Mar
14
100 years of solitude part 2
Posted by: | March 14, 2010 | Comments Off on 100 years of solitude part 2
I’m surprised at the development of the character of Aureliano Buendia. When he was a child I thought him to be introspective, thoughtful and sensitive, but he grew to become a dispassionate tyrant. The premonitions that he experienced were an interesting facet that for me imbued a sense of the Divine in him, a validation of a future omnipotence. Indeed as an adult he rose to a great height of power within the rebel military. Eventually his power left nothing further to be challenged, no personal goals nor ideals to be achieved. Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s apathy that resulted I think was a very realistic portrayal of the consequence of ultimate power. Of course Garcia Marquez was building on the theme of solitude and how eventhough one seems to have everything they want or need around them, one will probably also feel very isolated.
An aspect of the novel found throughout that I find controversial is the inter-generational relationships. It is kind of shocking. So far it is dificult for me to reconcile why Garcia Marquez would include this line of topic in his novel, eventhough it contributes greatly to the sub-theme of “power” – this concept being perhaps the overriding factor resulting from the aforementioned kind of relationship. Despite the fact that the book is a work of fiction, the vast majority of us would find the inclusion of inter-generational sexual relationships to be offensive. Garcia Marquez took a great risk in deciding to go down this questionable path. However, any work of art should push the envelope a little and maybe spark a cultural debate. In this way a work of art can find immortality.
