Category: span365

What an interesting, yet not completely unexpected ending. GGM has one of the most morbid styles of writing, in that the plot is enhanced by solitude, death and incest- but in a sense it’s quite entrancing. (He somewhat reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe, but a bit less vulgar in stating death and destruction) Surrounding the characters and storylines with incredible detail and a hint of despair, there was almost no other way to end the book other than the manner in which he did. Sadly, everyone’s time comes to an end at some point, right?

I found there to be a lot of plots that eventually came ‘full circle’, such as the entire story of Macondo and how it had already seemed to be written as Aureliano Segundo found out, as well as the family itself starts and ends with incestuous acts. What I found most interesting is how Macondo seemed to live a ‘life’ of it’s own. Starting out with a vivid imagination, much like a young child, brought by the gypsies and enhanced by the Buendia family’s further interpretation. Slowly it started to change through government, lifestyle and other methods [almost like a type of puberty, or growth spurt]. The massacre was somewhat like a midlife crisis, in that the rain which followed could be viewed as a type of cleansing or realization in which the town of Macondo can start over on a new, fresh path. This final part of the book is much like the final chapter of anyone’s life – filled with death, but sadly not much to be remembered by surrounding people, as no one can ever fully retell a story with explicit accuracy. It seems to me that Macondo was erased from memory and existence. I really enjoyed the ‘final touch’ from Aureliano Segundo’s encounter of his own history being prewritten, it seemed to be one last magic realism idea gently tossed into the world hand-created by GGM.

A bit of a sad note to end the weekend on, but still a pretty good book. Wouldn’t mind giving it another read! (perhaps in the summer.. next to a beach.. mai tai in hand..) Mmm, 6 weeks till summer!

Well well, we’ve finally arrived at the end of Marquez’s masterpiece. I have to admit, I didn’t get a chance to write my blog post last weekend since I was bogged down with massive projects from my other classes. Determined to get to the end of this novel, I sat down today and read the last 170 pages that I had left to get through. When I finally reached the end of the novel I felt like I was in a state of shock, deeply affected by the experience Marquez had given me.

Ultimately, I felt as though the final section of this novel was the most significant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making this statement as though it’s some sort of profound epiphany. Every novel follows the same formula – plot develops, builds to a climax and concludes. Therefore it’s natural that things get more exciting around the climax and conclusion. It is the way in which an author takes us through those steps that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. Clearly Marquez’s novel is an example of the latter. Cien años has garnered its esteemed reputation for good reason and if a literary novice like myself can recognize that fact, it’s a damn good sign. So, what pray tell made the last section of the novel so significant to me? I think it was the fact that I never would have predicted the novel ending in a manner so vastly different from what I expected. I would never have imagined that Marquez’s novel would end in a pair of tragedies. Since the massacre in Macondo and the torrential rains that followed, it seems as though the town of Macondo had been afflicted by some sort of natural plague. The destruction wrought on Macondo and the banana plantation are ultimately the beginning of the end for not only Macondo, but also the Buendia family. It is from this point in the novel that Macondo slowly deteriorates and each member of the Buendia family becomes more withdrawn and solitary. Finally, novel culminates with the incestuous birth of a child with a pig tail and the realization, via reading Malquiades’ texts that the demise of the family was already written. Macondo is wiped from existence by a tornado, meanwhile the Buendia legacy dies as it began.

It would be impossible to say that Marquez’s conclusion is anything but pessimistic. Essentially, Marquez leaves the reader with the thought that time will always go on, it cannot be hidden from and when your time is up, it’s over. It is quite an interesting feeling to walk away from a novel with the realization that death is an inevitable part of the future and to actually feel frightened by that fact.

I know, very late post. However, better late than never.

I was really interested in what we were talking about today in class but was so groggy that I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to say. Now I have a somewhat better idea. We were discussing the political aspect of magical realism in 100 años as well as in the other books we have read. Whether or not this has anything to do with history being subjective (it is because history writing is inevitably subjective) or not, does not really matter.

How does GGM make a commentary on Latin American politics with his inclusion of the Banana Massacre? I will get to that in a minute.

FIrst, what immediately came to mind was the documentary about the 2002 attempted coup d’état on President Hugo Chavez called La revolución no será transmitida (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised). To summarize the film, I’m going to borrow from wikipedia because I saw the movie a couple years ago. What happened in a nutshell is this:

Chavez aims to redistribute Venezuela’s oil wealth by nationalizing the oil companies. In April 2002, a group of Chavez supporters gather outside the Presidential palace while a group of protestors march through the streets nearby. When the protester’s march reaches the palace, shots ring out and civilians are killed. Some of Chávez’s supporters begin firing in the direction they think the shots came from. A former private television journalist said selective footage of the incident was aired by the private media to make it look like Chávez’s supporters had shot at unarmed opposition marchers. Meanwhile, the state television channel is shut down and pressure is put on Chavez to step down. The entire event spirals out of control and he does end up stepping down (for a few days before everything is sorted out) and the opposition leader takes his place.

The people in opposition of Chavez’s reforms were undoubtedly connected to the private media of Venezuela. They manipulated footage of an event in order to get the president out of office. It shows the power of wealth and force over politics and reality. It also demonstrates their ability to manipulate public opinion. In a similar way Mr Brown and his soldiers manipulate the nation’s public opinion by issuing false proclamations and killing anybody who knew otherwise with the cover of the night. GGM is without a doubt making a statement about the politics of Latin America. I think he wants us to ask ourselves: if we are not witnesses to the violence and injustices that happen to our brothers and sisters, can we pretend it did not happen? can we rely or allow people with wealth and arms to tell us the history of our people. GGM wants us to think about more than just this. however this is a start.

My opinions of the course thus far are very mixed. I think the projects are interesting and worthwhile, but overestimated in the expectation that the students will be able to give satisfactory attention to anything. I think the students are spread very thin, and consequently their understanding of the material is merely superficial.

For myself, I originally wanted to take this course because it was required for the Spanish minor. That is it. Secondly, I would like to get off on the pure pleasure of reading some great literature. I do not want to use this opportunity to try to become a “super researcher”, write articles, or work on group projects.

I think the course far overreaches what is considered to be a decent and challenging student workload. Just completing the readings I feel to be sufficient enough in getting exposure to the material.
Reading a couple hundred extra pages of didactic academic criticism is beyond tedious and somewhat circumstantial as a definitive source of interpretation.
I realize that students must learn to manage their time well and accept a heavy course load, but after 6 years as a full-time university student I can say that this course has been the heaviest. Don’t forget this course is just one out of five that we’re taking this semester!

However, in theory I think the objectives are worthy.

Writing weekly informal blogs forces us to quickly digest the readings and consequently we are more prepared for class discussion.
Writing comments to other’s blogs gives us the chance to “tap in” to the general consensus and maybe gain insights from more astute peers.
Writing a WIKI article is an excellent way to absorb and regurgitate the material.

There are some problems with this class:

The workload is too ambitious: How are we supposed to understand deeply when we only read the material once & quickly? (because of obvious time constraints)
Class discussions are not productive when the instructor spends a very long time giving a monologue, then expects small groups to just pick it up where he left off:

What comprises a group of 4 students in our class? 1-2 people haven’t even done the readings, 1-2 people are terrified to speak because of poor Spanish ability, and 1 person is a super keener who talks non-stop and intimidates the rest of the group.

I think it would be beneficial for the instructor to engage the class immediately, start eliciting general responses to the readings while guiding the questions in real time instead of during the last 15 mins. of class.

Also, because the students are juggling many different class responsibilities, I think the least amount of time is given to thoroughly reading the literature – we’re compelled to worry about writing blogs & comments (700-900 words/week is ALOT) and researching secondary readings.

Why are we even given the choice to write in English? Most if not all but one WIKI group is doing their article in English – why? This is a Spanish course is it not? We should have the ability to think and express ourselves adequately in Spanish by now, but given the choice, we will choose English because it is easier. So there shouldn’t be a choice.

The course is hard, but not in the ways that it should be – and yet it cops out and lets us default to English…strange…

I dread coming to this class more than going to the dentist even though Spanish is one of my strongest and favourite subjects. I feel like I’m just holding my breath and all I want is to finish this course the best I can given my current state of exhaustion and GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!