from life. Think of all of these carefree, immature relationships going on. Also, when Colonel Gerineldo Marquez asks Colonel Aureliano Buendia why he is fighting the war, his response is inadequate and it seems as if they both do not know what they are doing with their lives.
Something that I found really interesting was the continuous rainfall mainly because I kind of enjoy thinking about Malden being rained on for so long, but now that I think of it, maybe not so much... Anyways chapter 10 in How to read Literature like a professor contributed to fully understanding the five years of continuous rain that fell on Macondo. The rain in this case is both destructive and rejuvenative. (Reminds me of Things Fall Apart and the greatly depended on rain falls.)
For the most part, the rain offers a new life for the town of Macondo. Before the rains, civil unrest in the town was rampant as many workers on the banana plantation became disillusioned by poor working conditions. The rain gives the town a new life by "cleansing" the town of the disastrous event of the violent plantations riot and the conditions that caused it. The rains also "wash" all of the memories of old and painful memories away. After the rains end, Ursula, the only remaining first generation Buendia, gets out of bed to revive Macondo and the town experiences a new stint of prosperity.
The rains, however, also were destructive. During the 5 years, flooding destroyed all of the banana plantations which produced much profit before the massacre. It also destroyed all of Jose Arcadio Segundo's livestock, which produced great wealth and supported his family.
Ok..
I loved what gypsyloo said! Great insight!! (about the ice compared to the Buendia family)
And I cannot disagree more with stevie wonder ii (I hateee reading the previous blogs!)
Ok.. So, so far Ursula continues to be the strongest character and she is also my favorite. (I can relate in various ways.) The way I see it, Ursula can be compared to Christianity. In being a Christian, you must be salt and light of this world; you cannot conform to the world; you must not let circumstances change your mind about your beliefs; and whatever happens, you must continue to hold your head high. Ursula in all aspects seems herself to be a Christian. From the beginning she did not conform to her husband's beliefs or ideas (thought she did give in to his begging... which can symbolize giving into temptation, which ultimately can lead to destruction...). Ursula was different from the rest of her family (salt and light); she cared enough for them to give her life (p13) and she sticks to her word. After her husband is tied to the tree, and her son and his wife (her niece/daughter… incest, gross I know) have a downfall, and she is caught in the middle of the war, Ursula continues to stand firm on her beliefs and not give in to the outsiders' peer pressure to want to change her (with Christianity it would be that non-Christians would try and change the minds of Christians, fall into peer pressure, and make them more like themselves.) How I see it is that others saw something good in the Buendia’s family and the outsiders wanted to destroy it. Eventually they did, but Ursula remained the dedicated to her beliefs she always was.
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