100 Years of Solitude

I absolutely loved the ending to 100 Years of Solitude.  The novel itself is so dense, meaning there were many ways in which Marquez could have ended it.  Thus, I love how the ending was nearly impossible to predict because of many ways in which the ending could have gone.  However, I feel that the ending that Marquez chose truly ties together the whole novel.  The whole novel seemed like a circle in which time, events, and characters kept repeating.  The ending is supposed to be the end to this circle and these repetitions.  Near the end of chapter 20, I thought that with Aureliano (the baby) born the cycles and repetitions would continue.  However, as I continued raeading, I was shocked and surprised to find that Aureliano (the baby) was eaten by ants.  But when I soon realized that the manuscripts were actually the history of the Buendia family, it became so much clearer and I liked how Aureliano, the one who was translating the manuscripts, was the last Buendia alive and the one who finally was able to translate the manuscripts.  Not until writing this blog post and actually looking back on the ending did I have a second thought about the fact that Macondo was taken away by the winds.  The idea that Macondo flew away was an absolutely perfect ending which, because of all the bazar things that have happened in this novel, fits in perfectly.      

        

Project: possible introduction

I have expanded on my previous post and came up with a possible introduction for the paper for my project:

Miguel Angel Asturias wrote The President to discuss the widespread influence of a dictator, who corrupts everyone in the society, regardless of class, gender, occupation, or age. In his novel, the dictator’s corruption and desire to retain power lead to actions that turned people against each other. The inhumanities of a dictatorship are presented to the reader at both a conscious and subconscious level. At the surface level, the overall message of the novel is delivered through graphic descriptions of brutality and corruption. At a subconscious level, Asturias imposes his point through certain symbols and instances of delirium. The President is one of the first Latin American novels about dictators. It has been speculated that The President was written about the dictatorship in Guatemala at the time Miguel Angel Asturias was growing up, but why choose to write a fictitious work-a novel-over a historical article? What is the reason for using fiction to describe the horrors of living in a society run by a dictator? Like most authors, Asturias uses certain literary techniques to establish his main point. However, unlike most authors, Asturias is able to present the inhumanities of a society run by a dictator in a less biased way; thus, The President has a more powerful message and impact. In my paper I wish to prove how Asturias is able to portray the dictator as inhumane and why fiction has a greater effect on the reader than historical novels or other literary genres.

Proposal: The President

The President discusses the corruption of a dictator, who corrupts everyone in the society, no matter what class they are in. His corruption turns people against each other in a way that people will do and say whatever they need to survive. It has been speculated that The President was written about the dictatorship in Guatemala at the time Miguel Angel Asturias was writing, but why write a somewhat fictitious novel over a historical article? What is the reason for using fiction to describe the horrors of living in a society run by a dictator?

In my paper I wish to prove how Asturias is able to portray the dictator as inhumane and why fiction has a better effect on the reader than historical novels or other literary genres.

Chapter 10: Question 2

According to Bakhtin, the people who come to a carnival make up a group.  At a carnival people are not individuals, but rather a united community.  Such is seen true throughout 100 Years of Solitude.  After Macondo was just founded, the gypsies would come every March for a carnival-like celebration.  At these carnival-like celebrations, the community would come together.  As Macondo grows larger, it becomes more spread out, however the carnival in chapter 10 brings the people of Macondo together.  The carnival was considered a "Catholic tradition" (197).  All the people of Macondo come together with Remedios the Beautiful as the queen.  The masks that the people of Macondo where wearing, which were only taken off for a moment to get a better look at Remedios the Beautiful, allow the people of Macondo to, as Bakhtin says, forget about, "caste, property, profession, and age."

100 Years of Solitude: chapter 11

In many ways the town which Fernanda grew up in is similar to Macondo many years ago.  Fernanda grew up in a town that is isolated from the rest of the world, the way Macondo was isolated when it was first founded; the only interaction Macondo had with the outside world was through the gypsies.  However, as Macondo began to embrace the outside world and become more aware of it, the town where Fernanda was from continued to be isolated through the years.  Such is apparent through the different changes of Macondo, including the furniture that Ursula bought from outside Macondo, such as the pianola, and the locomotive. The city which Fernanda came from is still, "unknown" at this time (208). Marquez even suggests that the city was a place of unreality as her life did not begin until she was taken to Macondo.

100 Years of Solitude: chapter 10

Aureliano Segundo is one of the more interesting characters of chapter 10.  While Aureliano Segundo does not have the same physical features or love of war like the Colonel, in many mays, he is just like Colonel Aureliano.  They have the same name, they both enjoyed alchemy in their youth, but as they both grow up they join the world of reality and move away from the lab.  Once again the theme of hereditary memory comes up as Aureliano Segundo recognizes Melquiades because the image of Melquiades is, "transmitted from generation to generation" (184).  It will be interesting to see as the novel continues how similar Aureliano Segundo is to Colonel Aureliano, and whether Aureliano Segundo will lose touch with reality like Colonel Aureliano.

I'm Going to Sleep

Similar to “Sorrow,” “I’m Going to Sleep” uses nature imagery, has a somber tone, and discusses a man. The poem seems to be a farewell poem, discussing death. The natural imagery of the line, “make the sheets of the earth ready for me,” seems to represent a burial with “the sheets of the earth” representing a grave. The imagery of the light represents the poet’s life. By having the nurse turn the light down a little, her life is nearing an end. The last stanza discusses a man. The line, “tell him I have gone…” reiterates her coming death, as she is asking the nurse to tell the man that she is gone, or dead.