Hey everyone!
The second half of Garcia Marquez's book was interesting for this week's text. My puzzlement grew as I read further into the book. But I enjoyed the narrative and am glad I read it because I would not have chosen it otherwise.
There are various themes in this book. Still, the two primary ones are the time continuum and how memory can alter our perspective of the past. Time, in the book, is circular. Which means it has repeating and recurring themes and characters intertwined in the story. While reading, the view of reality is tested by the concept of magical realism, which clarifies the distinction between what is real and what is imagined. In the story, I appreciated how isolated the Buendia family felt, even though they were close to one another. Both physically and mentally, the characters frequently feel cut off from their surroundings and experience a sensation of loneliness. The quote, "he made one last effort to search in his heart for the place where his affection had rotted away, he could not find it," stood out for me when looking back at the themes. It is as if the character is slowly rotting away into solitude.
I have also observed themes of love, passion, fate, and individual freedom. Several storylines in the book centre on passion and love, from Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula's forbidden romance to Jose Arcadio Buendia and Aureliano Buendia's unwavering love. Their ancestors predetermined the Buendia family's fate, demonstrating the difficulties of veering away from set paths and exercising free will. Fate and free will are at odds with each other. Yet, despite their seeming opposition, fate and free will are crucial components of the human experience. The novel masterfully captures the complexity of this relationship by showing how characters attempt to forge their uniqueness while still being influenced by forces beyond their control.
Last but not least, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a deep and intelligent novel that explores a range of topics, such as the reality of it all, the permanence of memory, and the solitude that people may experience. Since it offers resolution, poetic justice, and emotional resonance, this book is appealing. I found it to be a challenging yet enjoyable read.
My questions for you guys! :)
- How does the novel utilize magical realism to express its themes and ideas?
- How does the book depict the relationship between memory and history?
Can you say more about how and why your "puzzlement grew"?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, this is a great summary of much of the second half of the novel. I like your observation that it is often as if characters (and sometimes also places) are "rotting away into solitude." But are there not also counter-vailing tendencies, attempts to reverse the rot and bring life back to the town, house, and family. Why do these fail? Is it simply fate?
Hi, nice post!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a little bit about history and memory in my own post, wondering whether forgetting the past is potentially necessary to move forward, especially if that past is traumatic, but it also inevitably means that the past will be repeated. However, in a town like Macondo it's almost not necessary to actively remember much history because it is so embedded within the town, its people and its magic, for example through the ghosts that repeatedly appear.
Hi Julia! Great blog post! I loved the questions you chose to ask us! I want to answer your second question, talking about the relationship between memory and history. In the very end of the book, as the last Aureliano reads the manuscripts about his family Marquez writes how the stories were not told in order. The manuscripts were not in history time. This shows that although history is important, memory is what is what is more important. The important events that changed us are what stick with us. If the manuscript went in the order of history it would not be as interesting. Maybe Aureliano would have skipped too much and lost the chance to read what he read.
ReplyDeleteThis book also is intertwined with history, the Buendia family lineage is filled with repeating name and personalities, almost mimicking history. Without memory, these names and incest relations would have not been passed down in the Buendia family. Without these relations, the curse would not be there, and we would be reading a totally different book.
I also wanted to add that, Macondo is stuck in history, because in the end the curse wipes away anything that will be remembered of the town. Macondo is stuck in history, because memory is what allows history to be repeated, or learnt from.
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