Please post your responses to this week's reading . . . sooner rather than later! You may earn extra credit by responding/posting a third time; don't forget.
According to Chapter 15, Jose Arcadio Segundo was back in the state of isolation again after he survived from the massacre causing by the government to end the strike. This tragedy brought back the idea of solitude to Jose Arcadio Segundo because he was shocked with what the government just did, at the same time shocked with how no one in the village know about the massacre at all, like it was never happen. On page 308 the women who talk to Jose said "There haven't been any dead here""Since the time of your uncle, the colonel, nothing has happened in Macondo."" There weren't any dead." After hearing from the women Jose Arcadio Segundo was shock about what just happen. That is when he decide to lock himself up and work with Melquiades's manuscripts.
In chapter 16, Aureliano Segundo have been fixing many things around the house during the rain that been going on for almost five years. At that time as Fernanda watching him she start to think about how he is like others in the family. The passage said "Watching him putting in latches and repairing clocks, Fernanda wondered whether or not he too might be falling into the vice of building so that he could take apart like Colonel Aureliano Buendia and his little gold fishes, Amaranta and her shroud and her buttons, Jose Arcadio and the parchments, and Ursula and her memories." This show how Aureliano Segundo have something in common with everyone in his family and also carry on the trait of his family down generation by generation.
Another point in Chapter 16 that should be mention is about the rain that have been continuing for nearly 5 years. I think that Marquez want to explain the rain in a way of the new beginning of the village of Macondo and also representing the punishment to Jose Arcadio Buendia's family sin. The rain basically causes the flood that eventually wipe out everything and left Macondo as a ruins this is similar to the story of Noah Ark and how God want to recreate the world. In the passage said "Macondo was in ruin. In the swampy streets there were the remains of furniture, animal skeletons covered with red lilies, the last memories of the hordes of newcomers who had fled Macondo as wildly as they had arrived. The house that had been built with such haste during the banana fever had been abandoned. The banana company tore down its installations.All that remained of the former wired-in city were the ruins." this describe that Macondo was wiped out and back to the beginning again. Overall, the imagery of this scene is just like the genesis or another way to say is the new beginning of everything in Macondo.
In chapter 16 Macondo under goes massive floods lasting for 5 years. Throughout the entire storm in Macondo, there is something that Aureliano is obsessed with, gold. Aureliano is focusing on gold even though there is a huge storm. After the storm passes he goes out and starts to try and find gold again even though he is told he will find his treasure 2 years after the storm. I see this as symbolism for dedication because no matter what, going through a flood for 5 years he was always thinking about the gold he wants to get. Maybe it is slightly selfish but then after the storm he gets back out and starts again knowing that he has 2 years until his luck will turn.
In chapter 16 to merge with what Grai said, Aureliano is working for several months fixing things around the house but they start to notice because of his exercise running around the house, he was getting thinner. "For several months he was seen wandering about with a toolbox that the gypsies must have left behind in Jose Arcadio Buendia's days, and no one knew whether because of the involuntary exercise, the winter tedium, or the imposed abstinence, but his belly was deflating little by little like a wineskin and his face of a beautific tortoise was becoming less bloodshot and his double chin less prominent until he became less pachydermic all over and was able to tie his own shoes again." Without even realizing it, as Grai said he has something in common with the family and he is losing weight from the exercise.
After reading and discussing chapter 16 in class and taking a quiz I noticed that after the flood the village goes back to it's old days, what it used to be. It regressed to the condition that Jose Arcadio Buendia once founded it in. This repetition of the past is also seen on the example of some characters. Meme goes back to the place where her mother grew up in and Jose Arcadio Segundo takes the place of Colonel Aureliano Buendia and follows his footsteps. It shows again how life in the village is a never-ending circle where the end smoothly transitions back to the beginning. Even Ursula once noticed that the world was "repeating itself".
It is very interesting that Marquez has incorporated various sources. For example, we related the flood to the story of Noah who was the chosen person to build a gigantic ship that held pairs of every animals, and himself and his wife. The story of Noah says that God was furious with arrogant human beings and decided to flush them out except the truly pious one like Noah. In the Novel we see some sins that are worthy of punishment. These are the sins that Macondo commit. Alchemy: A challenge against the nature to create pure element gold. Attempt to resurrect: Malquiadez' theory of eternal life. Incest: Trying to have relationship with a close family. Sodomy: relationship with animals.
However, the result of the flood is very different from the story of Noah. Even though Macondo was destroyed heavily, there were still survivors. We then conclude that the villagers are imbued with strong luck, even the fate cannot kill them.
Grai/ Yes that is another example of Marquez incorporating a real incident. In the class we have learned that there actually was a banana massacre in the 1900's. However, the government censored the event and it was not known to many people. We see this quote "here haven't been any dead here," another magical element that Marquez provided. Macondo, this place is just not a magical place where people live absurd life. It is a fictional place full of reality. By creating a chaos between the human instinct and human tendency to have an order in Macondo, Marquez criticizes a historical event. Marquez wanted to show that a fact cannot be forgotten or erased from people's memory.
Stacey/ I also believe that repeating of events are also seen in the Segundo generation. Even though the village is starting new, the similar events will occur and Macondo may face another end. Although we see some repetition of events through the generations, we do not anymore see the mythical strength that original Buendias possessed. I am little bit disappointed with the fact that the later generations are more restricted and succumbed to the outside force. For example, Jose Arcadio Segundo dares not to raise an army against the government like Aureliano Buendia, and Aureliano Segundo is harangued by Fernanda which never happend to Jose Arcadio Buendia.
Like Grai mentioned it's very noticeable how Marquez puts a lot of personal experience into the book. When he talks about the destruction of the banana plantation, he recreates an episode of banana workers massacre near the place he had lived as a child. Marquez also tries to show and express his political beliefs, such as during the war between the Liberals and the Conservatives. He was clearly on the Liberal side,despising the Conservatives and portraying them as corrupt and repulsive people. The book is written in the genre of Magical Realism; it combines the authors real life experiences with the magic created by his imagination. Marquez created the atmosphere where a reader would take the most absurd things and hold them as the truth. The further I'm in the book, the more I see how he mastered the genre.
In my post last week I mentioned the theme of solitude and how it applied on many different levels. Solitude was the major theme in the beginning of the book then that theme started fading away once Macondo began to be more populated with foreigners and such. Now in Chapter 15, that theme of solitude is rearing its head again. After the massacre, Jose Arcadio Segundo makes his way back to Macondo only to discover that everybody's memories have been erased and nobody has any recollection of the massacre that has occured. Jose Arcadio Segundo is once again thrown into solitude because of this. And I believe that the heavy rains that follow is a symbol of Jose Arcadio Segundo's abrupt solitude.
I also agree with Stacey, that the rains pouring down over Macondo could symbolize Macondo returning to its native, primal state. Its like the rains are washing Macondo clean and forcing the whole town to start over because everything is destroyed. Which, in the end of i think its Chapter 15 or 16, we find out that nobody in the town was up for the challenge because Macondo gets wiped off the face of the earth according to Marquez.
I found these past few chapters to be very interesting. I think that there is a lot of symbolism being used and the aspect of the "magical realism" part of the book is also being shown. The two things that stand out to me as being "magical" is the rain and the washing away as of the Banana Plantation. 5 years of rain is not a very realistic idea but it symbolizes the idea of refreshment and cleansing. It is bringing the village back to the start and literally washing everything that has caused them trouble and so on away, to get back to the original Macondo. The rain is also a symbol for a cycle. In order for it to rain it needs to go through a cycle before it even devolps into rain and once it reaches that point it starts all over, just like the village of Macondo. It got to a certain point and now it is being cycled back to the beginning.
I also agree with what Brittany said about the idea of solitude was not really seen for a while with the outside world being brought to Macondo but now that is changing and solitude is becoming a theme again. Now that everything is washed away and after the massacre nobody has an recognition of what happened nor what it was like before. Its like a fresh start of Macondo and they are going to isolated all over again.
In chapter 15, Fernanda sends Meme to a convent because she is so appalled and ashamed of Meme’s scandalous affair. I think it’s odd that Fernanda sends her to the very place in which she grew up as a child. It seems as though the plight that Meme experienced was the exact opposite of what Fernanda experienced. As a child, Fernanda lead an extremely strict life and then was forced to travel to a new place where she found love. Whereas Meme was a very free-spirited child and fell in love with a boy who was brutally taken away from her at which point she was forced to leave home and lead a strict lifestyle.
It doesn’t stop raining for almost 5 years in Macondo. All the rain and the impending fear that it wont end, has caused the people of Macondo to become uneasy. Aureliano Segundo spends his time doing maintenance work and fixing broken things around the house. Since the rain has confined people to their houses, Aureliano Segundo starts to take an interest in his childrens lives. Fernanda spends her time calling telepathic doctors who might be able to heal her. Everyone is on edge and Fernanda begins to pick fights with Aureliano. So Aureliano decides to return to Petra only to find that all the rain has caused some severe flooding and all the farm animals have died.
According to Chapter 15, Jose Arcadio Segundo was back in the state of isolation again after he survived from the massacre causing by the government to end the strike. This tragedy brought back the idea of solitude to Jose Arcadio Segundo because he was shocked with what the government just did, at the same time shocked with how no one in the village know about the massacre at all, like it was never happen. On page 308 the women who talk to Jose said "There haven't been any dead here""Since the time of your uncle, the colonel, nothing has happened in Macondo."" There weren't any dead." After hearing from the women Jose Arcadio Segundo was shock about what just happen. That is when he decide to lock himself up and work with Melquiades's manuscripts.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 16, Aureliano Segundo have been fixing many things around the house during the rain that been going on for almost five years. At that time as Fernanda watching him she start to think about how he is like others in the family. The passage said "Watching him putting in latches and repairing clocks, Fernanda wondered whether or not he too might be falling into the vice of building so that he could take apart like Colonel Aureliano Buendia and his little gold fishes, Amaranta and her shroud and her buttons, Jose Arcadio and the parchments, and Ursula and her memories." This show how Aureliano Segundo have something in common with everyone in his family and also carry on the trait of his family down generation by generation.
ReplyDeleteAnother point in Chapter 16 that should be mention is about the rain that have been continuing for nearly 5 years. I think that Marquez want to explain the rain in a way of the new beginning of the village of Macondo and also representing the punishment to Jose Arcadio Buendia's family sin. The rain basically causes the flood that eventually wipe out everything and left Macondo as a ruins this is similar to the story of Noah Ark and how God want to recreate the world. In the passage said "Macondo was in ruin. In the swampy streets there were the remains of furniture, animal skeletons covered with red lilies, the last memories of the hordes of newcomers who had fled Macondo as wildly as they had arrived. The house that had been built with such haste during the banana fever had been abandoned. The banana company tore down its installations.All that remained of the former wired-in city were the ruins." this describe that Macondo was wiped out and back to the beginning again. Overall, the imagery of this scene is just like the genesis or another way to say is the new beginning of everything in Macondo.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 16 Macondo under goes massive floods lasting for 5 years. Throughout the entire storm in Macondo, there is something that Aureliano is obsessed with, gold. Aureliano is focusing on gold even though there is a huge storm. After the storm passes he goes out and starts to try and find gold again even though he is told he will find his treasure 2 years after the storm. I see this as symbolism for dedication because no matter what, going through a flood for 5 years he was always thinking about the gold he wants to get. Maybe it is slightly selfish but then after the storm he gets back out and starts again knowing that he has 2 years until his luck will turn.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 16 to merge with what Grai said, Aureliano is working for several months fixing things around the house but they start to notice because of his exercise running around the house, he was getting thinner. "For several months he was seen wandering about with a toolbox that the gypsies must have left behind in Jose Arcadio Buendia's days, and no one knew whether because of the involuntary exercise, the winter tedium, or the imposed abstinence, but his belly was deflating little by little like a wineskin and his face of a beautific tortoise was becoming less bloodshot and his double chin less prominent until he became less pachydermic all over and was able to tie his own shoes again." Without even realizing it, as Grai said he has something in common with the family and he is losing weight from the exercise.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and discussing chapter 16 in class and taking a quiz I noticed that after the flood the village goes back to it's old days, what it used to be. It regressed to the condition that Jose Arcadio Buendia once founded it in. This repetition of the past is also seen on the example of some characters. Meme goes back to the place where her mother grew up in and Jose Arcadio Segundo takes the place of Colonel Aureliano Buendia and follows his footsteps. It shows again how life in the village is a never-ending circle where the end smoothly transitions back to the beginning. Even Ursula once noticed that the world was "repeating itself".
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting that Marquez has incorporated various sources. For example, we related the flood to the story of Noah who was the chosen person to build a gigantic ship that held pairs of every animals, and himself and his wife. The story of Noah says that God was furious with arrogant human beings and decided to flush them out except the truly pious one like Noah. In the Novel we see some sins that are worthy of punishment. These are the sins that Macondo commit. Alchemy: A challenge against the nature to create pure element gold. Attempt to resurrect: Malquiadez' theory of eternal life. Incest: Trying to have relationship with a close family. Sodomy: relationship with animals.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the result of the flood is very different from the story of Noah. Even though Macondo was destroyed heavily, there were still survivors. We then conclude that the villagers are imbued with strong luck, even the fate cannot kill them.
Grai/ Yes that is another example of Marquez incorporating a real incident. In the class we have learned that there actually was a banana massacre in the 1900's. However, the government censored the event and it was not known to many people. We see this quote "here haven't been any dead here," another magical element that Marquez provided. Macondo, this place is just not a magical place where people live absurd life. It is a fictional place full of reality. By creating a chaos between the human instinct and human tendency to have an order in Macondo, Marquez criticizes a historical event. Marquez wanted to show that a fact cannot be forgotten or erased from people's memory.
ReplyDeleteStacey/ I also believe that repeating of events are also seen in the Segundo generation. Even though the village is starting new, the similar events will occur and Macondo may face another end. Although we see some repetition of events through the generations, we do not anymore see the mythical strength that original Buendias possessed. I am little bit disappointed with the fact that the later generations are more restricted and succumbed to the outside force. For example, Jose Arcadio Segundo dares not to raise an army against the government like Aureliano Buendia, and Aureliano Segundo is harangued by Fernanda which never happend to Jose Arcadio Buendia.
ReplyDeleteLike Grai mentioned it's very noticeable how Marquez puts a lot of personal experience into the book. When he talks about the destruction of the banana plantation, he recreates an episode of banana workers massacre near the place he had lived as a child. Marquez also tries to show and express his political beliefs, such as during the war between the Liberals and the Conservatives. He was clearly on the Liberal side,despising the Conservatives and portraying them as corrupt and repulsive people. The book is written in the genre of Magical Realism; it combines the authors real life experiences with the magic created by his imagination. Marquez created the atmosphere where a reader would take the most absurd things and hold them as the truth. The further I'm in the book, the more I see how he mastered the genre.
ReplyDeleteIn my post last week I mentioned the theme of solitude and how it applied on many different levels. Solitude was the major theme in the beginning of the book then that theme started fading away once Macondo began to be more populated with foreigners and such. Now in Chapter 15, that theme of solitude is rearing its head again. After the massacre, Jose Arcadio Segundo makes his way back to Macondo only to discover that everybody's memories have been erased and nobody has any recollection of the massacre that has occured. Jose Arcadio Segundo is once again thrown into solitude because of this. And I believe that the heavy rains that follow is a symbol of Jose Arcadio Segundo's abrupt solitude.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Stacey, that the rains pouring down over Macondo could symbolize Macondo returning to its native, primal state. Its like the rains are washing Macondo clean and forcing the whole town to start over because everything is destroyed. Which, in the end of i think its Chapter 15 or 16, we find out that nobody in the town was up for the challenge because Macondo gets wiped off the face of the earth according to Marquez.
ReplyDeleteI found these past few chapters to be very interesting. I think that there is a lot of symbolism being used and the aspect of the "magical realism" part of the book is also being shown. The two things that stand out to me as being "magical" is the rain and the washing away as of the Banana Plantation. 5 years of rain is not a very realistic idea but it symbolizes the idea of refreshment and cleansing. It is bringing the village back to the start and literally washing everything that has caused them trouble and so on away, to get back to the original Macondo. The rain is also a symbol for a cycle. In order for it to rain it needs to go through a cycle before it even devolps into rain and once it reaches that point it starts all over, just like the village of Macondo. It got to a certain point and now it is being cycled back to the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what Brittany said about the idea of solitude was not really seen for a while with the outside world being brought to Macondo but now that is changing and solitude is becoming a theme again. Now that everything is washed away and after the massacre nobody has an recognition of what happened nor what it was like before. Its like a fresh start of Macondo and they are going to isolated all over again.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 15, Fernanda sends Meme to a convent because she is so appalled and ashamed of Meme’s scandalous affair. I think it’s odd that Fernanda sends her to the very place in which she grew up as a child. It seems as though the plight that Meme experienced was the exact opposite of what Fernanda experienced. As a child, Fernanda lead an extremely strict life and then was forced to travel to a new place where she found love. Whereas Meme was a very free-spirited child and fell in love with a boy who was brutally taken away from her at which point she was forced to leave home and lead a strict lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t stop raining for almost 5 years in Macondo. All the rain and the impending fear that it wont end, has caused the people of Macondo to become uneasy. Aureliano Segundo spends his time doing maintenance work and fixing broken things around the house. Since the rain has confined people to their houses, Aureliano Segundo starts to take an interest in his childrens lives. Fernanda spends her time calling telepathic doctors who might be able to heal her. Everyone is on edge and Fernanda begins to pick fights with Aureliano. So Aureliano decides to return to Petra only to find that all the rain has caused some severe flooding and all the farm animals have died.
ReplyDelete