Question: Describe your reaction to this book and the first reading assignment (up to page 58).
In terms of Syntax, I noticed that Maruqez rarely uses quotation marks. However, Marquez will usually paraphrase what the characters are saying. As a result, anytime Marquez chooses to use quotation marks, it gives the phrase or line a lot of extra emphasis. It can also be related to the fact that Marquez had so much to say, and he is the narrator, that he does not want/have time for other characters to speak.
From reading this section, I would say that it is easier to read than The Sound and the Fury but the amount of characters and the various description of characters that might not come into play again made the story feel muddled at times. But what really struck me from the section was how quickly it went from being funny to being incredibly serious. The whole tale of Jose Arcadio Buendia and his wife in their first year of marriage was very humorous but then when Marquez started describing the couple being haunted, it was very upsetting.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really enjoy this novel but it will require a lot of attention to the long passages of description and extra attention to characters.
I agree with Jordan and Benjy in that this book is SO much easier to read than The Sound and the Fury. However, the one thing which really confused me while was the number of different characters that came up while only reading the first three chapters. I kind of lost track of what was happening at times because the names were all so similar, so it was a little difficult to distinguish each character. One thing I noticed that we mentioned in class was that the characters readily accept the fact that there are ghosts,and they treat these ghosts as if they were still living. This also confused me because I wasn't sure if the characters were seeing actual people or ghosts. Overall, I really liked the way Marquez utilizes literary techniques such as similes and metaphors in order to paint the landscape and environment of Macondo. I was easily able to imagine what the town looked like and what the people were like just by his use of rich adjectives and colorful imagery. One example of a metaphor I liked was on pg 5 when he describes death: "death followed him everywhere, sniffing at the cuffs of his pants, but never deciding to give him the final clutch of its claws". I just felt that this description was so fitting, and it gave an interesting personality to death.
ReplyDeleteIt it easier to read than The Sound and The Fury, but there are still some time shifts that caught my off guard while reading. First it's a flashback to the start of Macondo, then it goes back even further to when Ursula and Jose Arcadio Buendia were born, and then it goes back to the early days of Macondo. While reading this, I kept on thinking about The Sound and The Fury because of the use of time that's used in both. In 100 Years of Solitude, the story right now is all set in the past, which is similar to The Sound and the Fury. Also, the numerous amount of characters with the same names kind of shows how there is never an end to history almost, which is kind of an interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone has previously said that it is easier to read than the Sound and the Fury, however some points thought the story I found myself confused on who was talking and what was going on. I felt like the first chapters went by pretty quickly, even though so much happened in each of them. I think the thing I like most compared to the Sound and the Fury and some of the other books we have read are the extreme detail. I am able to imagine each scene as Marquez describes it. I also felt that although there are very serious themes/scenes in the novel, it has a lighthearted feel, almost like a child's fairy tale, but that is mainly because of all the supernatural elements. At some points while reading I began to compare it to Harry Potter because of all the supernatural and fanciful details.
ReplyDeleteThe supernatural aspect of One Hundred Years of Solitude definitely makes this work an intriguing read. After enjoying Song of Solomon over the summer, I knew another piece of magical realism would be exciting to read. What Ms. Siegel said in class about the reader coming to accept - and not be alarmed by - the aspects of the supernatural really holds for One Hundred Years of Solitude. One line particularly struck me. On page 49, the narration reveals a shocking truth about Melquiades: "He really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude." The tone of this sentence really proves that the supernatural is no big deal in Maconda. Gabriel Garcia Marquez makes it seem obvious that Melquiades could casually return from the dead because he was just getting lonely. Also, this sentence reflects a major theme that was established in the first three chapters, as well as through the title of the book. Solitude is evident in the lives of nearly all the characters, and it is a major shaping force of their beliefs and actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becca that a major theme of this novel is solitude, but I think this theme is illuminated by another significant concept in the plot of familial closeness and love. A major part of this book thus far has been about how each character has experienced love like Jose Arcadio and Pilar Ternera and at the end of the chapter with Aureliano and Remedios. This love and closeness is also seen among strictly familial bonds like the transferring of emotions between Jose and Aurelianos, taking in Rebecca, and emphasizing the need for parental guidance and care during childhood. So as much as this book is about solitude it is juxtaposed with the theme of love and togetherness. The description of the new house Ursula has built illustrates this idea - she expands the house to be able to hold all of her family and all of the people that will be added to her family as her children get older and have spouses and kids.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I like the emotions that this book evokes and the stories are very entertaining and imaginative, but I don't see any logic or purpose to the story. There really is no plot - it is all just anecdotes and description. As of now, I'm not thrilled with the book, but as we read I'm sure the purpose of the book will be illuminated.
After reading the first section of this book, as well as the blog posts, I would definitely agree that 100 Yrs of Solitude is an easier read than Sound and the Fury. I also definitely agree with Rebecca, in the sense that the supernatural aspect of the novel completely heightens both the intrigue and the validity of the story. As we discussed in class, the characters of magic realism novel accept the magic without question, thus forcing the reader to accept the magic as well. For example, in the scene in which Melguíades returns to Macondo, it seems to everyone as if he has returned from the dead as an entirely new person, primarily because of his appearance. When he takes out his fake teeth, the people believe that for a moment, he is the dead figure who they thought he was all this time. When he puts the teeth back in, he transforms back into the lively figure who the people now perceive him to be. It was evident to me, here, that Márquez successfully blends the physical reality with a human psychological reality in order to merge the real with the fabulous and render a meta-fictional, hybrid story. I'm definitely excited to continue reading...
ReplyDeleteMelquíades*
ReplyDeletei love this book (which may be biased because I love Marquez's short stories/him in general). The thing I keep noticing,though, is this preoccupation with the sea. Most of the characters keep trying to find it or locate it. Also, I love that he, on page 52, writes about Innocent Erendira (or who I assume is Innocent Erendira from his short story "The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and her Heartless Grandmother"). Or maybe not, since evidentially Innocent Erendira was published in 1978 while 100 Years of Solitude was published in 1967.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not sure if I agree that the book is easier to read than Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I think Marquez has the same convoluted time line as Faulkner but his writing style is clearer. We don't have the same jumbled narration that we had in The Sound and the Fury.
Either way, I love this book. =]
P.S. Happy Halloween!!
I think Leah made a notable observation about what makes this book a refreshing read: its clear writing style. Unlike Faulkner, Marquez uses familiar grammatical rules, such as punctuation. Marquez's sentences are hardly like Faulkner's often baffling streams of consciousness. Admittedly, as some people mentioned, the characters' names can get confusing, but I found the family tree to be a handy reference tool.
ReplyDeleteThus far, the novel seems to be a whimsical tale about a quirky family. The flashbacks are enjoyable, as they help me learn about this family. I think it'll be interesting to see how the plot develops. So, in short, so far, so good!
Like Krystal, I also was observant of the time in 100 Years of Solitude because of Faulkner. The first sentence is about an event that happens well into the future, and then the rest of the first three chapters delve further into the past. What confused me the most was the effect of time on the inhabitants of Maconda. Nobody in Maconda dies in the first three chapters, which is unusual because it seems as if a lot of time has passed by.
ReplyDeleteI really like the character of Jose Arcadio Buendía. He seems like he is all about making progress and enforcing equality. His character is very multi faceted-he is a scientist as well as the town leader. He sets up Maconda as a sort of utopia-everybody's house is the same distance from the river and receives the same amount of sunlight. It seems as if the scientific progression that Buendía values upsets the equality established in the utopian Maconda. When a trade route is set up through Maconda and foreigners bring new ideas, they also bring things that harm Maconda's stability. For example, the new trade route and commercial success of Maconda brings the magistrate to town, who upsets Maconda's harmony. When Maconda trades all of its birds for Arabian clocks, it seems as it loses an integral part of the Macondian identity.
I also found the relationship between José and Ursula interesting. From what Ms. Siegel told us about Marquez, there seems to be a parallel in the Buendía and Marquez marriages. In both situations, the woman is pragmatic and weary of her husband's quests to complete tasks that often seem impossible.
The genre of magical realism is really evident throughout the first three chapters. I liked Becca and Haley's posts about the themes of solitude and togetherness within the book. I think the juxtaposition of these themes elucidates the hybridity seen in works of magical realism. Macondo is seen as this idyllic world that Jose Arcadio Buendia wanted to make, with surroundings such as glass houses, which represents the ontological aspect of magical realism. The gypsies' technological wonders could be considered epistemological magical realism because both Jose Arcadio Buendia and Aureliano are fascinated by the inventions of the gypsies and treat them as magical marvels. But to us, ice and false teeth have never seemed that awe-inspiring until now. The mixing of physical and psychological realities is seen when Jose Arcadio Buendia sets out on a quest to find contact with civilization after much time in solitude, which illustrates a physical journey to settle his psychological issue of feeling alone within his studies. Also, as Krystal mentioned before, the disoriented time adds to the magical realism theme because it gives the book a feeling of being passed down through oral history, since the story jumps sporadically between anecdotes and doesn't give a precise chronology of when things happen.
ReplyDeleteI would have agree with everyone on this book being way easier to understand than the Sound and the Fury. This novel i actually found interesting, and the chapters were a much easier read than our previous book. I kind of thought of Hard times and how overly descriptive it was at times, but i loved Hard Times and I love description, so i greatly enjoyed reading 100 years of solitude. Also reading it wasnt as confusing, I remember with sound and the fury, i would find myself having to re-read some of the pages, since i would get bored and just zone out, while this one kept me on my toes, since i was curious as to what would happen next. I agree with Julia, so far i like the novel too, and actually look forward to reading it :)
ReplyDeleteoh and i hope everyone is bringing candy to class tomorrow, because I think a post halloween candy party/fest/ food fun would be sweet!
i dindt mean to say interesting...i obviously meant intriguing
ReplyDeleteWell, it's going to be distracting with the candy lying around while we're writing our essays. :(
ReplyDeleteI enjoy 100 years a lot, not just because it's easier to read, but because I'm just so into the Buendias family's weird, fantastical life. I was beginning to dislike the father when he went off on his crazy schemes, but when sense was finally knocked into his head I breathed a sigh of relief. It'd hurt a lot to see the family decline like the Compsons did. I have to say I see parallels between the two though, such as the family tree and the repetition of family names. The father's antics are just so innocent and lovable though. It's almost like reading a comic strip or watching the Simpsons, where the father gets enthusiastic about something but takes it too far or ruins it in the end. I just don't have the sense of security that everything is going to turn out fine, and that worries me whenever I flip a page in 100 years. When that insomnia hit I was freaking out. Then suddenly Melquiades shows up and all is well! Gotta love that guy too. But the whole time they were putting little post-its everywhere! I just found that really funny and incredibly sad at the same time. I just get this weird feeling that soon one of their mistakes will be irrevocable and will have grave consequences.
My initial reaction to One Hundred Years of Solitude is relief that we are back to reading at least a slightly more comprehensible and in some ways linear book. Yet, I was still rather confused, especially by the names of the characters, which I kept mixing up. I was unable to keep a clear idea of who each character is while reading this section. There were some notable aspects of this section though that I found fascinating:
ReplyDelete1. I really enjoyed the beautiful imagery Marquez uses to describe the town and the world in which the characters live. I am truly fascinated by nature and places that are in no ways suburban or urban, thus I really liked the descriptive language used. Furthermore, I was enchanted (as corny as that sounds), by the pure pursuit of knowledge. It was incredible to me how much the character in the first chapter was enamored by ice, something we take for granted. I really enjoyed the way this entire section was structured and written and the plot in general. What I did not like about the plot was the abundance of sexual imagery and importance of sex. I was slightly confused about it significance. It is also evident the importance of family and community (especially because of the ubiquitous incest).
2. Concerning what lies beneath the text, I really appreciated Marquez's commentaries on society. What he was trying to say about God, and trying to decide whether he existed or not was something I found intriguing. I think it is rare that an author clearly takes on religion in that way and I really appreciate how much this book is at least so far about knowledge, and education, and logic, and not so shadowed by religion --> maybe it is and I just stated a completely wrong analysis, but that is how I interpreted the novel. Also, Marquez's commentary on government I found especially interesting. The town was at its prime before any government intervention, and it is obvious that the author is trying to make a point about excessive government. I guess I enjoy Marquez's commentary because I so heavily agree with him (or maybe I think his commentary is similar to what I believe because I am reading it through a certain bias).
In general, I like this book a lot more than The Sound and the Fury thus far, but I'm sure things are bound to change.
Becca I also meant to say I liked your use of the word casual.. great word
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying the reading so far and as everyone else said, this book is much easier to read that The Sound in the Fury. I don't think the number of characters is that confusing because the more you read, the better understanding you get of each character's unique personality.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I liked the subtelty in which Marquez integrates magic into the novel. He starts out with magic mainly being something that the gypsies bring to town, but as Jose Arcadio Buendia begins accepting more and more of the gypsies inventions and concepts, magic becomes and integral part of their lives.
Finally, I likes Haley's comment about the juxaposition of family and solitude. I think that same juxtaposition exists with the concept of religion and magic because both concepts are prevalent in the book. Buendia is on a quest for both and he is even using magic to find God, which I thought was interesting.