Saturday, September 8, 2018
Exploring Mob Mentality in “One Hundred Year’s of Solitude”
“Mob mentality” is a well-known pyscological term; it simply refers to the tendency of individuals to act emotionally, rather than rationally, when in a large group. The people in the group feed off the energy of the “mob”— the others in the group — and often do terrible things that they would otherwise never do. Accordingly, many low points in human history are the result of mob mentality: slavery, the radical beliefs of the Nazi Regime, and modern day terrorism are a few examples. Though the term is never explicitly mentioned, mob mentality is evident throughout much of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Perhaps the best example is the One Thousand Day’s War. Many of those involved in the war quickly succumb to ruthless brutality, becoming so caught up in the “mob” of Liberal or Conservative ideology that they are willing to kill in cold blood— something most of them would likely never do without the pressure of their party. Another clear example of mob mentality is the disgraceful treatment of the Banana Company workers. Due to their inhumane working conditions, the workers of the Banana Company go on strike, demanding things that shouldn’t even have to be asked for: toilets, cleaner working conditions, and compensation that is usable everywhere, rather than just the company store. The response of the Banana Company is vicious: soldiers massacre thousands of the strikers and lawyers rule that the workers never even existed. No human being could do such unthinkable things without some sinister force driving them; this evil force is... mob mentality.
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4 comments:
Your insight into the psychology of the town during the 1000 days war and the evidence of mob mentality perfectly explains the behavior of the young men under the influence of the fake Doctor. None of them knew what they were fighting for when they joined his "secret society" of sorts, not even Aureliano. They simply craved action and wanted to lash out on the foreigners from the interior who invaded their town. They were willing to commit such radicle violence as killing whole families who were connected to politician, even children. A few months before this, they had no sense of the politics that went on in Colombia, nor did they really know when they agreed to fight for the doctor. The destructive nature of mob mentality, especially as shown in this instance in Macondo, sheds light how the formation of modern day terrorist groups came to be, and even foreshadows Colombia's La Violencia. Even though this book was written many years ago and specifically about Colombia, it gives us insights not only into modern day society, but for the entire world.
To elaborate a bit more on the psychology in 100 Years of Solitude: Marquez does give a taste of different psychological elements in this novel, for example, the insomnia plague (however it is depicted as a disease in this book and in the modern day is treated with correlation to a mental illness). Marquez also touches on Rebeca's anxiety causing her to eat dirt and whitewash, "mob mentality" as Bennett has now mentioned, and obviously the mental deterioration many characters experience that eventually leads them into solitude. I think Marquez uses this last element to show just how problematic humans can be and it makes the events that affect the town, like the war and massacre, that much more riveting. Obviously, without the limitless creativity of the mind, extraordinary aspects of life wouldn't be possible. But as we see with Remedios the Beauty, she was not the most present character throughout all the chaos in Macondo and it was a pretty confusing yet liberating death she experienced. Could it have been her oblivion to the chaos that allowed her happiness in contrast to Colonel Aureliano Buendia's heavy involvement in the society that ruined him? Is knowledge really power? Is ignorance really bliss? Does the human mind make or break society or vice versa? All of these are questions Marquez makes you wonder about throughout this novel for the town of Macondo and maybe even reflect on your own present-day life.
A cruel thing such as mob mentality in One Hundred Years of Solitude I agree is definitely a reason why the war began in the first place. Going back to the conversation between Colonel Gerineldo Marquez and Colonel Aureliano Buendia, we find out that Colonel Marquez is fighting for "for the great liberal party." Yet, Marquez never really states any other reason for his fighting. While it seems to be a good reason to fight, Marquez seems to be unknowingly giving himself up to mob mentality. Because of his passion for his party, Marquez fights alongside with other liberals. This passion goes back to what your post says about mob mentality. You state that most of the people fighting, such as Marquez, would likely not do that without the influence of their comrades. If you look at Aureliano, though, he is an exception to this rule. While Aureliano clearly fights for the side of the Liberals, leading them in the War in fact, he himself says that he only fights for his pride. Aureliano isn't a victim of mob mentality like a lot of the other characters who fight but he is instead free from the chains of that way of thinking.
In addition to Colonel Aureliano Buendia's psyche in the 1000 days war, Arcadio's cruel leadership during the war could be seen as another example of mob mentality. Arcadio's main intention was to genuinely protect Mocondo, but the power of his status corrupted him, causing him to become an immoral dictator. These acts of violence directly originated from his peers, who ultimately encouraged him to become this way. With his classmates, Arcadio gets excited as he sees himself as superior to them; when he's with them, he willingly performs immoral things in order to maintain his status. Arcadio however faces reality when he is confronted by Ursula, who ultimately puts him in his place. His classmates scatter due to Ursula's wrath, and we get a glimpse of who they really are: schoolchildren. If not for mob mentality, Arcadio wouldn't have had the courage to commit the acts of violence that he did.
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