Reflection on One Hundred Years of Solitude

When I first started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, I didn't think I was going to like it; I found the constant character introduction annoying and the indifferent manner with which Marquez described the events tedious. After I read further into the novel, however, I realized that I actually enjoyed the chaotic story of the Buendia family. Though I still find his writing style annoying, I think it was a decent book overall.

The Tin Drum in The Tin Drum

Probably the most obviously symbolic single thing in The Tin Drum is Oskar's drum itself--it just has no reason to exist except as a metaphor, since nobody actually walks around beating on a tin drum day in and day out.  It is not obvious, though (at least to me), what it actually represents, so I'll take a stab at interpreting it.  Oskar uses the drum to bring up memories by evoking the sounds of what happened, so it possibly represents a connection to the past.  However, the drum is also used, for example at the rally, to influence people and make them "march in step"--which, if I'm not just over-thinking this, is definitely in keeping with the events of the novel, id est the Third Reich.  I don't really see a strong connection between these two: the drum as a metaphor for memory is more explicitly stated in the novel, but I don't see how it ties in with the historical elements of the book; meanwhile, I see complicity as a strong theme of the novel, but I find it hard to find a workable correlation between the two.  Any ideas?

Finally Coming Full Circle

Towards the end of the documentary we watched yesterday, the narrator stated, "...a collection of people without a common cause." Frankly, I can't remember if he was referring to Colombia, Latin America, or the Buendia family, but truthfully, I don't think it matters. I believe this quote applies to all three. In my previous post, I had talked about how I viewed each Buendia as living within their own individual solitude. Even though the entire family is secluded, I view each family member as also being secluded from each other. Although I had realized this, I didn't quite grasp why or for what purpose.  However, when the narrator said "...a collection of people without a common cause," everything completely clicked for me, like an epiphany.
We've talked about how Macondo is a metaphor for Colombia. Now I think the Buendia family, or at least aspects of it, is a metaphor for all of Latin America. The family is a bunch of secluded individuals who continuously make the same mistakes, never learning from the Buendias who came before them. Each have different goals. Whether it be Arcadio and his obsessive need for power and order. Whether it be Colonel Aureliano Buendia and his failed initiative to bring down the corrupt Conservative party. Or Jose Arcadio Buendia and his endless pursuit for practical knowledge. The family never quite is in sync with each other. Just as Mrs. Quinet pointed out that Latin America was never in sync during the post-colonial period. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as well as other Latin Americans, attempted to give Latin American its own identity. Their problem? It didn't have a obvious identity. They had no common cause.  They were a melting pot of idgenious peoples, Europeans, and international imperialist/traders. They worked against each other, instead of along side each other.
Maybe this is why Garcia Marquez and so many other artists turn to magical realism to give Latin America an identity. As we saw in the documentary, this magic is ingrained in everyday life throughout all of Latin America. Maybe that is their "common cause."

Destruction and Creation in The Tin Drum

One of the major motifs I noticed reading The Tin Drum was that of the creative aspect of Oskar, chiefly represented by his drumming, and the destructive aspect of his screaming.  He makes the comparison several times in the book: the Devil keeps telling him to shatter the windows in the church and he talks extensively about Goethe, a refined, scholarly figure, and Rasputin, a figure of excess and lust.  I suppose for Grass the years the novel describes, between 1920 and around 1952, might have seemed like a balance between the destructive and creative powers of Germany, with the creative ability demonstrated by the flourishing of science and culture in the Weimar republic (during some of, for example, Richard Strauss' and Heisenberg's most productive years), the German recovery after the Great Depression and, later, the Wirtschaftswunder, and the destructive power demonstrated, of course, by World War II.

Inception: Solitude within Solitude within Solitude

The most puzzling aspect of 100 Years of Solitude to me is the metaphorical meaning/usage of solitude. Literally I understand the use of solitude in the novel. Several of the characters seclude themselves after dealing with traumatic events. For example, Rebeca withdraws from society after the death of her husband, Jose Arcadio. I personally am not a widow, but I can see how loosing a spouse would lead a person to withdraw. However, the deeper meaning of solitude in the novel is not quite as clear to me. Miranda pointed out to me that essentially all of the Buendias die alone or in solitude. This rather depressing observation got me thinking about the cyclical nature of the Buendia family. Frankly, I find it rather frustrating how members of the Buendia family constantly make the same mistakes as their family members. For example, you'd think they would have eventually figured out the whole incest issue. Nope. They continue to reproduce with siblings, cousins, ect. until they finally pop out a kid with a pigs tail. Why can't they just learn from each other's mistakes? I mean, they basically have a collective memory. Did various mistakes and consequences just not make the collection?

Essentially the Buendia family faces its 100 years of solitude, until eventually they become extinct. However, maybe within the entire family's solitude, each Buendia lives within their own solitude. As Miranda pointed out, they essentially all die alone. Maybe they simply can't learn from each other's mistakes because they are prevented by their own personal seclusion.

This theory makes me question the overall "collectiveness" of the family. Yes, they appear to share memories. Yes, they share names like it's nobody's business. And yes, they share their own special, incestuous blood. Aside from these common threads, the family really only has one thing holding them together- Ursula. Each Buendia lives such diverse lives (except when various brothers decide to share lovers) that there's really no significant common thread. As we talked about in class, they're connected by the glue that is Ursula, at least until her death.
I mean, I don't seem to recall any mention of Buendia family Scrabble nights.

Cycles of Morals

One of the major themes that we have discussed in One Hundred Years of Solitude is the cyclical nature of history. When talking about the linear progression of Macondo versus the cyclical nature of the Buendia family, I thought about the progression of technology all over the world versus the cycle of values that many cultures are experiencing. While many societies are becoming more progressive, some are trying to revert back to their non-secular and moralistic roots. For example, when Ataturk founded the Republic of Turkey, he envisioned a secular and modern nation. Soon it was named the 17th largest economy and was one of the most diverse places in the world. Recently, however, the Turkish government have begun to implement more conservative policies, causing many to fear that the country is moving away from its secular, modern roots and toward an Islamic state. Bizarrely, one sign of this movement that angered many was the announcement of Turkish Airline's decision to implement a more modest uniform for its workers. Many see this shift toward modesty and Islamic values is regression, not progression.

Russia has also experienced a change in its values that can seen as a regression toward more conservative values on the issue of gay rights. In June, Vladimir Putin put into effect a law that would ban any "gay propaganda," which effectively puts talking of homosexuality on a similar level to that of pedophilia. In Russia, instead of surveys showing increasing gay acceptance such as in most of the world, gay acceptance has decreased since even 10 years ago. Many fear this movement toward more conservative values will hurt its standings with the rest of the modern, progressing world, even going as far as to protest the 2014 Olympics being held there.

Here's an article with the pictures of the Turkish Airlines uniforms if you'd like to see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/world/europe/new-uniforms-for-turkish-airlines-create-uproar.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Throughout One Hundred Years of Solitude, we see much of the Buendia family’s traditions and fears contrast much of society's fears and traditions. Instead of moving out after marriage, the Buendias extend their house to include the growing family. Ursula struggles to accept any of her family member’s departure. Most of the Buendias are afraid of leaving Macondo and would prefer isolating themselves inside the comfort of the original home. One of my biggest fears, and most of society’s, is never moving out of my parents house. For us, it is traditional to move out and start our own families in our own house. The Buendias continue to live together throughout generations. As the family grows the house grows, which contributes to their inevitable isolation.