"Because of His Grandma, Gabriel Garcia Marquez Knew Magic was Real"

I'm very fortunate that I had the chance to build strong relationships with many of my grandparents. They taught me valuable life lessons and shaped my view of the world. For the rest of my life, I'll carry their stories in my mind and their personalities in my heart.

I recently read an article detailing Marquez's relationship with his grandparents, with whom he lived for the first eight years of his life. After our class discussions, I'd learned that his grandparents shaped his writings, specifically One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I was unsure exactly how they did so.

HIS GRANDFATHER: Nicolas Marquez
At one point, he was an army colonel! (Colonel Aureliano Buendia, perhaps?)
He also was a jeweler and a tax collector.
According to author Gentile, "Nicolás taught Gabo about history, war, and the banana plantation that dominated the town." Marquez focuses on all three of these topics in One Hundred Years of Solitude.

HIS GRANDMOTHER: Tranquilina Iguarán
First of all, her name was Iguarán. Ursula's last name is the same.
Secondly, she helped the family financially by selling vegetables and homemade sweets. Ursula also sold homemade candy.
Apparently, Tranquilina anticipated doom quite frequently and took many steps to avoid it. Like Ursula, her superstitions often got the best of her.

In his memoir, Marquez implies that without his grandfather, he likely would've become lost in Tranquilina's magical view of the world. Still, Marquez points out that although he remained grounded in the realistic world, "his grandmother's world" was hard to resist.

In a sense, Marquez's style of magical realism was an attempt to blend Nicolas's and Tranquilina's outlooks into one, to reconcile them. Although Marquez only lived with his grandparents for eight years, their unique perspectives left a mark on Marquez--one that manifests itself in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Grandparents possess a special power; in Marquez's case, their influence lives on in a novel read and respected by millions.

Source:

"Because of His Grandma, Gabriel Garcia Marquez Knew Magic Was Real" by Olivia Gentile
http://grandparenteffect.com/because-of-his-grandma-garcia-marquez-knew-magic-was-real/

Jose Arcadio Buendia's Rejection of Magical Realism

Magical realism is an integral component of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez tells fantastical stories with what he calls a "brick face," and his characters respond nonchalantly to supernatural events. However, there is one notable exception: Jose Arcadio Buendia. Even at the beginning of the novel, he shows an interest in science. He wonders why and how the new technology that the gypsies bring works, and he experiments with alchemy. He even brings his son, Aureliano, into his scientific world.  Jose Arcadio Buendia gradually becomes more isolated from the rest of the town because he begins to reject supernatural (including religious) beliefs. The townspeople of Macondo are united in a way by their acceptance of the supernatural. For example, when Father Nicanor is preaching, he drinks chocolate and rises six inches off the ground. According to Marquez, "No one doubted the divine origin of the demonstration except Jose Arcadio Buendia" (82). Jose Arcadio Buendia is ostracized in the town for his interest in science, but also for his questioning of the supernatural. Eventually, the townspeople tie him to a tree because he is driven mad by his over-inquisitive nature. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, if you don't accept the unexplainable, you become isolated, like Jose Arcadio Buendia.

Drawing Parallels: Colombia and Venezuela

After class discussion regarding the status of Colombian economy and the trouble it endured throughout Colombian history, I immediately thought about the comparable crisis that is currently affecting Venezuela and their economy. In order to more clearly draw conclusions from the status of Colombian economy throughout their past, I took it upon myself to research the nature of Venezuela's struggle. I found that Venezuela's economic conflict is due, as much of Colombia's past issues have been due, to corruption in the country's government.
To provide a bit of an overview of the strife that Venezuela is going through, I'd like to reflect on the beginnings of the economic crisis, which began due to the government spending too much money on welfare. Just as Colombia faced periods of peace before additional downfalls, Venezuela developed a similar pattern with governmental leaders not considering the longevity of their economy or the
satisfaction of their people.
Venezuela’s crisis began due to Former-President Hugo Chávez. The general public initially adored Chávez due to the social programs he began in order to reduce inequality and poverty in Venezuelan society.  Unfortunately, however, the funds he allocated to such a cause came from the wealth that oil reserves provided for the country. When the price of oil declined rapidly in 2014, Chávez’s predecessor, Nicholás Maduro, found a hole in Venezuelan economy and was forced to cut back on welfare. Also, in 2003, the Chávez administration placed limits on who was able to buy U.S. dollars.  Since so many Venezuelans were not able to buy USD, the black market thrived with the purchase of dollars, since they held higher value than Venezuelan currency, just as it flourished and continues to flourish in Colombia as the economy thrives on illegality due to drug cartels. Due to the prosperity of the black market, inflation of the Venezuelan currency heightened during the Chavez administration as yet again drawing a parallel, inflation heightened through the black market's success in Colombia. 
Article I referred to: www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36319877.

Macondo's Old Ways and Moderndity

In class, we had a group discussion on how Macondo is portrayed in within the first few chapters. The story opens up with a supposed discovery of ice which shows that there is evidence of underdevelopment within the society. Not only that, but the book also presents readers with socialistic/communistic ideas and the book shows characters such as Jose Arcadio Buendia and Malquiades pursuing the study of alchemy. Also, Jose Arcadio Buendia is upset by the arrival of the Mascotes especially when Don Mascote thinks that every house should be painted blue. Jose Arcadio Buendia in this sense is refusing government intervention and wants nothing but for Macondo to remain the way it already was. However, this does not happen. Macondo changes due to many factors such as the Liberal and Conservatives conflict, the church, and the banana company, all of which is a result of Macondo not staying true to its roots and becoming one with the idea of modern society.

Penny Dreadful and One Hundred Years of Solitude

In a show called Penny Dreadful, the characters have all taken actions in the past that they now regret. They try to hide from their pasts, but they can’t. They have to face their demons, which in some cases, are literal demons. The members of the Buendia family are unable to hide from their past as well. Victor Frankenstein is a charter in Penny Dreadful, and, as he does in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, he creates his creature. He tries to run from it and ignore its existence, also like in the book. The creature acts as the ghost of Prudencio did in One Hundred Years of Solitude; it’s a constant reminder of past actions. Frankenstein also creates a new creature who is more human like. He tries to escape the past and his past creation through this new one, but the first creature (SPOILER) murders the second one; there’s no escaping the past. Frankenstein is driven mad by the first creature’s constant appearances and harmful actions against his friends, as well as his obsession with his work and using his power of creation. This reminds me of Jose Arcadio Buendia; he too was haunted by his past actions, by the ghost of Prudencio. He was driven mad by his obsession with gaining knowledge. Jose is tied to the tree as a symbol for eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and Victor too crossed a line with god by giving himself the power to create life.

Liberals vs. Conservatives.

After having written One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was able to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. The book itself was written in 1967 and tells the story of the rise and fall of the civilization of Macondo and also the decline of the Buendias. As he wrote the story, Marquez was pulling several factors from his life and incorporating them into the story. One such important factor was the history of the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Marquez strongly used political outlook when writing One Hundred Years of Solitude. In the story there exists a war between Liberals and Conservatives as well as a company, known as the banana company, taking over the civilization. The conflict of Liberals and Conservatives is highly influenced by the actual conflict between Liberals and Conservatives at the time to control the government in Latin America. Liberals wished to get rid of the dominance of the catholic church, the social structure of classes, and slavery while Conservatives believed that changing the government to fit the wants of the Liberals would cause not only chaos but social disorder. This would effect Columbia's government strongly because in 1958, the National Front Regime was introduced.

The National Front Regime lasted from 1958 to 1974. The goal of The national front regime was to merge the Conservative and Liberal governments by rotating their power for 16 years. Every four years, the Conservatives and Liberals switched their power. This would also divide seats equally in the cabinet, national legislature, provincial assemblies, and municipal councils. Howver, because of a lack of adequate equal participation in the government for both parties, the National Front Regime faded out in 1974.

One Hundred Years of Solitude and A Series of Unfortunate Events

We learned that the voice of Gabriel García Márquez’s grandmother heavily influenced his writing style. He chose to talk about magical events as if they were normal. This reminds me of A Series of Unfortunate Events, particularly the tv series. Violet’s inventions, which border on magic, are accepted as nothing out of the ordinary. The baby sister communicates in noises and can chew just about anything, even rocks. The narrator speaks with a monotone voice and an emotionless face. He’s very matter-of-fact, even when talking about horrible or unrealistic events. Also, the story is told in such a way that doom is inevitable. The end is already solidified, and there’s no chance for the children’s happiness. The reader is warned many times to not keep reading/watching. This reminds me of the ending prophecy in One Hundred Years of Solitude; the end of the whole family was written and set in place the entire time. There’s also a bigger force at work in the series; there’s a secret society that had had a hand in many of the events that take place. This too relates to the idea of inescapable fate. A Series of Unfortunate Events is also cyclical; the children are forced to move from one house to the next as Count Olaf follows them and repeatedly tricks their oblivious caretakers. This is like the Buendia family’s cycle of members coming and going, being born and dying. Lastly, like the characters in One Hundred Years of Solitude, the children in A Series of Unfortunate Events are desperately trying to escape. Their parents died and they spend their lives thereafter trying to find peace and escape Count Olaf, who, much like Jose is obsessed with knowledge, is obsessed with gaining their fortune. The Buendia family is trying to escape their past and fate as well.