This book, similar to some of my peers in this class, has gotten me confused and anxious at first. Having family members of the same names definitely did not help, but the family tree made available in the early pages of the book was a bit of a helpful guide to navigate my way through. One Hundred Years of Solitude has been regarded to be one of the best reads of all time, so it got me really excited to know why it was given such a title, and let myself take on that experience.
As mentioned when Professor Jon was hinting at it in previous meetings, this book plays along the theme of magic realism. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a book with such a theme, not that I read a lot anyway, but it was definitely a journey to remember. I think it was hard to grasp in my head at first, given that whatever was mentioned in the book wasn’t necessarily something that I thought to experience or an opposite experience to what I had.
It was definitely an interesting plot, and I think Macondo was the entire family’s own magic circle, where the seclusion and exclusivity allowed them to play, or rather live, by the rules and circumstances set by Jose Arcadio Buendia, all while being enveloped into this cycle of mysterious and unexplainable events. Although it ended up being that he was just cooped up in a room, creating experiments on end.
Given its title, highlighting that it was a century of solitude, I kind of imagined solitude would be a state of peace in isolation, not necessarily loneliness but nothing about chaos and noise as well, which is what this story, or the first half of the story depicts. Events such as tying a family member to a tree until their death, or having gypsies pay a visit from time to time to indulge the family into new discoveries and leaving them again. Their community also grew quite large over a span of time so it made question if all of that still fell into their definition of solitude. Maybe Ursula also felt alone in trying to keep her family together, but that could also be her own definition of solitude.
To answer the question posed in the lecture video, I did find myself lost in the process of reading this text, however it was more notable to be lost in the story and the journey of the play in this book than anything else.
My question for this week is: Do you think it would have been easier had the family members have different names, or do you think this contributes to the theme of magic realism?
I would not say that the novel plays with the theme of magical realism, but that it has been read from that perspective. And it’s hard not to lose yourself in this novel at first, even feeling like a galleon in the middle of a swamp more than four hours from the beach. I think the important thing is to jump into the reading experience, as you have done. There are some guides, such as the roles of Melquíades in the novel: the videos of the lectures and the comments of other classmates. Take advantage of them to help you explore Macondo.
Great blogpost! I totally agree that it was extremely difficult trying to grasp the theme of magical realism while reading this–and any–book. “Magic” and “realism” in the same category just seems odd and is definitely hard to understand! To answer your question, I feel like the same names contributed to the magical realism. While it was confusing at times because of the overlapping names, having too many different names might have made it complicated in its own ways too.
– Daniel C
Hey there! you made really interesting notes on the ideas of solitude and the idea of “play” as set out by their circumstance! I think that naming them differently would be so much easier for the readability of the novel, however naming them similar names does sort of tie into magical realism, such as multiple Aurelianos all having a weirder foreseeing ability and a quietness to them, thus there seems to be some significance there. I think naming them after one another also highlights the inherent connections between their family members and creates this sense of closeness in their identity, which then contradicts their departing to solitude to a greater magnitude.
I definitely agree with your initial feelings about the text; I also walked into it feeling a bit overwhelmed and anxious. But as I became more accustomed to García Márquez’s game, I began to really enjoy the journey the book takes you on. It’s quite chaotic and noisy, as you say, qualities that I don’t normally associate with “solitude” either. But I think that’s what makes the characters in Macondo so intriguing – they are suffering alone in their own patterns despite being surrounded by so many goings-on. They are trapped by the tedium of their own inner worlds, committing and re-committing the same mistakes, that they end up creating their own desperate solitude in the presence of each other.