In yesterday's discussion, we focused a lot of attention on Macondo and its development throughout the novel. Initially, Macondo is described as a paradise; its simplicity and blissful ignorance contributes to its desirability. However, as we see, little by little the city loses its element of perfection due to interactions with outsiders. Outsiders bring new technology and concepts, such as government and organized religion, which alter the mindsets of Macondians (?) and deflect their attention off of simple, everyday tasks and onto more complex, modern innovations.
Therefore, ultimately, it is the the arrival of foreigners and their thoughts that leads to the downfall of Macondo. The only way Macondo could have held on to its initial state of utopia was if the city was isolated; no one could enter Macondo and no one could leave either. However, for the city to remain isolated, its members would have to lack a sense of inquisitiveness and essentially become monotonous, simple minded beings. For, if they felt even the slightest yearning for a life beyond the walls of their city or knowledge deeper than what's required for everyday tasks, someone would act upon their intuition and leave. So, it basically boils down to two options: either Macondo's residents could be unstimulated, dreary individuals and Macondo could be preserved or Macondo's residents could be inquisitive and Macondo will ultimately be doomed. Neither option is appealing, which leads to a more important question, which was brought up in The Unbearable Lightness of Being as well: can there really be a true paradise if so much is sacrificed and destroyed to attain it?
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2 comments:
You're right about Macondo and what it would take for the village to retain its utopian society. And though José Arcadio Buendía is the designated leader of Macondo, he is the most stimulated, most inquisitive character of them all which contrasts with the remote village he and Ursula founded. He built Macondo, he shaped it into a near perfect society. But he couldn't stop there and the town José Arcadio Buendía built for his people and for his family was not enough for the scientist, or better yet the alchemist, inside him. I don't think Macondo could have become what it did without José's innovative ideas and aspirations, that much i think is true. Even so, those ideas and aspirations also contributed to Macondo's fall, along with the political, social and spiritual interferences from the outside.
I also think the notion of paradise is very important and interesting in One Hundred Years of Solitude. The edenic way that Macondo is described at the beginning of the novel is impossible to ignore, and the story is in many ways about the fall of this paradise. This discussion of paradise raises some interesting points. I'm not sure if the downfall of Macondo from this state of paradise is attributable solely to the pursuit of knowledge. The character of Macondo only truly changes truly changes after Ursula opens up the town to outsider, as Marquez even notes in the text as we pointed out, but this isn't a direct result of pursuit of knowledge or technology. The outside influences of government and religion, for example, also contribute to Macondo's downfall. As an allegory for humanity, which I think is a relevant way to consider the story in this discussion, I don't think Marquez points to a specific issue that causes the downfall of Macondo or humanity. Throughout the book, the closest thing that comes to paradise for many characters is a state of contented solitude, as Colonel Aureliano finds for example, but I don't think this constitutes a true paradise either.
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