OMG! What does he mean by “solitude”?
It is getting to be late in the summer and very few people have posted any replies or questions to the Blog. Max’s posting is one way to go, turning up a useful resource for all of us to use. A few others have done this as an examination of the blog’s contents will show. Another way to contribute is to post questions or theories.
In the hope of stimulating interesting questions or theories, I want to pose another challenge:
Ø Márquez uses the word “solitude” in his novel’s title. How often do examples of solitude come up in One Hundred Years of Solitude? Who experiences solitude? Does this question, “Who experiences solitude?” help to define possible interpretations of Márquez’ novel?
Ø Sometimes in this novel solitude has to do with age, but what other conditions lead to solitude and what other characters experience solitude?
Any students who have anything to say about solitude (questions or theories) should post here.
Monday, August 18, 2008
What does "Solitude" mean in this novel?
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1 comment:
Having come near to the end of the novel, it seems the theme of solitude is really more of a backdrop to a narrative whose most apparent importance is to address an exposure to modernity. I feel one can gain a more nuanced outlook on the value of Macondo's overarching and general isolation and solitude by the Buenidas' reaction to that solitude's undoing, and that one can deduce this solitude’s characteristics by framing it within the context of its antithesis, as embodied in such events or recurring elements as the gypsy band, the war, the banana company...
In any event to answer the questions Michael poses, I would say that without a doubt every character experiences solitude, as it is an innate part of their environment, an environment from which the Buenidas and others descend from, much like Adam and Eve’s Fall from ignorance, innocence and more literally Eden. I would in turn argue that an analysis of what it is that costs Macondo its paradise can lead to be a much more fruitful and clear way of exploring the pervading themes of the novel.
If nothing else, for me at least addressing this more endemic and wide spread solitude is a good jumping off point towards exploring the individuals more varied confrontation with solitude, such as Jose Arcadio Buenida’s (the elderly, in case it gets a bit confusing) insanity, or Amaranta’s loneliness.
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