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Week 8 – Garcia Marquez, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” II

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Extending from last week, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude was a fabulous read that brilliantly sewed together fantasy, abstraction, philosophy, and reality. Engaging in the latter half of the book, what stood out to me most was the cyclical nature of time and the inherent connection between people (civilization) and their environment. Using magical realism almost as a literary tool in depicting the events of Macondo, the book raised thoughts and questions about the notion of ‘solitude’ in both an individual and societal scale. Lastly, engaging with the ending, the closure of the book felt cataclysmic. While there were certain parts throughout the book that perhaps mildly foreshadowed Macondo’s fall, the ending was still quite shocking for me because it felt sudden and unexpected; it left me with a feeling of emptiness, perhaps something close to ‘solitude’.

Undoubtedly, magical realism was central to the novel, effectively blurring the line between reality and fantasy. The novel was filled with impossible events, such as a woman who ascends to heaven. While the theme of magical realism still feels abstract and sometimes daunting, the use of magical realism made this novel more accessible and enjoyable, and it also made it more profound. For me, it was a way to explore the larger—and perhaps ‘heavier’—themes of the novel, such as the nature of time (e.g., everything comes to an end) and the mutual relationship between a civilization and its environment. While ‘magical’ imagery like Remedios the Beauty’s flight to heaven gave the book a more fantasy-like feeling, the book also balanced this playfulness with a philosophical point—as reflected in a quote that resonated with me, “the secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude” (216). This constant negotiation and renegotiation between fantasy and reality was at first confusing, but going back to the book, this is what truly made this book a masterpiece. In this sense I totally agreed with Professor Gerald Martin when he stated—in the conversation video—he “didn’t know what to say about the book” (3:28). The book was certainly a master of play, “playing with time” as described by Professor Beasley-Murray and “playing with the fact that we’re reading the book[,]” as Professor Martin had put it (9:10; 10:00).

Question: Who was your favourite character from the book, and why? Please specify as there are a lot of repetitive names.

Lastly, I would like to end by reflecting on solitude. Apart from the earlier direct quotation, one other quote touched upon solitude: “He [Melquiades] really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude” (53). Growing up as an only child, I thought I understood what solitude meant. However, at the same time, I still don’t understand what it is and how to properly cope with it.

Question: What does solitude mean to you? For you, is solitude good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant?

Week 7 – Garcia Marquez, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” I

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Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was a book that I really looked forward to reading. Truly, it was a masterpiece of magical realism, exploring multiple themes relevant to our study on Latin American literature. However, to stay aligned with our lecture content for the first week engaging with this book, I focused on the themes of chance and order, as well as repetition and novelty. Through the lives of the Buendía family, García Márquez explores the cyclical nature of time, the fragility of human existence, and the role of chance in shaping human destiny.

Throughout the novel, García Márquez shows how unexpected (chance) events continue to shape the lives of the characters. The Buendía family is constantly subjected to unexpected and unpredictable events, such as the arrival of a plague of insomnia, a flood that destroys the town, and a massacre of striking workers. These events exemplified how chance can disrupt order and create chaos, and how the characters are forced to adapt and respond to these events to survive. As stated by Colonel Aureliano Buendía, “a person doesn’t die when he should but when he can” (259). To me, this line emphasizes the role of chance in determining the timing of death, and how a person’s fate is ultimately beyond their control.

In addition to chance, García Márquez also explores the theme of order and repetition. The novel is structured in a cyclical manner, with events and characters repeating themselves over the course of the century. The Buendía family is plagued by incest, and the same names and personalities are repeated across generations. However, despite the repetition and order, García Márquez also introduces the theme of novelty. The arrival of Melquíades and the gypsies brings with it new knowledge and technologies, such as the magnifying glass, the telescope, and the microscope. These innovations bring change to the traditional way of life in Macondo and introduce new possibilities for the characters. In a way, it seemed as if García Márquez used the theme of novelty to show how the characters can break free from the cycle of repetition and order.

Lastly, reflecting on the length of the read, I enjoyed the “lostness” of the book. It was a “pleasurable lostness” for me. Perhaps that was because I allowed myself to stop seeking “hidden messages” and not create “force connections”. In a way, I just ‘flowed’ with the contrast between “chaos and order” throughout the book.

Question: Were there any events, people, or objects within the book that seemed “magical”? What reminded you of “magical realism” throughout the book?