Saturday, December 14, 2013

Reflecting and Such

To be honest, I don't think I have a favorite out of all the works we've read this semester. They've all just been so different in their styles, content, plots, themes, ect. and I've reacted to them all so differently  that I really can't pick out one particular work as my favorite. However, the one that really pops out at me is One Hundred Years of Solitude. 
First, it was the magical realism. When I first read One Hundred Years of Solitude, I really just thought the fantastic events were kind of ridiculous. "What the heck?" was my central thought while reading it over the summer. However, once we started learning about the historical events that accompany the fantastic events, all I could think of was how much of a genius Marquez is. His recount of the Banana Massacre- enough said. 
Primarily, it's the way in which he uses the novel to practically construct an identity for Latin America. I mean in the way he uses/combines war, religion, magical realism, style, and characters to just meld an entire region. He really blows my mind. That final line though. 
"...because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second oppurtunity on earth."

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I too enjoyed a lot of the stuff we read this year. My favorite thing we fully read would probably have to be Candide. I don't know why, but I really enjoy satires. Voltaire's humor, though often quite dark, is so ridiculous that I cannot help but laugh a little. He really makes some good points too. I agree with Brooke; after learning about some of the history surrounding a book, one can really understand and appreciate a book much more.