Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Oceanic Irony
When answering the question for homework, which was: what Johnston says about the founding of Macando, Johnston makes the point that Macando was just a spontaneous decision to just stop at that point because they were tired and had yet to find the ocean. When I thought about that, I found it very ironic that the first thing that Jose Buendia found when trying to discover a path out of Macando was in fact, the ocean. If he had only gone a little farther, he would have found what he was looking at the beginning.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I don't think it is ironic at all actually. The ocean, a huge body of water, is important to civilization. It provides food and water that can be distilled to drink. It also provides a way for the people of that area to leave if they wish, and for new people from far away to arrive in the civilization. Macondo, like all early and successful civilizations, needed to be settled near a body of water. What is more full of life, power, adventure, uncertainty, and knowledge than Macondo? Similarly, what is more full of life, power, adventure, uncertainty, and knowledge than the Ocean itself? THe ocean mirrors and provides for Macondo, and Macondo embodies the ocean.
Jose I was trying to find a way out of Macondo and arrived at the ocean. All of the oceans are actually one body of water, so the ocean is the only thing that connects the entire world. Jose Arcardio had found exactly what he was looking for. The ocean is the highway of the world, it is a massive body of water that connects every part of the earth. That is where every invading force from outside Macondo came from. The ocean is the path out of Macondo.
Jaclyn:
While I genuinely like the positiveness in your comment, Macondo is actually founded near a river (freshwater), as suggested on Page 1: "At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones......" And Jose doesn't actually know where the ocean is until later on when he goes out looking for it. I do agree with the second part of your comment, Macondo is indeed as mysterious and magical as the ocean.
Post a Comment