You must post 2 times before next Monday, November 22nd. Your first post should be submitted by Thursday, November 18th. It is to be in response to one of the prompts below. The second time you post, it must be in response to or in reaction to the post of another student.This novel presents several striking leitmotifs (frequently repeated phrase, image, symbol, or situation in a literary work which supports the theme). Leitmotifs in One Hundred Years of Solitude include cyclical patterns, prophecy, illegitimacy, fantasy, and of course solitude. Consider one or more of the following:
1. What patterns of behavior are emerging among the characters and how are these recurring patterns affecting life in Macondo?
2.) What events in Macondo, if any, have been prophesied with precision or at least seem likely to come true?
3.) List the many ways fantasy plays a part in the characters' lives. Are these elements of fantasy every ironic?
OR
Identify elements of the story that you find particularly confusing, interesting, or worthy of discussion. Pose your own questions. Include portions of the text that you feel contribute to your questions/your point. Cite page numbers.
I thought Meme's relationship with Mauricio Babilonia was interesting. As soon as Fernanda sees Mauricio, she says "He's a very strange man. You can see in his face that he's going to die" (288). At the end of the chapter, Fernanda's prediction comes true. Mauricio is shot in the spinal column as he is trying to get to Meme through the tiles in the bathroom ceiling. Basically, Meme causes his death because if it weren't for her, Mauricio would not be on the Buendia's roof and wouldn't have been shot. Do you think this has anything to do with Meme's name (her full name is Renata Remedios)? Do you think that since Remedios the Beauty caused the death of many men, Renata Remedios will end up causing the death of more men too?
ReplyDeletei think that a form of killing behavior always occuring in the book. people just lose there minds in this book, and are always finding some one to kill or do things to make people want to kill themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think that incest is definately a recurring behavior in this book. The people in Macondo seem to all be related in some way, but I don't think they know any better. And if they do know better, they basically don't care if their "love" is related to them. Except for this example, when Amaranta and her nephew have a love for eachother. Even though she knows that it is wrong and stops herself, they both still have feelings and they are closely related.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing that I find confusing throughout the book and that is reoccuring behavior is the men cannot seem to stay loyal to their wife, or whoever they are with. The only women that has the same actions is Pilar. But it seems like that the men just have no respect for who they are with, whether it is incest or just someone else. They can't seem to be satisfied with just one woman.
ReplyDeletePage 198.
"That's what their all like, crazy from birth."
This quote is kkind of forshadowing actions at the beginning of the story. It seems to reassure them that incest and such actions like that are okay because from birth that is all they have ever known to be accepted and okay. This quote identifies that atleast one person disagrees with their lifestyle.
I think that it is very interesting that on page 279, a woman dressed in blue told Amaranta that she should start to weave her own shrowd because she was going to die first. I think it is cool how she approached her death. She prolonged it at first, but then she accepted her death and began to sew the shrowd faster. Just as predicted she died when the woman said she would (when the shrowd was completed). This family just seems to die when they want to or are ready to die. A leitmotif in this book is the realization of the characters faults before their deaths. They come to terms with themselves and then die.
ReplyDeleteThe reoccurring behaviors that I find keep popping up is the relationships between the couples. They either never stay loyal, run away, or die because of some sort of magic realism. It reoccurs in about four of the couples making it a leitmotif
ReplyDeletefantasy plays a part in the characters lives because of all the magic realism in the story. The blood for example knowing how to get to ursula's house by itself. Also how Jose i think it's him? i get confused. but how he can see the future thats fantasy. You see fantasy events happen all the time throughout the entire book. How yellow butterflies always follow maurcio (meme's boy toy). Thats definitely fantasy. It seems to be a huge theme in this book
ReplyDeleteIn regaurds to what laquetta said i agree there's always killing/dying in this book. It seems to be a continuous problem in this book. I'm not sure what the author was thinking when writing this book or what he was trying to get across, but it's definitely a weird book. So many characters die.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddie's post. I'm also confused by the invisible doctors. Who else is befogged by the invisible doctors besides Fernanda? Meme? But I don't know how she has anything to do with these doctors, because she is the one sneaking around with Mauricio Babilonia. Where did these doctors even come from and what significance do they have in this story?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Laquetta's comment. I agree with her. Someone is almost always dying often or about to die. Many characters die, and it gets confusing when they seem to come back to life, i can't keep who is alive or dead straight anymore. the book just keeps getting more and more confusing.
ReplyDeleteOne leitmotif I've noticed over the course of the book is the reoccuring mention of the day, "Wednesday". It seems like any major event that is mentioned in the book occurs on a Wednesday. For example, when Mr. Herbert arrives to the Buendia household on page 225 the author talks about the train that comes into town every Wednesday at 11:00. Also, on page 227 the author talks about how "the foreigners brought in a trainload of strange whores on one glorious Wednesday." This isn't the first use of repetition of the day Wednesday, and I find it interesting the author chose to do this. What is so significant about this day and why did Gabriel Marquez choose to do this?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Laurie's comment, I completely agree with her. I think incest is a definite obvious leitmotif in the book. This is evident because when we made the character posters in class on Thursday we could clearly see how many people are related to one another due to people not remaining loyal to their spouse or the lack of true love present in the town. It definitely stands out as a leitmotif to me that Marquez chose to write about.
ReplyDeleteIn responce to Laquetta's post killling is a reoccuring thing. In the beginning of the book it stressed how no one had died for a long time and then once people started dying, it seemed to happen in every chapter.
ReplyDeletei agree with laquetta. it seems like someone is always dying in this book and it seems like that the author is always bringing in a new character to the story. how many characters are in this story?
ReplyDeleteI am responding to Stephanie's post about the recurring motif of Wednesday. I hadn't noticed that before but it's really interesting. I think maybe Marquez picked the day Wednesday because it is in the middle of the week. The whole story doesn't seem to have a definite beginning or ending, time just kind of runs together, and choosing a middle-of-the-week day helps reinforce that concept of continuous time. Also, having everyone important die on the same day shows that the family story is repeating itself.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Maddie's post, I thought that the invisible doctors were kind of confusing, too. In this chapter, it said that Fernanda's problem was that she could not achieve reconciliation, but I don't know what this means. I think that it is also odd that she feared Auriliano Segundo coming into her room because of her illness. I am curious to what this really means.
ReplyDeleteI really find it interesting that Amantra has to make her own shrowd. I think it was extremely wrong that she was SO excted for Rebecca to die, especially becuase she doens't even have to worry about Pietro because he died... BECAUSE OF HER. Obviously Amantra is not my favorite character. It makes me extremely annoyed to read about her becuase I feel that she is very selfish, odd, and boring. I think that she is boring becuase all she does is try and make other peoples lives worse becuase she thinks it will make her's better but whenever she finally get what she wants it never seems that it is "better" like she thought.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Caroline and Laquetta. I think he could have narrowed his amount of characters or at least come up with more names for them instead of half of them having the same name. I understand that it is a family but it would be much easier to understand that way.
ReplyDeletein this book it seems like everyone has a reoccurring mental problem. from incest to people murdering one another. no one in their right mind has the ability to have this many problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liza. I think it is ironic that Amaranta was so excited to make the death shrowd for Rebeca. Now she has to make her own shrowd and when she completes it she will die. It's karma...
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if the characters of Macando don't learn from their mistakes. They continue to fight wars and still find the time to make incestuous love.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with ze dan. It is quite interesting how the people get around in this book with their cousins. It also seems like the wars they fight are always continuing with no reason.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mitchell. The people of Macando are not in the right mind. If there was an option to get them help, then they should pursue it.
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to Dan's comment. I think that throughout this whole story the characters kept on making mistakes similar to the choices that other characters had previously made in the story. It seemed as if the characters had no remorse in being left alone with their own self.
ReplyDeleteThis book had fantasy elements throughout the entire book. I think its weird to take real life things and make them into tall tales.I have imagination, but I have never thought about things in my life from a view like that. I've never used fantasy to explain my life.
ReplyDeleteI think that death is a leitmotif in the novel. Nearly every major character has died and in very interesting ways and with strange occurrences following. The blood flowing through the town, the yellow flowers falling from the sky, and the strange smells are just a few.
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS HALLE
ReplyDeletehttp://images.clipartof.com/small/6052-Happy-Fat-Man-With-Two-Ice-Cream-Cones-Clipart-Picture.jpg
This is how i picture Aureliano Segundo. When he was going through his fat person, party phase that is. He is huge, with food in his hands and appears to be ready to party.
Halle again!
ReplyDeleteSo I've found it interesting how everyone with the same names from different generations all have the same tendencies. Like all the Aurelinos act the same ways where the Arcadios act a different way. Like when JAB went crazy at the beginning of the book and Jose Arcadio Segundo, same name, also went crazy at the end of his life as well. Like Ursula said "time repeats itself"
in response to halle i agree because in so many occasions of the story time does repeat itself. Even the thought of time repeating it self repeats because JAB had already come to that conclusion earlier on when he said Monday was happening over and over again
ReplyDeleteIncest occurs so many times in the book. its weird whether it actually happens or if it is just a close call, it comes up way too much
ReplyDelete