One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez (Week 7)

I've had One Hundred Years of Solitude on my reading list for a really long time, so I was really excited to see it on the list of readings for the term. There are several strong themes that I noted while reading the first part of the novel. The first themes that stuck out to me were time and memory. The way the book jumps around and bends the idea of time while staying in the perceived present narrative was confusing to read, but that was part of the fun. The confusion made me think about how time is subjective and while we may have the shared marks that clocks and calendars bring, it is through our memories that we humanize and perceive time. To have time both appear linear and sporadic through the novel takes true artistry. 

Another thing that seemed to purposely confuse me and play with time was the repetition of the family name. Since most of the characters have the same or similar names, it really emphased the point that Macondo is stuck in some sort of time loop (I'll address this point further later). It also builds on the theme of family as well and how important memory plays into familial tradition. By instilling the same name, it ensures that memories and stories continue to pass on throughout the generations in a place (or time?) where there is no technology (other than the camera later introduced) to assist in this. It also adds to the traditional setting of Macondo. The chapter where the village experiences a plague of insomnia (and amnesia?) and falls into chaos is another reference to how much Macondo's community is built around memory. 

Speaking of tradition, the other themes I took note of while reading were progress and modernity. There is a part at the beginning of the book where Jose takes notice of a town outside of his own and proclaims that "there are all kinds of magical instruments while we keep living like donkeys" (8). This sentence really stood out to me because it made an example of the people and/or communities that got/are getting left out on the path to modernity that is crossing Latin America. The time loop also emphasis this point that Macondo is stuck in a fixed state of past, present, and future that outside influences can't alter and the villagers can't escape. It is only through the incoming presence of war and colonization does the village narrative and reality seem to change. I don't really know the point that Garcia Marquez was trying to get at here, but to me, this points to the problem where modernity in Latin America has been dictated by foreign intervention. When Jose is the only person in the beginning wanting to venture past the sheltered Macondo, it shows the lack of awareness (or indifference? Purposeful avoidance?) that many experience(d) through the age of modernity. While it has been said many times that history has been written by the "privileged" (aka colonizers), it also exemplifies how the future is being written this way as well.  

I wanted to talk a little about how the novel showcases different kinds of love, however, after reading more, perhaps I will talk about this in the next blog post. I'm really excited to keep reading as this is a very gripping and thought provoking novel. 

Question for the class: How does time influence your memory or vice versa? Do you perceive time through memories? Do you think Garcia's usage of time enhances the story?