One Hundred Years Years of Solitude Study Guide There is a legend Gabriel Garcia Marquez likes Marquez likes to tell about the the writ writin ing g of his his most most famo famous us nove novel, l, On One e Hu Hund ndre red d Year ears s of Solitude He claims that he wrote the book barricaded in his stud! Solitude in Me"ico, after receiving a vision One da!, while he and his wife and children were in their car driving to #ca$ulco, he saw that he %had to tell &his' stor! the wa! his grandmother used to tell hers, and that &he' was to start from that afternoon in which a father took his child to discover ice% He made an abru$t ()turn on the high highwa wa!, !, the the car car neve neverr made made it to #ca$u ca$ulc lco, o, and and he lock locked ed himself in his stud! *ifteen months later, he emerged with the manuscri$t, onl! to meet his wife holding a stack of bills The! traded $a$ers, and she $ut the manuscri$t in the mail to his $ublisher +ike ever!thing Marquez writes, there is some truth and much ction in this tale The truth in the tale is that One Hundred Years of Solitude is a ver! $ersonal book for the author -t would not have been written if he had not e"$erienced the childhood he had ad Marquez uez grew u$ with his mater ternal grand rand$ $arents nts in #racataca, .olombia His grand$arents were cousins who moved to #racataca from /iohacha at the end of the 0ar of a Thousand 1a!s 1a!s 2345 23455) 5)35 3567 678, 8, a few few !ears !ears befor before e a leafs leafstor torm m Marq Marquez uez9s 9s childhood anecdotes tell of a big house full of ghosts, conversations in code, and relatives who could foretell their own deaths -t was also a house lled with guests and social events, shad haded b! almond trees and and bursti rstin ng wit with :ower wers 0hen Marquez9s grandfather died, Marquez was sent to live with his $arents -n his grandfather9s absence, his grandmother, who was blind, could no longer kee$ u$ the house -t fell into a state of ruin, and red ants destro!ed the trees and :owers #lso earl! in his childhood, Marquez witnessed the massacre of striking banana workers‹wor ‹worke kers rs at a plan planta tati tion on na name medd Maco Macond ndo‹ o‹at at a trai trainn stat statio ion. n. The
government made every attempt to block information from the public and pacify the foreign plantation owners. Marquez was horrified, and even more horrified when he reached high school and learned that the event had been deleted from his histor! te"tbook
.areful readers of One Hundred Years of Solitude will recognize man! of these elements in the book; there is no doubt that if Marquez had not grown u$ in #racataca and had a keen ear, the novel would not e"ist On one hand, the conte"t for the book is Marquez9s own $ersonal nostalgia ‹for childhood, for his grandparents, for
a big house filled with ghosts and laughter. On the other hand, the contet for the book is Mar quez9s $olitical beliefs and the oft)brutal realities of growing u$ in a $articularl! tumultuous develo$ing countr! Growing u$ in .olombia, which has a long and tragic socioeconomic histor!, Marquez learned about $olitics and economics earl! on -n his conversations with other +atin #merican writers‹the Meican novelist !arlos "uentes was one of the writers
who gave Marquez etensive feedback and advice on the early chapters of #olitude‹he developed his own theoretical views about writing and politics. $e often claims %The rst dut! of a writer is to write well%‹implying that writing must not be polemical‹but there is no doubt that the economic history of %atin &merica, which is a history of inequality and eploitation, has had a crucial impact on all of his writing Marquez9s a$$roach to writing One Hundred Years of Solitude‹combining his own memories and imagination with focused aesthetics
and an eye for the tragic history of his country‹has had an immeasurable impact on writers of color worldwide. !oming at the time it did, in the midst of a boom in +atin #merican writing, it was immediatel! recognized as one of the nest, if not the nest, o
?, and has since been translated into 7> languages and sold millions of co$ies worldwide Other writers of color from di
and difficult relationships with a tradition al culture -n much of the world, the unimaginabl! old coe"ists with the unbearabl! new '"or writers conscious of straddling two cultures, nostalgia for a simpler, primitive past vies with wonder at the persistence of habits of thought, patterns of life, an d modes of belief that surel! ought to be e"tinct, mere harmless fossils Garcia Marquez turned $uzzlement or outrage into ironic wonder, and he enhanced the strangeness of the real '( Today, we see his influence in such celebrated writers as &merica)s Toni Morrison, -ndia 2and =ngland89s Salman /ushdie, and Trinidad9s AS Bai$aul
One Hundred Years of Solitude Summary #uthor9s BoteC One Hundred Years of Solitude is not a t!$ical novel in that there is no single $lot and no single timeline The author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has crucial thematic reasons for the unusual construction of the novel -t is his intention to show that histor! moves not onl! in c!cles but also in circles *or this reason, there is no single main character in focus, nor does the novel follow a regular timeline -n his quest to show how histor! moves in circles, Marquez gives virtuall! ever! member of the Duendia famil! one of the following namesC 2men8 @ose #rcadio, #ureliano 2women8 (rsula,#maranta, /emedios This can sometimes be confusing to the reader, which is, after all, the $oint -n an e
are e"hibited in the Duendia men throughout the novel, starting with his sons @ose #rcadio and #ureliano @ose #rcadio inherits his father9s massive strength and im$lusiveness; #ureliano inherits his strong ethical sense and his solitar! intensit! Doth these men go to their own e"tremesC @ose #rcadio becomes the ultimate macho and dies m!steriousl! after usur$ing lands; #ureliano 2known in the novel as.olonel #ureliano Duendia8 becomes one of the greatest and most notorious rebels in the countr! during an e"tended $eriod of civil war Macondo, once an innocent $aradise, becomes acquainted with the outside world during the $eriod of civil war -t is during this $eriod that death and bloodshed rst comes to Macondo9s door; the town remains linked to the outside world because of the fame of .olonel #ureliano Duendia -n contrast to her husband, (rsula -guaran is ercel! $ractical and $ossessed of much common sense She is energetic, tenacious 2she lives so long that she loses track of her age8 and s$ends her life looking after the famil! line (nfortunatel! none of the female Duendias match her fortitudeC #maranta, her daughter, is tenacious onl! in $ersonal bitterness while her great)great) granddaughters /enata /emedios and #maranta (rsula are $ossessed of her energ! but none of her common sense The failure of the ne"t generations to be $ossessed of their ancestors9 strength of character causes the famil! to falter as histor! and modernit! storm Macondo #fter the civil war, foreign im$erialism comes in with devastating e
quickening s$eed of their downward s$iral The older members of the famil! are lost in nostalgia; the !ounger ones are lost in debaucher! and solitar! isolation #s the town is abandoned, the last members of the famil! succumb to incestuous desire and birth a child with a $ig9s tail #t the ver! end of the book, it is revealed that the histor! of the Duendias has been ordained since the beginning, and that the! will never have a second chance
One Hundred Years of Solitude Character List
Jose Arcadio Buendia The founder of Macondo and the $atriarch of the Duendia famil! He marries his cousin, (rsula -guaran, and the! have three health! children des$ite the warning that incest leads to children with $ig9s tails #n intros$ective, inquisitive man of massive strength and energ!, he s$ends his time engaged in scientic $ursuits He is hel$ed in his e
later after having sailed around the world man! times and marries /ebeca (rsula turns them out of the house, but this does not sto$ them from living ha$$il! and well ‹+ose &rcadio is a good hunter and
after he usurps lands, they do not suffer for money‹until he is mysteriously killed. Colonel Aureliano Buendia The !ounger son of @ose #rcadio Duendia and (rsula -guaran #s a child he had dreams and $ortents; he is $ro$hetic until death He falls in love with /emedios Moscote when she is onl! nine !ears old and loses much of his emotion after her death -ntros$ective, studious, and resolutel! solitar!, he becomes the countr!9s most notorious rebel after the civil wars start 0ar has an irrevocable e
+onel! all her life, she has relationshi$s with her ne$hew and great)great)ne$hew that are tinged with incestuous feelings She receives a $reminition of death man! !ears before and dies $erfectl! $re$ared and $erfectl! at $eace Aureliano Jose The son of .olonel #ureliano Duendia and Filar Ternera He has an intensel! intimate relationshi$ with #maranta and wishes to marr! her -nstead, he Eoins his father and the rebel forces, onl! to desert later He is shot in the back b! a government soldier during an u$rising Arcadio The son of @ose #rcadio and Filar Ternera He is neglected throughout most of his childhood #fter .olonel #ureliano Duendia leaves to Eoin the civil war, he rules Macondo as a t!rant, enforcing the most arbitrar! rules he can come u$ with He tries to force Filar Ternera to go to bed with him; instead she introduces him to Santa Soa de la Fiedad, who bears him three children He is killed b! a ring squad when the +iberals lose the war Rebeca She shows u$ at the Duendia household m!steriousl! when she is eight !ears old, eating earth and bringing the insomnia $lague to Macondo The! raise her as one of their own daughters and she has an intense, lovehate relationshi$ with #maranta /ebeca is the more beautiful of the two and garners the attention of Fietro .res$i The! have a $erennial engagment, unconsummated for man! !ears, until she meets @ose #rcadio She marries @ose #rcadio and (rsula turns her out of the house in anger for this disres$ectful gesture #fter @ose #rcadio9s death, she barricades herself in her house and never comes out again Santa Sofa de la Piedad The mother of @ose #rcadio Segundo, #ureliano Segundo, and /emedios the Deaut!, and the common)law widow of #rcadio Strange and solitar! She is a tireless worker for the Duendia household for more than ft! !ears Then one da!, when it is clear to her that the Duendias are on the $ath to decline and cannot return, she sim$l! walks out of town and is never seen again
Jose Arcadio Segundo The son of #rcadio and Santa Soa de la Fiedad; twin of #ureliano Segundo The two bo!s seem to have their names and $ersonalities reversed, as @ose #rcadio Segundo is $ossessed of the same solitar! intros$ection as .olonel #ureliano Duendia #t rst he seems to be wild, working as a cockghter and then as the foreman of the banana $lantation, but he has a change of heart and becomes a union organizer He is dee$l! traumatized b! the massacre of banana workers and is the onl! $erson in town who remembers the event Defore he dies, he $asses his knowledge on to #ureliano Aureliano Segundo The son of #rcadio and Santa Soa de la Fiedad; twin brother of @ose #rcadio Segundo .ontrar! to the famil!9s $atterns, he inherits @ose #rcadio9s size and re$utation for carousing 0ith his dedicated mistress, Fetra .otes, he gives enormous $arties when his fortunes are good, and argues with his haught! wife, *ernanda del .ar$io #fter the rains, he is $oor, but he dedicates the rest of his life to raising enough mone! in order that his !oungest daughter, #maranta (rsula, can go to school in =uro$e Remedios the Beauty The daughter of #rcadio and Santa Soa de la Fiedad She has no $ersonalit! traits in common with the other Duendias; as such her fate is com$letel! di
Renata Remedios !Meme" The eldest daughter of #ureliano Segundo and *ernanda del .ar$io *earful of her mother9s wrath, she $ractices the hated clavichord with great intensit!; she is reall! a modern free s$irit who loves $arties and social gatherings She becomes friends with her father, $artiall! out of disdain for *ernanda, and rebels b! falling in love with Mauricio Dabilonia, a mechanic 0hen her mother discovers their love a
Studious and ercel! solitar!, he becomes the re$ositor! of @ose #rcadio Segundo9s tragic memories and s$ends most of his life locked in Melquiades9 old laborator!, tr!ing to deci$her the m!sterious $archments 0hen #maranta (rsula returns, he falls madl! in love with her and the! embark on a wild a
Duendia was lled with grief and remorse, so he $acked u$ and, with some willing !oung families, moved into the swam$ The! became the rst $eo$le to live in Macondo +ater in his life, @ose #rcadio Duendia and even (rsula are visited b! the ghost of Frudencio #guilar %on Aolinar Moscote #n amiable, ine
One Hundred Years of Solitude Themes Time *or the characters in the novel, time alternativel! moves quickl! and stagnates for !ears -n general, children grow u$ quickl!, but when the! are adults‹particularly the male adults‹time abandons them, leaving them t o sit with their own nostalgia and bitterness for !ears on end Time abandons .olonel #ureliano Duendia after the civil wars, and @ose #rcadio Segundo, both of them locked in Melquiades9 laborator!, refusing to Eoin the living, moving world -n her later !ears when (rsula considers her famil!, time a$$ears to be moving in a circle Bew children turn out to be like their ancestors, onl! horribl! e"aggerated in some :aw or strength Time is indeed moving in a circle in this book, but
instead of e"$anding outward it is colla$sing in on the Duendia famil! as their eventual demise draws closer Marquez9s $oint is that time moves in circles and c!cles, and $eo$le are not alwa!s $rogressing Solitude The words %solitude% or %solitar!% a$$ear on almost ever! $age of this novel Characters @ose #rcadio Duendia, #maranta, (rsula, #ureliano, @ose #rcadioSegundo))are left com$letel! alone, even forgotten, for !ears at a time Duendia men named #ureliano are said to have a %solitar!% air #nd the town itself is isolated and alienated from the outside world #t the ver! end of the book, the narrator concludes that the Duendias are a race condemned to solitude, and therefore the! will not get a second chance Marquez intends for the theme of solitude to be read in man! di
the world around them. 'Magic Realism' .ritics often classif! Marquez9s writing as %magic realism% because of his combination of the real and the fantastic The novel carefull! balances realistic elements of life, like $overt! and housecleaning, with outrageous instances, like a levitating $riest
There are man! $ur$oses of this One is to introduce the reader to Marquez9s .olombia, where m!ths, $ortents, and legends e"ist side b! side with technolog! and modernit! #nother reason for this is lead the reader to question what is real and what is fantastic, es$eciall! in the realm of $olitics -t is to force to question the absurdit! of our ever!da! lives Religion -n Solitude, organized religion is often the subEect of Eokes and satire One of the novel9s most uns!m$athetic characters, *ernanda del .ar$io, is a fervent .atholic who thinks nothing of $utting her own child in a convent and forgetting about her Macondo9s $riest, *ather Bicador, is trotted out again and again for comic relief -n general, organized religion is regarded with ske$ticism The characters who follow the $ath of God in an unconventional, but moral, wa!, like (rsula, are treated with more dignit! and res$ect Ci(ili&ation The novel follows the town of Macondo from its founding to its demise -n between, there is $ros$erit!, growth, war and civil strife, modernit! and $rogress, and a catacl!smic event that leads to its downfall and eventual demise Some critics have noted that the book also follows the traEector! of classical Greek civilization, with its careful recording of how and when science, art, and $olitics come to Macondo This contributes to Solitude9s a$$earance as a %total novel,% with ever!thing contained in it -t also contributes to Marquez9s overall vision of Macondo as a lens through which all human histor! and all human nature can be seen The Boo) o* #enesis *rom the ver! rst $aragra$h, the narrator gives readers the im$ression that Macondo is akin to the Garden of =den The $re$onderance of $lagues that the town su
Plagues #t least two denite $lagues come to MacondoC the insomnia $lague and the rains that last for almost ve !ears .ritics go back and forth on whether or not the invasion of the foreign businessmen constitutes a third $lague, although the! certainl! bring death and destruction with them The rst of these $lagues ver! nearl! causes Macondo to lose its memor!; the second of these $lagues brings about the eventual downfall of the town =ssentiall!, both $lagues are dangerous because the! $revent Macondo from sta!ing in touch with realit! and the world around them b! $lunging them into nostalgia and erasing the town9s memor! Politics The twisted and meandering world of $olitics is under a great deal of scrutin! in this novel, $articularl! the cha$ters that deal with .olonel #ureliano Duendia The world of $olitics is a gloom! one There is little di
.otes,#maranta (rsula‹are happier and more sympathetic than the women
who cling to society)s standards of behavior‹&maranta and "ernanda del !arpio. The fact that #ureliano Segundo9s cou$ling with Fetra .otes dramaticall! increases the $roliferation of his animals is a signal that free love can be health! for societ! at large
