Marquez supports this claim in making the Banana Massacre play a role in his novel. He explains the dread and terror workers in Macondo, and comparatively, workers in Colombia had to endure in the 20th century when the United States, for the betterment of our economy, intervened by establishing plantations in Latin American countries. On these plantations, workers were exploited and clearly disrespected in their places of work. The Banana Massacre occurred, where workers on strike were murdered by not participating in their work, therefore respectably, refusing exploitation.
It is significant that even after a piece of literature like 100 Years of Solitude is written by such a profound author as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the public is persistent in turning the other cheek. The idea that people are mistreated so significantly seems so foreign to us in modern day, since it is no longer as present in our own "backyard" of Latin America. Instead, this exploitation, continued by U.S. companies and corporations, occurs overseas in countries like China, India, and Vietnam, where the American public eye can more easily be blinded. People work for next to nothing in conditions that are less than unstable. Children lose their lives daily in mines and machinery.
I hope by now, the general public, specifically in America, is sick of history repeating itself. For that reason, the education of Americans should be prioritized so that the reality and truth of American imperialism may be revealed. It is not a thing of the past.
1 comment:
After being touched by the banana massacre story told in One Hundred Years of Solitude, I too became very disappointed in the history of United States businesses being involved in poorer nations. I agree with Gabby in that Marquez used this scene to enlighten the public on what exactly is going on in Latin America and the poor treatment the citizens of those counties receive from powerful nations like the US and Spain. I think today with all the new social media available and people paying more attention to politics, the American public is realizing more and more of whats exactly going on in foreign counties and the disrespect they receive from big businesses who they work for. For example, many Nike factories in Taiwan have recently shut down because media outlets in the United States exposed them publicly for their poor wages and terrible treatment of the Taiwan workers. Nike did not want to lose any business, so they shut down their factory in order to relocate to a place where they can pay their workers more and have better conditions. This is just one way the public opinion has influenced the decisions of big corporations. Companies know that the people will boycott if they do not agree with their policies. I think this is what Marquez was trying to do with his novel. He wanted people all over the world to realize what is actually going on in his home company. He did this to bring about a change. He was partly successful in that many counties like the US are less involved in their economies and government, but there are many ways today where all of this awful working conditions in poor counties are a reality 50 years later.
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