Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan Title: In Their Shoes: Role Playing
Teachers' Names: Ms. L. Murphy & Mrs. N. Goodlow-Walker
Grade: 12th
Subject: Literature Activities

Goals:
1. Students will learn to go beyond the text to find the subliminal messages or underlying meanings of the author who portrays his/her characters.
2. Students will come to understand why a certain character made the decision they did in a particular event in the novel.
3. Students get the chance to experience the type of pressure or feelings that the character may have had by being placed in the same predicament of the scene, to act it out either in accordance to what was already done or in a way they believe would have been more appropriate for the given factors i.e. time period, environment, consequences, etc.
Objectives:
1. Pupils will be assigned a given character after being placed in groups.
2. After five - ten minutes of researching they will choose a passage from the novel that includes their character to analyze and reenact.
3. Students will be given 15 minutes afterwards to decide whether what actually took place was what was best for the character first and then for those who were affected as well. 4. Each group will present their views and motives as evidence and then act out their incident.
Materials:
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Knowledge after it being read)
2. Notebook and Pen
3. Thinking Caps and an Imagination : )
Introduction:
1. Get into groups of threes or fours.
2. Assign tasks after a character is given to evaluate e.g. the searcher - one who finds the text, the writer - one who jots down notes for the presentation, and finally the leader - one who designates parts in the revision of the occurrence, keeps everyone on task making sure the duties are completed, introduces the group and the process/steps taken for them to draw their conclusions.
Development:
1. After everyone has their jobs, the group together, though inputting individual thoughts, gathers information from prior information known and the book itself.
2. A passage is then chosen with relevance to a subject that may touch on a theme that, in the group’s eyes, made the character act the way they did.
Practice:
1. Reasons are written for why that passage was picked and why the group agreed or disagreed with what was done.
Independent Practice:
1. A plan is drawn up of how to approach applying the implications from the critiquing of the segment selected.
Accommodations:
1. Make sure that things are the way you all want them to be and that the general idea will come across.
Checking For Understanding:
1. Give a brief background of the character so the class can maybe get an idea of why the character made the decision they did and why you all feel it was right or wrong.
Closure:
1. Act out your presentation with enthusiasm and heart as if it were your life story and not the character themselves so your audience can feel, learn and experience the journey with you.
2. Concise synopsis is given, then questions can be asked by your peers and then you all can finally take a bow after a day of hard work and a job well done.
Evaluation:
1. The students will have met the criteria for their determined topic of portraying the character in their natural (agreed) or supposed (disagreed) light. They will be graded at this point consistent with the passage chosen, the thoroughness of the scrutinizing of the character, proof of what was learned, and quality of presentation (acting), according to the rubric below.
Teacher Reflections:
Students will be commended for their efforts and given pointers and suggestions on how to approach assignments such as this in relevance to the work studied for the time being.

Lesson Plan Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Date: March 28, 2007
Grade: 12th
Teacher(s): Miss L. Murphy and Mrs. N. Goodlow- Walker

Content:
This lesson contains a different way of learning. The crossword puzzle is being utilized with hints based off characters and other aspects of the story. This process is a more fun way of learning about details in the novel instead of being dispassionate about the novel through reading.
Overview:
This crossword puzzle can be beneficial in the future because it highlights details of the novel that may be present in a future quiz or test.
Goals:
The main goal is to help prepare the students to comprehend the story and pass the overall assignment dealing with the novel to the best of their ability.Standards: The quality of the work should be done with diligence and effort. All that is required of the student is to research the answers in the book and note if the student has read the book will not be necessary.
Objectives:
(1) Be able to comprehend complex literature.
(2) The ability to utilize the information they have learned and apply the concepts to other literature to make the text simpler.
(3) To prepare the student for college level reading.
Materials:
(1) One Hundred Years of Solitude By: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(2) Pen (Blue or Black) or Pencil
Procedure:
First, the worksheet is to be handed out and the students are allowed to use their books. (Even though, it is preferable for the student not to use the book because they are suppose to know the material.)
Teacher Reflection:
Students will be reminded of textual facts while having fun simultaneously.
Evaluation:
Students will be graded upon their accuracy for the worksheet.
Lesson Plan Title: Information Gained from One Hundred Years of Solitude
Teacher Name: Ms. Murphy & Ms. Goodlow-Walker
Grade: 12th
Subject: Literature Activities
Content:
This lesson contains a conventional way of learning. The conventional process of teaching through technology. The students have the ability to read major details on the story that may be helpful in passing the quiz or test.
Goals:
The main goal is to help the student prepare for exams and aid with study skills.
Objectives:
(1) Be able to understand and comprehend Literature.
(2) Encourage Reading by highlighting major details.
Materials:
Computer with web access One Hundred Years of Solitude Book
Introduction:
The procedure is simple, the student will go online to the blog called V-solitudelp.blogspots.com and the details will be on the site, including discussion questions, activities, and maybe even quizzes that the teacher may or may not decide to post.
Teacher Reflection:
Students will be reminded of what's on a need to know basis as far as what was gained after reading the text for the final from the powerpoint.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Annotated Bibligraphy

A Green Thought in a Green Shade
Book World - Chicago Tribune - Chicago, Ill.
Review Author: Paul West
Date: Feb 22, 1970
P4 Section 9

Johnston, Ian. "On Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude." Liberal Studies 402, Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, 28March. 1995.
http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/introser/marquez.HTM

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance (1841). Courtesy of http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_solitude.html

Ralph Waldo Emerson:
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great person is one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

LECTURE OR PUBLIC ADDRESS: Cite the speaker's name, followed by the title of the lecture (if any), the organization sponsoring the lecture, the location, and the date.

AUTHOR WITH A TRANSLATOR Begin with the name of the author. After the title, write "Trans." (for "Translated by") and the name of the translator.

Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site .

Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

ARTICLE IN A DAILY NEWSPAPER: Begin with the name of the author, if known, followed by the title of the article. Next give the name of the newspaper, the date, and the page numbers (including the section letter). Use a plus sign (+) after the page number if the article does not appear on consecutive pages.

SHORT WORK FROM A WEB SITE: Short works are those that appear in quotation marks in MLA style: articles, poems, and other documents that are not book length. For a short work from a Web site, include as many of the following elements as apply and as are available: author's name; title of the short work, in quotation marks; title of the site, underlined; date of publication or last update; sponsor of the site (if not named as the author or given as the title of the site); date you accessed the source; and the URL in angle brackets.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Reflections

Essay #1
Pt 1: One Hundred Years of Solitude has been a very, very interesting book to read. I admit it did start slow but it surely picked up and made up for what it may have lacked from the go. All of a sudden, it commenced with a beginning that grabbed you as if you had been reading pages before it or that there was a prequel book that hadn't been published. That could either draw the reader more in to wanting to read or start the confusion. One could think where did these characters from and how did their settings come about because there's no background or introduction given. Even if that doesn't catch your eye than maybe the actions of the characters and the repetition of names would because according to me it did. These characteristics of the book made me read, then re-read out of disbelief or either clarification. Once I believed that the book had reached its high point with all the characters to the point where nothing else crazy or bad could happen anymore than it already had, the novel seemed to amaze me, making the characters climax over and over again, bringing something totally new but cyclical at the same time...weird. The information of the themes given before hand were very helpful without giving too much of the story line's essence away. The author really does have a creative mind and more and more I realize how literal the title of the book is as the backbone and heart of this Nobel prize winner. All I wonder now is where do we go from here and what could the ending be like? Open for the reader to make the decisions as to where the characters end up or does everyone die and no one live happily ever after...guess I'll just have to stay tuned for more drama, chaos and plenty of SOLITUDE! : ) 3/16/07

Pt. 2: Wow is an understatement that serves this novel justice with as many twists and turns that it had having been gyrated around solitude. I knew from the beginning that it would be interesting, definitely different but not like this. I had doubts but as a reader it placed me in solitude as well and I think for a book to have such an imapct on its audience is a great thing even if it wasn't the author's intent. I felt for the characters and felt sometimes that I, myself, lived in Macondo with the gang. In the end it was worth it and my theory above was proven correct. Kudos to Gabo! : ) 3/28/07

Essay #2
Problem Solution
Why does Solitude exist so highly throughout the novel?
I think it's related to identity as far as people can't find themselves, so in search of whatever they may be looking for, they descend to all the characteristics that make them terrible people on a whole. They look up and down all around town and upset that their desires aren't fulfilled or as they may have expected, they trap themselves in solitary confinement as if it's a safe haven. If they really took the time to explore alternatives, think positive and rationally, they can maturely make the best of any situation so it can be used to their advantage. In some way or another they're hiding from the truth living a lie through the lives of others. It's all right to use the advice of others and even pick up advice or learn from them but standing in their shoes knowing it's impossible for them to fit is just OBSCENE and OBNOXIOUS. It's good though that his solitude is present because it gives the book a purpose and it drives it. It carries the characters along even if it's down a dead-end road. Hopefully they get themselves together, very quick fast and in a hurry...but then again it keeps the book "juicy" so to speak so...Keep It Goin'! : ) 3/19/07

Essay #3
Connections
It’s ironic that we, Ms Brown’s AP English Class, previously finished reading Song of Solomon that contains themes, according to the characters actions, that are parallel to those in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Lack of Identity, Solitude, Fate/Destiny and Pursuit of Freedom/Happiness were key in both of the novels.
For example the majority of the Buendia family (male or female) had the tendency to follow the exact if not very close patterns of the generation before them because of name similarity. I will give them credit some characteristics of individuals were unique and different than seen before but that could only go so far. It was so repetitious, not so much because of names but from their actions that could have been compared over time and shown no variance, proving lack there of for an identity. I can’t really whether things repeated themselves because the blood line wanted it that way or if it was actually something in the genes that compelled them to be the way they were that was so much the same. A family’s name does say a lot in itself, for instance, when you hear the name Goodlow you think intelligent, graceful, and ambitious…J, so to speak, making it evident the point that it (a last name) carries some type of substance, no uncertainty about it, but there was not one of the members, born under the name Buendia, that stood out from the rest as a true individual. Like the Buendias, Milkman in Song of Solomon searched and searched for the answer of who he was even by going back into his past like the last Aureliano. All he knew was what he heard and reacted to in agreement because of not knowing any other way. Without him knowing, he was so different and special, though as being apart of a family, possessed traits of his mother, father, and even his aunt, Pilate. He and the Buendias had so much to contribute from their own feelings, values and morals whether they were positive or negative. Their opinion was imperative, in their words and none replicated by another, because you never know what kind of impact you could make that would change the future.
No matter what type of person they were, their lives always revolved around solitude because they were alone either by rejection, of not being understood or appreciated, or by choice. Guitar, though he had the Seven Days, was alone in his outlandish militant ways. Regardless of the fact that he and Milkman had been friends since forever, his needs ended up coming first and they made them grow apart and become placed on separate paths going in opposite directions that eventually would cross again but with bad intents in mind. It means nothing that one hides or acts as if things are all right, the truth will show and the consequences from them will have to be dealt with. In his case, he did anything to prove that his cause was really out of compassion for HIS people, even if it meant killing his dear comrade. His solitude and demons within drove him crazy just as it did Colonel Aureliano Buendia. Once he understood what he had (the wars) weren’t as sweet as he believed them to be, nothing felt as good anymore like when Guitar realized Milkman wasn’t who he thought he was. It took the life from him as well as his hope, so all he had, according to his belief, was a chance to surrender by backing into that corner, unchanged in his ways, locked out from the world outside his door, to be forlorn.
After all, it was their fate right? Their destiny was inevitable? Who were they but the people actually living the lives to actually alter them at their own cost? The characters in either masterpiece didn’t really have as much faith in themselves to make Lancelot victories in their own existences let alone the societies around them. How could anyone expect them to be the rational who spoke what needed to be said courageously so things would be better when they couldn’t even decide whether incest was wrong because believed true love was at stake or if killing was wrong because it would be done for the greater good of the survival of an entire race. Those answers, as well as deciding to be the determiner of one’s fate, were easy to discover because no complex research was necessary. Pronounce a goal, find your niche and stick with it. It’s fine to stumble along the way but making the choice to get up after you make a mistake is the way to make your fate be known, first to yourself and others as really in your hands so it’ll go forward to bring optimistic commodities.
Lastly, a person is emancipated and happy through succumbing to doing what is right in accordance to their heart. Avoid listening to desires that can steer you wrong or peer pressure or fear of appearing unlike the past. You are your own, living for you while respecting and loving all like Pilate and the Aurelianos when they would visit Macondo. Their ashes made them unique but everyone didn’t understand so they were wrongfully persecuted, but in the eyes of God who knew how they lived their lives with no shame, on a mission to just do their best, He wouldn’t complain. How could He be mad at someone like Pilate who put there all forth and really tried by any means even putting others first like Petra Cotes did toward Fernanda by continuing to give her food. The truth really does set you free so JUST DO IT! 3/27/07

Monday, March 5, 2007

Themes

Chapter 1

Solitude

- Jose Aracadio Buendia is willing to go against the world for his beliefs, even if it consists of him being backed into a corner, a predicament he’s fine with at least for the time being. In order to be seen as correct, in the eyes of himself above all, the consequences, neither here nor there, don’t cross his mind though he has all the time, while alone, to think about the way his actions affect others besides just him. Reference: “having completely abandoned his domestic obligations…” p. 4

- Melquiades, like his becoming friend, Jose Arcadio Buendia, is mostly alone not so much by choice but more so because people tend to avoid or fear what they don’t understand, so as a gypsy it was only evident that the people of Macondo would stay out of his path. This rare uniqueness is what I think drew Melquiades and Jose Arcadio Buendia together besides their passion for the future/unexplored and science.

- The appearance of the Spanish galleon is unusual. It is a space of solitude and oblivion protected from time. It makes Jose Arcadio Buendia lose faith just as his solitude makes his family and the people of his town lose faith in him. Interesting!

Religious References and Plagues

- The two above are frequently mentioned and obscenely interjected having not really formed significance yet but stand out as something that will come to play a part throughout the novel.

Chapter 2

Solitude

- It is seen early how much the characters will come to yearn for solitude or end up having it even if they don't ask for it. Too many wrong turns are made and it this case it won't make a right. Efforts had to be made to avoid abandonment from others and themselves so they'll have an identity, being one strong enough and able to say exactly who they are. Not a duplicate though the name may be unchanged.

Chapter 3

Change

- It was coming about so fast for Macondo as a whole. Things were just getting worse and worse. More and more they had to adapt to actions made, but the detriment thing was that they didn't know how to react toward them. It's all right, I can't express it enough, to mess up once, but two and three times or more is just ridiculous.

Chapter 4

Self-Piety

– steered both Rebeca and Aureliano toward solitude for lose of what they felt they needed to survive. Because of it they understood each other. It would remain this way until life is regained through those wants and desires being met.

Thirst for Life

– it seems so powerful that it drives not only the living but the dead as well. “After many years of death, the yearning for living was so intense, the need for company so pressing, so terrifying the nearness of that of that other death which exists within death…” p. 84

Chapter 5

Exodus

– Jose Arcadio like other men in the novel, went away for a long time of most likely self-journey and finally had returned home in this chapter.

Social Skills

- Oddly, though most of the time speaking English, the characters don't understand each other or really know how to communicate. If this is difficult, of coarse when Jose Arcadio Buendia begins to speak giberish (Latin) that not many, except the father, understand makes things even more complicated. Everyone need to calm down and make considerate gestures toward everyone so they can come to understand their environment more.

Chapter 6

Obsession

- No matter what, they were given into, they along with their friend Torment won in the end. It seemed as if defeatism was inevitable and for a Buendia it probably was.

Chapter 7

Death

- Death has struck the Buendia family hard, back-to-back, showing no mercy. They have either been through war, through mystery, through love/grief, or through solitude.

Identity

- No one, thus far has proven to be a leader so to speak by standing on their own two feet and being who they want to be without major influence. They've all lived through others' actual experiences or their names. All I, as the reader, can do is sit back and wait until someone takes charge.

Solitude

- Many of the characters place themselves in solitary mode rather than being mislead and strayed away from by the world. They push themselves into close-knit corners with no other interaction because of the actions and decisions they've made. If solitude isn't a punishment/consequence for actions, then it's a way out.

Premonition

- Throughout the book people have been forewarned to be careful of what they are destined for to be their fate. "Watch out for your mouth." p. 148

Chapter 8

Incest

- Apparently, not too many of the characters got the memo about not dating siblings or family members close or distant. Loneliness drew many of them, even the thought that it was truly love, into the relationships they made with no thought of turning back. In this chapter Amaranta begins a fling (no intercourse though) with her nephew(YUCK), Aureliano Jose. She knew it wasn't a good idea but she was lost in her wants and temptation. In the end she knew what decision needed to be made, but in the midst she hurt herself and him, causing only more sorrow like she experienced with Pietro Crespi.

Family

- The strength of the family is constantly being tried and tested and for the most part has failed. If through the worst, they could stick together and hold each other up, maybe the mistakes wouldn't be made let alone for the second time.

Chapter 9

War

- Since chapter 6, this theme has been the most affective. It has changed people, taken them away from their families and responsibilities, and even killed them for reasons they can't explain.

Solitude

- The soul that drives this novel may hop on the back-burner every now and again but never ceases to exist. It makes people stand in the way of themselves, trapped in what they believe might happen. Amaranta wept over her solitude and Colonel Gerineldo Marquez, lost in the war, became solitude as well. They become afraid of what they are capable of doing. It concludes that the only thing to fear is fear itself and as your fear being yourself, you are your greatest enemy, a threat to your prosperity.

Chapter 10

Plagues

- They reappear causing mischief as they always do. This time, out of no where, the animals of Aureliano Segundo begin to reproduce rapidly, which gives him the feeling of having struck a gold mind. There were thousands of rabbits, plenty of cows, dozens of pigs and an entire farm. His fortune seemed as if it had no end, but once you get reach your pick no where else to go besides if you stay there, is down.

Determination

- A burst of Determination had struck Macondo hitting Ursula in finally deciding to make right the disaster that had been brought to her family's name, and Jose Arcadio Segundo who keeps up his great-grandfather's plans of Upgrading Macondo by showing that his imagination exists.

Chapter 11

Cyclical

- Ursula remembered her chastity belt and wondered whether Fernanda had the same and whether it would be the joke of the town.

- The Industrialization Plans of the Buendia men for Macondo were pretty similar if not exact. Aureliano Triste and Jose Arcadio Buendia dreamed of linking Macondo to the rest of the world and finally that dream came through. Unlike his grandfather though, Aureliano Triste didnt look toward solitude to make his dreams come true. He harebrained and made rational decisions, etc. like any real intellectual planning constructor would.

Exodus

- The Aurelainos had left with their mothers after being baptized and christened to return again to Macondo from their separate journeys and homelands as men... like Buendia men.

Communication

-The fact that Amaranta changed herself by speaking gibberish that she normally wouldn't, as far as her speech/social skill, because of an uncomfort with Fernanda to insult/mock her instead of maturely addressing the situation.

Chapter 12

Evolution

- Macondo was changing before everyone's eyes and maybe it was too much to handle at once but with those priviliges came great responsibilities. They hoped for more time to experience the notion "more to life" and now they have that chance. It's now time to step up and take charge by really putting Macondo on the map. The town has become modernized and hopefully the people would be too, for the better.

Plagues

- In this chapter, the banana plague struck Macondo, which caused the evolution, at least to happen more rapidly.

Chapter 13

Torment

– It triumphed in the end no matter what case or scenario, no matter how good it got it seemed that the bad always outweighed that good that lasted for a minute period of time.

Chapter 14

Secrecy

- People tend to believe that lying and hiding from the truth is the best way to avoid conflict and make situations a lot easier for both parties but MeMe and Mauricio believed otherwise. Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda and Petra Cotes proved that having things out in the open was best, it may have not made them like eacho other or come to terms with the fact that that Aureliano Segundo was married to Fernanda but maintained a relationship with Petra (his cocubine).

Chapter 15

Plague of Rain

– Throughout this chapter and the next it rains and rains non-stop for a very unusual length of time.

Chapter 16

Solitude

- With the lose of the loves of their lives and desires that haunted their dreams, the characters would seep into solitude. It seemed to be the only outlet besides death, which were highly flirting with each other. People just thought...'What's the point?' If it's going to be this hard and you're already expected to fail because of your name then why bother? Sometimes you can't depend on others to encourage you, you have the push yourself and in the end that makes the success story all the more better because you did it on your own.

Chapter 17

Time/Cyclical

– More and more things would repeat themselves in Macondo that it was almost expected. For example, the same reply that Ursula gave Colonel Aureliano Buendia in his death cell, she had just given to Jose Arcadio Segundo who was spellbound in solitude. It happened not because times change but people don’t but because they never took a stab at changing the mode but instead to just live up to the names they bore.

Resignation to Depression

– It menaced the family and Macondo as a whole tearing them apart but only because they allowed it to. No real attempt was put forth because once they were knocked down they never got the chance to experience how good it felt to make a complete 360 because they never tried.

Chapter 18

Defeatism

- Like torment, sorrow, pain, and any of the other negative powers over humans, won in the end. The Buendias were always conquered, belittled and placed in solitude. There was no use in having hope, what was the point if they believed with every bit of themselves that they were defeated from the start.

Chapter 19

Misfortune

- The actions of the characters in the novel were sometimes just a strike of bad luck, probably because they were Buendias. Things, no matter what would be blown out of proportion or taken in the direction that they wouldn't have wanted or expected. They couldn't roll with the punches or recover after their devastating blows so like a cycle, they reverted back to step one.

Incest

-Aureliano, after being haunted with thoughts of being with Amaranta Ursula, finally gave in and had his way with her. At first it was a struggle but for a moment she, herself, gave in to temptation and before she could come back to her senses, it had happened, aunt and nephew.

Chapter 20

Time

– As time progresses, you would think one would learn what makes them happy and continue to keep that up, but throughout One Hundred Years of Solitude, especially in this chapter, with Catalonian, how nature took its course and the reverse happened. Instead of things getting better, it was seen how they got worse. It was indeed a case of just getting back to your first love but if you never gave that a chance but chose to simply run to solitude or death, as the best solution, then there was no way possible that a great forthcoming was to sprout.

Abandonment

– Catalonian proved why no one remembered the terrible things like the massacre or the foolish people like the Buendias, of the past because they were ashamed of them. They lied to themselves and strayed from their obligations in order to keep up a fictitious imagination. Instead of facing the past mistakes and saying that you can still be proud because though their efforts failed, they paved the way so no we know how to make the future turn out not in the same manner, they insisted on living falsely as if nothing ever happened to the point that they really believed it. You may can run and turn your back but the truth can’t be escaped.

Annihilation

– Macondo had run its cycle on Macondo. The fruit of its people placed the state of defeat that it was in. It consumed itself from within, ending at every moment but never ending it ending until now, a vicious series.

Love

– One of the many obsessions throughout the novel that prevailed even after death, was seen how powerful it really was. It made people exist only in an “empty universe where the only everyday and eternal reality was (that) love”. When the characters fell, they fell hard and for the worse, to never recover like in Rebeca’s case for Jose Arcadio or in Pietro Crepsi’s incident over Amaranta. There was no way around it because even in solitude it would find them. As much as they hated it when it deserted them in their most vulnerable moments, they needed it to survive. With or without it, it helps to make them who they were.

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Quotes

Chapter 1

"Things have a life of their own. it's simply a matter of waking up their souls." p. 2

Explanation: The quote above stands out so much because of its meaning and foreshadowing of later events in the novel I think may come. It touches basis with the mystical sense as well as the characters' essence as well, which may come into view. It shows that things happen in due time and since you never forget that anyone or anything is always capable you, can be alert because you've been forewarned.

"Incredible things are happening in the world." p. 8

Explanation: This quote shows how the world changes and how people have to adapt to it and vice versus. People learn through experience and people's eyes are opened so they are no longer ignorant to what could possibly happen. Incredible can mean both good or bad but the point is that once that thing happens, life will never be the same as it has before, hopefully for the better.

Chapter 2

"Now you really are a man." p. 34

Explanation: This quote shows how the men in the book will be treated until the women feel they deserve or have earned the rights of a man. All this time they've been searching for a man because they're not mature enough will the males themselves aren't really looking for the characteristics to make themselves even be considered as one. Sex is not the key, it's definitely more internal.

"If you do not fear God, fear him through the metals."p. 39

Explanation: This quote shows how much people value alchemy. In this chapter it is seen how characters get wrapped up in themselves because of it and become entrapped. Some have reasoning and others just follow the mode. It makes the reader wonder why people value what they do and if it's possible to pull down strongholds formed by an obsession.

Chapter 3

"Children inherit their parent's madness." p. 44

Explanation: The quote is true and self-explanatory with a powerful message. As a child one doesn't understand problems and mishaps so it's up to the parents to take care of them before the child is brought into the world or at least make an effort to work on them. When the children grow up and realize bad habits of their parents either with knowledge they'll decide to take a different route or inherit all their flaws which starts a vicious cycle that a generation has to eventually break.

"If we don't ever, sleep again, so much the better that we can get more out of life." p. 48

Explanation: This is a terrible way of thinking that hungers for the abnormal and goes against the saying that things are the way they are because they are supposed to be. The people have made this plague a positive thing/advantage, but when does this become too much. They eventually will overexert having more time than is needed and will run out of things to do causing them to go mad.

Chapter 4

"Love is a disease." p. 75

Explanation: This quote happens to elaborate on the negative side of love. The heartbreak, the state of being unrequited, and the sense of loneliness. Knowing it is great until it goes wrong or you lose it. It's addictive and can drive you crazy. It is a necessary evil.

"You're going to be happy." p. 83

Explanation: This quote shows that there is some inspiration in spite of disaster in this novel. There's hope that things will change and as long as that exists in at least one person, who can make a difference, things can illuminate into something great.

Chapter 5

"The only effective thing is violence." p. 107

Explanation: The quote above centers on the objective of one side of the spectrum of violence and diplomacy. Choosing negativity as the first let alone as the only alternative is a bad way to think as far as where the world would be today if everyone thought that way. Serenity and peacefulness as methods of solutions should be sought out first while violence is to be put on the back burner to be used only if/or when it's necessary. The pen (mentally) is stronger than the sword (physically).

"(This is) not madness, (but) war." p. 111

Explanation: The quote gave justice to any act done in war no matter how vindictive it might have been because it is war. There is still some type of decorum and rights of others should be considered because you'd might not like if someone did those same actions toward you. Your way should be sought out through the most calm and rational thinking not by any means, period.

Chapter 6

"Look at the empty house, our children scattered all over the world, and the two of us alone again, the same as in the beginning." p. 116

Explanation: It's true that towards the end, it seems as if, or at least you think about the way it was in the beginning. We come from the Earth to die and go back to the Earth again. The cycle of life. Nature has to run its course.

"You're the shame of our family name." p. 125 (Ursula to Arcadio)

Explanation: The truth is their was no shame if the name was already in shambles. What was there to disgrace if a real reputation was minimalized by its oldest ancestor. It wasn't his place to continue the shame but neither was it his fault to be born a Buendia as well.

Chapter 7

“ I was born a son of a bitch and I’m going to die a son of a bitch.” P. 140

Explanation: This quote stood out because it makes a statement about the character. It says that Captain Carnicero is fierce and ready to grab life by the horns no matter what his fate may be. This may a conceited connotation but some of the other characters in the novel should stand up and take care of their responsibilities as well like a real man or woman should instead of hiding behind nonsense.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve come to realize only just now that I’m fighting because of pride.” P. 148

Explanation: It’s quite strange how the colonel, Aureliano Buendia, had no clue of what he firmly stood for and at that, that he was ashamed of it. In recent times for pride to be a motive to go to war was a good thing but apparently during the times of this novel it is not. Colonel Aureliano Buendia was so passionate about war with all that he possessed and since he questions his reasoning for having made the decision to be a participant, that makes me wonder what other actions he has come to second guess and is it too late?

Chapter 8

“We’ve lost him forever.” P. 159

Explanation: The quote above is true but not only can Ursula say that about her son Colonel Aureliano Buendia but also about a vast amount of others in her family tree. Time after time, cyclically, has patterns of solitude repeated itself to the point where mentally if not physically as well, beyond death but more towards an absence from reality has this been seen so often in a typical Buendia.

“They’re all alike, at first they behave very well, they’re obedient and prompt and they don’t seem capable of killing a fly, but as soon as their beards appear, they go to ruins.” P. 166

Explanation: This quote goes hand in hand with the one mentioned above but geared more specifically toward the males of the family. Ursula, over her lifetime, has come to realize the terrible trend the men in her family have picked up. They tend to allow their experience and even others’ to change them, which are such a horrible thing, but predominantly they’ve changed them for the worse. They’ve strayed away from their duties as leaders and protectors of the home and have become menaces to themselves and society.

Chapter 9

“How strange men are, they spend their lives fighting against priests and then give prayer books as gifts.” P. 176

Explanation: This quote shows how contradicting and obscene the people in the town have and continue to become. They are indecisive and unsure of what they really need. If more thought were put forth, responsible decisions would be made for the better sake of all who’s affected.

“You’re rotting alive” p. 179

Explanation: This quote sums up the presence of the characters, which is as if they are the walking dead. Their decisions are done without clear thinking for the greater good and their inner deterioration plays such a toll on all. The more continue to follow their chosen routes they will be nothing alive or dead because they decided not to take advantage of their opportunities to make a difference and fulfill their reason for existing.

Chapter 10

“That’s what they’re all like, crazy from birth.” P. 198

Explanation: The quote is just evidence and more reassurance of what I, as the reader, have noticed from the beginning as a form of foreshadowing. The acts that were done were just ridiculous. Some points were granted because this is fiction but then you have to say what were they really thinking with all the confinement, all the incest and more that was, for the most part, considered as being accepted but it's good to know that at least someone knew that what they were doing wasn't all it was imagined to be.

"Don't waste your time any more, the women in this house are worse than mules." p. 213

Explanation: This quote simply shows how Aureliano Segundo as well as probably other males view the Buendia women. They see them as stubborn and so far past being only determined in their ways. To men, if they can't get what they want from a woman then what's the object? The foreigner believed none of what he heard for he believed Remedios the Beauty was worth it. His actions weren't in vain though they got him no where, but instead I think going above and beyond should be for someone you know to be true not based solely on looks that in this case can KILL.

Chapter 11

"We're becoming people of quality." p.228

Explanation: Macondo and it's people were finding an identity and place in the world. It was becoming it's own and well-known to newcomers. There was a trend that mad everything the same and now that mode was being broken...finally someone's cries had been heard from above.

"It's coming, something frightful like a kitchen dragging a village behind it." p. 239

Explanation: The premonitions throughout the novel have been pretty much exact though no one really takes heed to them as they should. Hopefully people will begin to listen to the signs and make good decisions before the worst, somehting like Armageddon occurs stopping any other Buendia from ever existing, forever.

Chapter 12

"Look at the mess we got ourselves into." p. 246

Explanation: This quote has been the spirit and what has needed to be said throughout the entire book. Each and every situation has been drama on top of drama. Finally someone has set back and said we've spilled this milk and now it's time to clean it up.

"A person doesn't die when he should but when he can." p. 260

Explanation: Backs up the notion that you are the controller of your fate. No matter what, you have a choice, maybe not when you die but how you die, not physically but .

Chapter 13

"The years nowadays don't pass the way the old ones used to." p. 263

Explanation - Children grew faster and feelings developed differently. Reality was slipping for all.

"You have a heart of stone." p. 277

Explanation - Everyone in the novel typically showed not too much emotion as they should have or may have wanted to.

Chapter 14

"Just think, what the colonel must be thinking in his grave." p. 295

Explanation - This quote touched basis on what anyone in the family who had died was probably thinking about what the family had done to itself. It was going downhill with no one there to save it because they were too wrapped up in themselves besides Ursula and Santa Sofia.

“I don’t need cards to tell the future of a Buendia.” P. 310

Explanation - It was the fact that she was already in the family, which made her know, and because everyone in the town knew that the family was cyclical. Their trends and behaviors repeated themselves so much that it was easy for everyone to see.

Chapter 15

“It’s as if the world were repeating itself.” P. 320

Explanation: This quote is self-explantory and true. Everything in Macondo was happening over and over just different generations of people who had the same characteristics and names.

“Nothing has happened in Macondo and nothing ever will happen. This is a happy town.” P. 333

Explanation: This quote was what people of Macondo wanted to believe and what they wanted foreigners to believe as well. It was superficial and imaginary and the only way for it to really exist was for the people themselves of Macondo to wake up and make a change.

Chapter 16

“I’m only waiting for the rain to stop in order to die.” P. 345

Explanation: Not only did Ursula feel this way but so did others in Macondo. They had no hopes of anything grand in life but to die because the rain had taken their motivation away. They were left with grief and sorrow; a sense of nothingness.

“Macondo was in ruins.” P. 355

Explanation - This was really how Macondo was and the Buendia family as a whole. No one was really prospering or living their lives happily. Everything externally and internally was being destroyed and no one was to blame but themselves.

Chapter 17

“A person can’t live in neglect like this.” P. 360

Explanation: No one could put up with being in solitude forever because surely it would drive them crazy. There would always be something they would lack because of not having that human interaction because they were pushed away from someone they probably needed to make their lives make sense.

“Time Passes.” P.361

Explanation: As seasons change you with think that through experiences, people would to, but contrary to that saying the people in Macondo didn't progress with time but decline. Indeed time did pass and things only got worse. There would be moments of joy but that, like the drizzles during the plague of a rain, was a sign that the next bad thing to come would be even greater.

Chapter 18

"I give up." p. 387

Explanation: It's no surprise that someone in this chapter would give up because throughout the novel they, the Buendias, had been doing it all along. They were to blame for their downfalls and only them. Things were the way they were because they allowed them to be that way...No Excuses.

"Everything is known." p. 402

Explanation: God knows everything even though we as humans have a chance to change our fate at any point and time since we have free-will and a conscience. We may have the option to choose but the route we choose is destiny from the day we are born so really there are no coincidents or mysteries as what's to come. It's not really expected but then again it is. There's just enough to keep you wondering but not have you worried.

Chapter 19

"Fool!" p. 423

Explanation: They were all fools, blind to the truth that laid right in front of them, clear as day. After almost one hundrend years, something had to click. Some type of differences had to be made. Some trick to life should have been figured out but it hadn't. The same mistakes had been repeated over and over, which made the characters lose pity let alone empathy from the reader, but instead madness, because they can't understand, 'Why?'

"There was no mystery in the heart of a Buendia that was impenetrable for her because a century of cards and experience had taught her that the history of the family was a machine with unavailable repititions..." p.425

Explanation: This quote simply showed how unpredictable the Buendias were. If there was one thing you could count on it was that a Buendia would be a Buendia in the midst of their solitude. It didn't take the cards or even experience after all those years to tell that because as the saying goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you, but after the second time, with graces being spared, Fool me twice, shame on ME.'

Chapter 20

“The world must be all fucked up.” P. 431

Explanation: The quote above said it best. I mean with all this tragedy, the worst of the worst, what else is there to look forward to? If bad things just keep happening and happening, one must think, it can’t be just be me, it has to be the world? But the question comes back to the asker and says well I (the world) may be messed up but you are apart of me, so if I’m messed up, it’s because you allowed me to be, which is true. Things are the way they were because the Buendias let them be, no one to blame but himself or herself.

“What hurts me most is all the time we wasted.” P. 435

Explanation: Time truly was wasted, even when there was more of it during the insomnia plague, the time was never actually spent doing something constructive and probably if it had, none of Macondo’s habitants would feel that the predicament they’re currently in, they didn’t deserve. Their reward, though not so handsome, was due to them. And regrets should have been bestowed upon their heads because they made contradictory mistakes that could have been nipped in the bud from day one.

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Characters' Analyses

Chapter 1

Jose Arcadio Buendia, in more emphasis of his solitude, will probably develop more of a solitary confinement from pushing others away into a state where he can't turn back from as the book unravels. Slowly but surely, he was surely going mad proving more to the hypothesis above. He began to talk to himself and close into a shell that included no human interaction. Even in the presence of others he would act as though they didn't exist. More and more he became bottled up and just as a time bomb, he received his moment to blow so to speak.
Reference: At that time, the Earth was believed to be flat and once he told his family it was round, not only was the reader concerned that he was going crazy, if not already there, but so had his wife who would not allow his influence over their children.
Jose Buendia Arcadio was a leader, a trend-setter, very well known in the community as a good family man but that image was changing. More and more he became "lazy in appearance, careless in his dress..." losing all his essence period.

Melquiades, a famous gypsy of Macondo grows ill with age. Multiple and rare diseases overcome him, "death followed him everywhere..." In spite of his trials, he managed to begin a friendship with Jose Aracdio Buendia.

Ursula, Jose Arcadio Buendia's wife, proves to not have much of a backbone unless it comes to matters that involve the children. Yes, she speaks up but with not much strong persuasion does Jose get his way. If things continue, she'll be taken advantage of continuously and probably later on in more of a serious way.

Signs from the childhood stage of Jose Arcadio show that he lacks imagination and inquiring minds would like to know whether that will change as he ages and matures.

Aureliano shows intellect and wisdom as a youthful boy when he displays that he has premonitions, natural phenomena.

Chapter 2


Jose Arcadio Buendia – has an anger problem and is tormented by his actions. Unlike his son, he had a vast imagination of how he envisioned his society should be. Slowly but surely after he transformed, he returned back to the family man he was before by taking care of Amaranta in Ursula’s absence.

Ursula – constantly shows her humbleness and mercy.

Aureliano – follows in the path of his father as far as being interested in solitary confinement, and as he grows and matures he finds that he has no identity of his own but that he lives through the experiences of others i.e. his brother Jose Arcadio.

Jose Arcadio – he is growing, magically, rapid physically instead of with age and time. To his mother it’s abnormal but to others it was a fine gift to have that made him special and attractive. Strangely during sex he pictures his mother and as strange as it was, you would think there would be some explanation but he didn’t have one. It showed how he lusted for solitude, so what toll will this come to play?

Chapter 3

Jose Arcadio Buendia – for sure, in his lost of interest in alchemy, he showed how he was getting back to him true self as the “enterprising man”.

Aureliano – took his father’s place in the laboratory and shot up as well in size. “Adolescence had taken way the softness of his voice and had made him silent and definitely solitary…” p. 43 Positively his imagination was restored, though with his premonitions, he continued to live through others’ experiences for he could not sense anything for his own fate. It caused him to feel that he was useless.

Rebeca – after recovery, it was seen amazingly how much of a unique person she was regardless of her past. She was adopted as a member of the Buendia family.

Melquiades – returned from the dead because of solitude being so unbearable and not only restored hope to Macondo but gave life/memory to it as well, especially to his dear friend Jose Arcadio Buendia, who wept at the sight of him and what his town had become.

Chapter 4

Ursula – very protective of her family, especially her children, since day one.

Rebeca – she had a solitary character and impenetrable heart though she wept for Pietro Crespi because they had grown so close and he’d left like the others in her life before Amaranta went ‘bananas’. Because of it she returned to her broken consuming patterns of eating earth. Her heartache and turmoil caused physical detriment. Her lose of love was the most painful thing she could have experienced.

Aureliano – is given hope/inspiration through others’ experiences this time through Amparo Moscote and Rebeca Buendia’s friendship. His interaction with Remedios in the previous chapter was the only thing he had to call his own besides his premonitions. He hadn’t forgotten her and it built up torment inside. Constantly he looked and longed to see her again, if only for a moment. It affected him so much that he neglected all he knew and placed himself in solitude until they met again. It made him result to other means to vent, which included writing poetry that keyed in on how he felt about her.

Amaranta – in turn, got sick because of the feeling of no longer being loved by her sister/best friend, Rebeca because she had found love. Because Rebeca had grown to keep her passion to herself, Amaranta felt betrayed and lonely, which made her result to writing as well. She refused to let Rebeca depart from her under any circumstances, which drove her into insanity so much that she threatened to kill Rebeca for the sake of everything that had come between them. If she couldn’t have her, no one could. It was clearly safe to say that this made Rebeca terribly unhappy and indecisive about what she should do.

Melquiades – dies again but this time from abandonment. By others his second return was received to really serve no purpose so he aged faster than before. He was losing what made him who he really was, so people, Jose Arcadio Buendia especially, neglected and slipped away from him.

Jose Arcadio Buendia – he had never known death and now that he understood it and its effects, he wept uncontrollably for all those who had come to the same understandings as him. It was the fact that once they die, the living live without them, life alone in a sense on earth, while in another world, where the dead are, they live alone too! The lose of Melquiades for the second time made him revert back to the ways of an alchemist. It got so bad that he had to later become restrained from causing any further harm to the house/possessions and more importantly himself at that, so they tied him to a tree. It’s sad the lengths of the world a person would go for a given obsession.

Chapter 5

Remedios Moscote – she was becoming a woman way before her time since she was to become the bride of Aureliano. A crash course was given to her to make her ready for her wedding night to come. Suddenly though, she dies from being poisoned by Amaranta who had intended it for Rebeca to retain her from marrying Pietro Crespi. She was about to bear twins but they died as well.

Pietro Crespi – it was seen how he wasn’t an adventurous man but Rebeca loved him anyway as they saw each other in a new light and became engaged. He respected people’s words for proof of what he could stand on as promises because that’s all he had until they proved him right or wrong.

Rebeca – having lost her bearings and living the life unlike her dreams, she reverted back to eating earth. After Pietro Crespi, she found herself falling for Jose Arcadio. Thinking that she couldn’t have him because some how they were related, she again went back to eating more earth and whitewash until they finally had each other and got married.

Amaranta – after following through with the idea of poisoning Rebeca and killing Remedios instead, she got a conscience and felt guilty for her having the thought of even killing someone who means so much to her. She begged God for forgiveness/emancipation from her wicked ways. She had recognized the delight that Remedios had brought to the house and figured who was she to cause more sadness and take that away.

Ursula – she became confused at what had taken place before her eyes within her family. She wept for them inside wondering what she could do or if anything could be done to make things better.

Aureliano Buendia – resigned back to his old ways because of his solitary and passive frustration having lost remedies. In the midst he maintained his relationship with his father-in-law though. He, pale and mysterious as the town’s civil/military leader, came to a conclusion of who he was destined to be…“Don’t call me Aurelito anymore. Now I’m Colonel Aureliano Buendia.” P. 111
Arcadio – fascinated with war, became very opinionated and strong in stressing his beliefs no matter what. He had no problem with taking a stand against the cruelty done by any means.

Chapter 6

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – he was obsessed with war. He was unconquerable in a physical sense though he and his troops lost so many battles and were never successful. So much that he had lost his own flesh and blood to the situations at hand. He had become lost in himself and all that he wanted to accomplish. He was in a form of solitude that he had placed himself in and only he could bring himself to escape it.

Jose Arcadio Buendia – became unaware of anything that was going on around him. So much that he was seeping back into madness pronouncing more Latin.
Pietro Crespi – began a friendship with Amaranta, which was more meaningful to him and he feels that her has found love and happiness. Until to his surprise the road to marriage went downhill and he began to neglect his business and went crazy like never before because Amaranta changed her mind. It drove him insane until he finally committed suicide.

Ursula – came to abandon Amaranta for falling out of love with Pietro Crespi because she favored him so much and had high hopes set on their marriage as well.

Arcadio – after trying to force himself upon his mother Pilar Ternera and being deceived by her upon returning, he found all that he had been searching for, his true love, Santa Sofia de la Piedad.


Chapter 7

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – the war made the colonel more confined than the day he left. Definitely he was more secluded and well kept to himself although he was mature, great in command and authoritative. During the he awaited for his death, he wondered as to why people can see how the lives of others should be or how they could be helped before they could envision their own. After avoiding death twice, he back to writing luckily which set him free and restored him life. He was very pleased in knowing that his mother after all hadn’t kept her promise to burn his old letters that helped him vent. Memories were brought back and he was himself again…the way he should’ve been…not the colonel, but just Aureliano Buendia.

Amaranta – she began to shut herself up in solitude once more with guilt similar to the kind she felt over Remedios’ death. She was tormenting herself in a sense and denying the truth shown by her heart. She was desperate for help and to be saved but the rut she had created for herself only she could pull herself out of.

Chapter 8

Aureliano Jose – he, among and like the others, seeped into solitude for the first time after his aunt, Amaranta, abruptly stopped the fling that he enjoyed with such excitement. To avoid reality, he replaced different women’s faces with hers, who smelled like dead flowers, to remind him of her constantly. In his imagination it was just the same. When he returned from war with only one thing on his mind, now as a mature young man, he had never forgotten Amaranta and intended on marrying her. He fought and fought until finally with enough rejection and heartache, the lust went away. His emptiness/loneliness was replaced with false hopes and dreams.

Pilar Ternera – in solitude, she found peace in other people’s love, like Arcadio, that she searched for in all the wrong places, but then again because she never received love and it didn’t bother her, it makes one wonder if that really was what she longed for. Even in maturity she never turned down countless men. No money, no love, but maybe, if she was lucky, only pleasure. There was no hope just chaotic and confusing nothingness.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s Children – they all had a look about them. Not a look that necessarily proved that they were his children but the familiar Buendia look of solitude. Because of it and generally other traits could it easily, without a shout of a doubt be seen that there was some form of relation, even it was 17 of them.

Chapter 9

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – more and more as the war became more intense and widespread, his image was fading away into a universe of unreality. The war had sucked up the life and emotion in him and made him something that not even he understood. Equation: WAR = Emptiness and a remote point of reference. His confused heart was surely condemned to uncertainty forever although he felt he was above all. He had no true identity being lost in solitude by his immense power. Abandoned by his premonitions, he lost direction and was left to not necessarily enjoy the privileges of simplicity. Finally though he recovered, and was never seen as a better man or greater soldier in his own identity than when that wake up call came and decided to make things right. Now, he fought for liberation, not pride. Reference: “We’ll finally have a man in the house again.” P. 186 Momentarily while waiting for something grand, he was swept into abstract alienation; back at one. He couldn’t find his affection, though Ursula, who had saved him from his misery and kept him alive, was the one who tried to bring the sincerity in him to the surface. Everything returned to meaning anything again and death became considered as a way out that not even he could use.

Santa Sofia de la Piedad – she remained sane in her composure. She never made a scene or caused trouble. Santa Sofia was the type of gal to stand back and watch everything nodding her head in disappointment. She had respect and kept that in mind. Most likely she was one of the most considerate and intelligent characters thus far, but with all that wisdom sometimes she should speak up because some things need to be said.

Chapter 10

Ursula – at the age of 100, she still had a phenomena about her that could only be explained as a manifestation of force, her integrity of character, and her mental balance in tact. Over the years throughout the long history of the family, she was the first to realize the insistent repetition of names, which made her draw some conclusions that seemed to be certain. She felt that in order to break the mode, she should raise Aureliano Segundo’s first born, for he would be the virtuous man to restore prestige to the family.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – finally he was put to ease by the peaceful charms of old age though now all he came to care about were the gold fishes he made. He would trap himself in for days on out and give much attention to the specific details of each one he created. Each made with the gold he was compensated with, which raises the question if work is not done for money then why? For happiness of coarse but in his case he doesn’t remember what happiness nor pain is like. In a sense he’s already gone.

Remedios the Beauty – she is blossoming as time progresses, in innocence, held in the house as the world’s best kept secret. More and more. all as a virtue, deadly at that, receive her beauty. Some would say that it has made her obnoxiously vain but since she’s smart technically kind of ignorantly she knows not so much as to the effect she really has on men exclusively. She’s what has never been experienced before that, like everything else in the novel, blows everyone’s minds. In a way she really is too hot to handle! : )


Chapter 11

Aureliano Segundo – he was very playful and a jokester though after being made into a man and given a place in the world by Petra Cotes, had proved that one good thing about the Buendias is that they have tenacity and hustle. It proves that once they really get their minds set on a course of action, it gets done. He changed his reserve and withdrawn behavior, with tendencies toward solitary mediation into qualities that made him vital, expansive and open. He had a joy for living and a pleasure in spending and conversing. He was living a lie that was disguised as Petra’s dreams. So yet again another Buendia really didn’t have an identity. He was truthful but hid often and took the immature route. He led a life with the two women and believed that it was perfectly fine. Something had to be wrong with this picture…right?

Petra Cotes – she was very strong and content with her capabilities no matter what Aureliano Segundo did. She showed little doubt because her confidence kept her sane because she knew that she was the controller of her destiny.

Fernanda del Carpio – was a woman who was lost in the world and very full/sure of herself; conceited. Without having intimacy/real love, she was left as a cold-hearted person that was proof that you can’t grow up or change over night. It takes time. She was in solitude in trying to reserve the royal eminence of her family and it drew her away from despising her past and instead grasps it.

Rebeca – stubborn, in-closed and separated from the world, surprisingly, was still alive and was continuing under any circumstances to keep her vow to live in complete solitude.

Amaranta – solitude had made a selection in her memory, while Rebeca was burned into her heart because she thought of all the time. She viewed her with impurities but hoped that one day her conscience’s slate would truly be cleansed.

Remedios the Beauty – she was someone immune to any kind of passionate feelings and less to those of others. She was vane and wrapped up a little too tight in herself to the point that she was flirting with a sire fate of disaster.

Ursula – she continued to show her compassion just as the beginning of the novel for Prudencio Aguilar, just as she had for the legacy f her family and in thins chapter for Rebeca ever since she laid eyes on her when she came into their home.

Aureliano Triste – he had the drive and explorer’s spirit of his grandfather so much that set up an ice factory like Jose Arcadio Buendia had dreamed of a long time ago.

The Buendia Family – they have shown their inventiveness and creativity. They had more imagination than others even themselves might have given off, all they had to do was believe in themselves totally.

Chapter 12

Remedios the Beauty – had no nightmares but instead only dreams that matured her of her own way of living with no fears or cares.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – he was filled with rage, not sorrow, at the death of his boys. It drove him crazy and more into solitude, which hit him harder than ever, because he had nothing to look forward to except death.

Reactions to the Overflow of Newcomers

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – upset. He placed himself back in solitude because of the vast amount of tourists who he believed cared nothing for him or Macondo in depth.
Aureliano Segundo – happy at all the attention Macondo was attracting.
Amaranta – scandalized at what was happening before her eyes. It was a first and she had no feeling of how to react so she stayed away.
Ursula – she was excited that joy had been restored as well as life to Macondo and her family at what had happened.
Fernanda del Carpio – not a “happy camper”. She was disgusted by everything that had to do with the foreigners. They were so unlike what she always imagined what classy and an image of dignity was and felt they didn’t fit into her view of what Macondo should become.
Remedios the Beauty – she was content in her own world of simple realities that chose to be simplified rather than complicated. The more she searched for comfort and obeyed spontaneity, the more she was appealing to men and the more beautiful she became. She lived in disciplined solitude that carried a peculiar pattern.

Chapter 13

Ursula – she didn’t understand where time went these days. She began to leave things half-done because of it. She resisted growing old. She was in darkness, always fearing what others thought of her and her family. In her solitude of decrepitude, she would not admit defeat or shame. Because of it and her consternation she began to notice everything better now, but because of age though, her sight failed her, Clearly was seen though through intuition, everyone else’s emotions, good or bad, which she felt and took harder sometimes than they themselves did. Once again her empathy for others was shown.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia – was incapable of love and in order to make up for it, ever since he was a fetus, she could here him crying so she nurtured and showed him more compassion than one might have thought was necessary. Regardless of her effort, he was impatient and slowly just became a shadow. By the end of the chapter he was announced as diseased as well as Remedios the Beauty

Jose Arcadio – (Aureliano Segundo’s son) as solemn, linear and pensive in air as he was, was the affinity to the colonel though he resembled his mother Santa Sofia de la Piedad. He was languid and serious as well as distant from the family. And was believed to might as well be named Aureliano just the same in the way he drifted about with no ties of ambition or affection.

Rebeca – she showed the unbridled courage that Ursula wished her blood family had. It’s what made her admired in the midst of her own personal solitude just as the others.

Fernanda del Carpio – was bossy and too far stuck in her ways as being correct above any other’s. She found herself alone and abandoned because of her sad maturity and mind that displayed that she really knew that she knew all there was to know or at least more than everyone else around her.

Aureliano Segundo – he grew fat, increased his voracity (greed), spent more money and had unprecedented hospitality that brought more foreigners more geared toward gluttons.

Amaranta – became one with her solitude and made her life weaving her shrouds alone.

MeMe – she conformed with the world. She was like a joyful younger version of Amaranta, who didn’t display the solitary fate of the family.


Chapter 14

Amaranta Ursula - she was mischievous and sickly and her ways was just as Ursula. Great things either for the best or the worst would surely be expected of her.

Petra Cotes - she was tormented by the fear that MeMe would take her lover, Aureliano Segundo, away from her, which she thought was assured because Fernanda, his own wife, couldn't.

Aureliano Segundo - grew to hate modifications and changes though he began and held strong a comradeship and father/daughter bond with Meme. It restored him his joviality, freed him from solitude, and his mind away from dissipation.

Amaranta - dies because of the mourning of Colonel Aureliano Buendia.

MeMe - frivolous and infantile though when she okayed the clavichord, she showed an unforeen maturity. With the new ties made to her father, she made good impressions, was fruitful, pleasant and uncomplicated. Afraid of her mother, Fernanda’s, strictness, she was compelled in her studies to make her happy and to increase the peace; it was the price for her freedom. Her relationship with her father freed her as well from her mother’s high expectations. She was falling in love. She lost her mind over Mauricio Babilonia. She placed herself in solitude that revolved around him. At first he was too much to handle. The affect he and his mystery had on her, sad to say according to her, attracted her more than ever until he finally gave into those desires of her heart. She lived a life of secrecy because of others around her until her mother discovered her true life behind the lies she told. She was so wrapped up that she betrayed the bond made between her and her father from the lying as well.

Chapter 15

Jose Arcadio Segundo – lived in solitude as an up riser who fought for the cause and his rights. He drove a life with anonymity and solemnity as his friends who never left his side, which gave him the presence that he had that everyone noticed.

MeMe – she had no longer lived with meaning in knowing that Mauricio and her could no longer be and how he was taken away from her and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt that there was no more but death like the colonel, left for her to experience since she couldn’t fully have love.

Chapter 16

Aureliano Segundo – with his withdrawn attitude, was still stubborn, greedy and thickheaded especially after Fernanda handled the situation with MeMe without his consent let alone opinion being asked. He lost his appetite than before for not only food but sex too.

Fernanda del Carpio – she was full of pride and could, neither did she want to find a cure. She was incapable of reconciliation and as her indignation (righteous fury) grew, so did she to Ursula.
Amaranta Ursula – showed that as a child she had a wondering mind and was seen mostly as an amusing plaything.


Chapter 17

Ursula - had an invincible heart and lost her reason with old age and actually having no sight. She was going delirious and her family, Amaranta Ursula, Aureliano and Aureliano Segundo for especially, made it no better. Eventually she dies of natural causes and now who would be left to actually show that they cared for the well-being of the remaining Buendias.

Aureliano Segundo - he was a changed man that no longer had high spirits or maintained his skills as a masterful carouser. He was on the verge of boredom and fatigue, but later on because of Amaranta Ursula's potential being very high, he was given hope like that he had felt from MeMe ages ago. With Petra Cotes, they killed themselves with work. They went by the belief that true love and happiness sprung out of poverty. There was paradise in a shared solitude. Up in age, he was tormented by the fear of dying and others' and their comments but he wouldn't allow it to get the best of him. As identical as they had been until adolescence, he died at the same exact time as his twin brother.

Aureliano - (son of MeMe and Mauricio) was delicate, deprived and very curious because of the way he came into the world, which wasn't his fault. He preferred solitude in his withdrawn manners because he didn't desire to know of the world. Got close to Jose Arcadio Segundo, who came to classify the cryptic letters of the parchments, through mutual affection in Melquiades' room.

Amaranta Ursula - she was a happy modern woman without prejudices with her feet on the ground, done away with the ruins, restored the garden, and reawakened the forgotten spirit of hospitality, etc. She inherited some of Remedios the Beauty's attractions, had good judgement and a dedication to study as well. She possessed unbreakable strengths of character like Ursula at her age.

Fernanda - she was ignored because of her ways and abandoned by the invisible doctors so she decided to lock herself up, as ill as she was. Once she tried to open up to others, it was too late. She was afraid of how others would perceive her troubles because she wanted to appear as "perfect" or above, so she was placed in solitude like the others once again.

Santa Sofia - she spent her time in solitary old age, cooking and caring for Jose Arcadio Segundo.

Chapter 18

Jose Arcadio - was ruddy and languid when he returned home. After so many years of absence, still an autumnal child, was terribly sad and solitary. He was afraid of everything and wrapped up in himself after he and the children discovered the treasure. He was killed by the four children that he went against and kicked out like a wild man. Perfect display of karma.

Aureliano - while being obsessed with Amaranta, became absorbed in his reading and began to learn Sanskirt to decipher the parchments, shared solitude with Fernanda though they lived separate lives of their own. Likewise, he was drawn to Jose Arcadio as well as separated by their solitude. Actually showed emotion when he found Jose Arcadio dead. He found how much he really did love him and enjoy his company.

Santa Sofia - for the first time, actually let some feeling show. In this chapter it was for Aureliano when he asked her for help. She opt for peace over chaos. while continuing her dedicated life of solitude and superhuman diligence for taking care of all of the children, not knowing they were even related to her. She fought her hardest to keep the house up but finally she had given up and after she said good bye to Aureliano, she was never seen again.

Petra Cotes - became the bigger person when it came to matters concerning Fernanda since it was well-known that she was the other woman. Out of compassion she sent food to the home that the family really was in need of. She vowed to keep this up, even when she went hungry herself, until Fernanda took her last breath.

Fernanda - she was losing her memory/mind in a sense. She would never find things as she thought they would be and was stuck in an imaginary world in her solitude. She lost track of time and delay became a pleasure of hers. It brought her back to life as a real person, with a real heart. She was finally happy because she felt and was free from compromise, so much that she died peacefully.

Aureliano Amador - the last son of the colonel had returned to Macondo. Fear had kept him alive and because Aureliano and Jose Arcadio had no recollection of him so they turned their backs on him, he was forced back into the street to immediately be caught by the police after years of running, and killed.

Chapter 19

Amaranta Ursula – had returned to Macondo, after being married for six months, just as spontaneous, so emancipated with such a modern free spirit than before. Her intent in arriving was to rescue the community.

Gaston – (Amaranta Ursula’s husband) was older but had a determination to keep her happy along with qualities of a good lover to make up for all he lacked. He had endless wisdom and imagination. Began to show signs of alarm because his wife was happy and settled in her ways while living in Macondo. Later on went to continue his studies in aviation.

Aureliano – who kept up his repressed passion for Amaranta Ursula since her appearance, was a hermetic man with a cloud of mystery that time was making denser. He kept up his habits that he had picked up since he’d been in Mequiades’ room but because of Amaranta Ursula joined in society and became the lover of Nigromanta and friends of four arguers, Alvaro, German, Alfonso, and Gabriel. Her presence broadened his horizons for love and made him feel important/needed, while his friends, that he viewed typically as one, except for Gabriel who he bonded most with, shared a common affection and solidarity with him. Gabriel was the only one who believed the past of Macondo and the colonel’s existence. They were linked by a kind of complicity based on real facts that no one else believed. After joining the family and beginning to eat dinner with them, and getting closer than expected to Amaranta Ursula, his crush, he began to open up, with the ideals that questioned Gaston’s character because he cared so much for her. He thought he was a witty man who only acted unaware to trick everyone, especially Amaranta Ursula.

Chapter 20

Pilar Ternera – died of natural causes in her wicker rocking chair in peace. A funeral procession was held through the streets of Macondo in her honor.

Amaranta Ursula – no matter what, she kept her good humor, vivacity through times of her body’s physical changes, and her genius for erotic mischief. After the pregnancy procedures were complete, the past, magically and hereditarily, repeated itself again when the baby of incest was born with a pigtail. Afterwards, she began to hemorrhage uncontrollably. In spite of the situation at hand she stayed strong ‘til the end, constantly encouraging Aureliano not to worry for “people like her weren’t meant to die against their will”. She died with a smile, as most Buendias didn’t have the privilege of doing, without regret because she lived her life and lived it happily to the fullest.

Aureliano – his four friends made due with the advice from Catalonian (the bookstore keeper who gave words of wisdom to Aureliano for his studies of the parchments) and himself and somehow departed from Macondo one way or another. Even though he became more and more absorbed and silent, he was left happily in the midst of the ants, in incestuous bliss with Amaranta Ursula. They had mad passion, virtuosity, and perpetual excitement. They became shut out from the world and lost their sense of reality together. He began to wonder about his parentage as to whether he and Amaranta Ursula might have some kinship, so he searched for answers. He could find not a trace so he believed the basket story, as Amaranta Ursula did, to avoid the terror that their romance and intimacy was wrong. Though the house was self-destructing, he maintained his joy with Amaranta Ursula and the prospective thought and hopes their unborn child would bring, in solitude together. After Amaranta Ursula’s death, he, again, reverted back to his true emotions of how much he only realized how much he really cared and loved for those who had become disease only after they were long gone, like Jose Arcadio. He was still curious of his past so he left his child in search of his solutions to the misfortunes of his heart, only to return to find that his baby as killed/eaten by the ants. It was so amazing to him not because of shock and horror at the sight of his child but because of the realization of the fate of the Buendias through Melquiades’ parchments, which were the history of the family. The truth had set in that the name Buendia started with Jose Arcadio Buendia and has now died, like wise, with the last line/generation that no longer existed as well.

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Magic Realism

Chapter 1
  • Gypsies - in this chapter, they come and play a major role as the story unravels. They bring forth new inventions as well as senses of trouble toward the community of Macondo. Melquiades, who is one of the main characters, shows signs of supernatural powers and magical transition from old to new as far as appearance goes.
  • Potions/Elixirs - different (scientific) substances are combined that give off scents or make things occur that have negative connotations. It carries on the feeling that something evil or extra-ordinary is taking or will take place.
  • Giants and Pirate's Chests - these are just things that are not seen or mentioned in regular daily proceedings. They're strange because they're only seen in fairy tales or fantasy adventures but nothing you would find on the seven o'clock news.
  • Regions - the area that Jose Arcadio Buendia walks his men through shows sign of enchantment. Things grow faster, the sun shines less, animals act weird, etc. These can just be encounters never experienced because of being in a different environment but then the reader can also wonder how much of that is really because of nature.

Chapter 2

  • Flying Carpet/Magical Lamps - objects used for entertainment and recreation not for normal uses instead as amazement.

  • Pig's Tail - Ursula's aunt and Jose Arcadio Buendia's uncle had a son who was born with a corkscrew appendage that favored a pig's tail. Because of it, Ursula, as her husband's cousin, feared that their children would have the same problem so she ran from sexual relations for a year until she was forced to feel comfortable.

  • Prudencio Aguilar's Ghost - because of unfinished business and a sense of suffering so to speak, he returns and is seen by Jose Arcadio Buendia, his murderer, and Ursula who feels pity for him.

  • The situation involving the man who turns into a snake for having disobeying his parents.

  • The fact that it took Ursula fourteen months instead of the normal time that should be taken to bear a child, nine months, to bear her and Jose Arcadio Buendia 's son.

  • The Echo - there's a sound that mysterious creeps upon Jose Aracadio Buendia often that lures him from his dreams to Macondo to found the village.

  • The Frog-Like Girl/Headless Girl - the first girl has frog-like tendencies and the other has to have her head cut off every night at the same time as views in the gypsies' show that was becoming a family trend.

Chapter 3

  • The Mysterious Appearance of Rebeca - she appears with not too much of anything with a note from family members that neither Ursula nor Jose Arcadio Buendia recognized, having a tendency to eat earth and whitewash and when she couldn't she could go days on in without eating, but still she was taken in.

  • Plagues of Insomnia - specifically one brought by Rebeca after her grand transformation into a better creature reborn as a member of the Buendia family. Along with the plague came an intense lose of memory for all. No longer was the future read by prophecies or tarot cards but instead the past was, that was so easily forgotten.

  • Duel Against the Devil - the chapter mentions how Francisco the Man received his name by apparently beating the devil, literally, in a battle of improvisation. HOW REAL IS THAT? : )

Chapter 4

  • Jose Arcadio Buendia's Memory - During this chapter, he's the only one who believes strongly that Monday keeps reoccurring. The events make him feel as if it always exists.

  • Prudencio Aguilar's Ghost - constantly being seen by Ursula and Jose Arcadio Buendia.

Chapter 5

  • The Sea Dragon - the slaying the he dragon by Jose Arcadio and his ship crew.

  • The Ghost Ship - the sight of the ship of the pirate Victor Hughes.

  • Father Nicanor's Levitation - he rises six inches above ground level only after drinking a thick cap of streaming hot chocolate straight. This was convincing enough to the people to make them believe him.

Chapter 6

  • Colonel Aureliano Buendia's Immortality - he shot himself in the chest with a pistol and the bullet came out through his back without damaging any vital organs. He couldn't kill himself let alone could anyone else.

Chapter 7

  • The Traveling of the Blood - magically the blood of Jose Arcadio managed to seep from his body onto the floor out into the streets and traveled highways and byways, far and wide, past Ursula's thresh hold into her kitchen where she followed the trail directly back to find her son dead.

  • The Missing Wound - mysteriously there was no wound found on Jose Buendia from the pool of blood and gun shot being heard with gunpowder smelt, after being scrubbed, rubbed, soaked in lye, seasoned, and even boiled until finally deteriorating.

  • The Size of Jose Arcadio - the coffin made seven in a half feet long and four feet wide...HUGE! : )

  • The Scent of Gunpowder - the gunpowder had such an after effect that even after Jose Arcadio was buried, it still lingered about the cemetery and the town, for years until the top of the grave was finally cemented.

  • Rebeca's Innocence - strange it seemed to Ursula as well as probably all the readers that Rebeca was in the next room the entire time of Jose Arcadio being killed yet heard nothing, saw nothing and didn't have the capability of leaving the bathroom because some force locked her in.

  • Colonel Aureliano Beundia's Dashes from Death - thus far, the colonel has seemed to escape every attempt, even not on purpose during suicide, to not die, to the point that now it's funny! : ) He nor others can kill himself/him, how weird can you get.

  • The Storm of Tiny Yellow Flowers - I've heard of snow, thunder/rain, and hail storms but never had a imagined that so many tiny flowers could fall all at once to succumb the streets. Leaves fall and cover the grounds but only because the wind blows them from the trees high above, but the question arises, where did the flowers ascend from?

Chapter 8

  • The Uniqueness of Colonel Aureliano's Children - one of the children that were brought to Macondo to be claimed by the colonel as his seed was large for his age and because of his strength, was capable of crushing anything he touched. The bad part was that it stopped him from touching anything because it was controlled yet so he crushed not only anything as if it was at his disposal, but everything he touched. The second was a blond boy who managed to enter the house, that he had never been to nor seen in a photograph before, with familiarity as if he was raised there or some past soul of the Buendia family gave him the blueprints to the house or possessed him during that exact moment. He went directly for the chest and demanded for the mechanical ballerina, a gift brought by Pietro Crespi, that everyone had forgotten about. The children were truly gifted and proved in their extraordinary likeness to not only be the fruit of the colonel's loins, but a Buendia as well.

Chapter 9

  • The Boiling of the Milk - while at the stove, Ursula wondered as to why the milk hadn't boiled just yet. Miraculously to her surprise when she opened it, she found that they had turned into worms. She considered it a signal of Colonel Aureliano Buendia's (supposed) death.

  • Immortality - it seems as if Colonel Aureliano Buendia cannot be killed even by his own hands. At what point do the powers that be say it's enough because apparently the individual does NOT, I repeat, does NOT have the power or that privilege so to speak, in their hands.

Chapter 10

  • The mentioning again of Magical Lamps and Flying Mats - they were said to be true, significant instances from Macondo's history.

  • The Plague of Proliferation - Aureliano's supernatural rapid growth of animals was very strange. He felt his struck of good luck was due to the presence of his concubine, Petra Cotes.

  • Meliquiades' Return - for the third time Melquiades has come back appearing as he did before but more jovial and as a ghost. He speaks to Aureliano Segundo of stories of Macondo's past and keeps him updated. He maintains his space keeping it clean and as if he still remains.

Chapter 11

  • The Setting of Fernanda's Home Town - the Queen of Madagascar was from a very strange and peculiar place with ghostly nights and places where the sun never set.

  • The Unremovable Ash Crosses - on Ash Wednesday when all of the seventeen Aurelianos got crosses unlike everyone else, theirs could not be removed no matter what they tried to do. They were sacred and showed that respect should be given; stamps of invulnerabilty, which was ironic because they were and caste marks as well.

Chapter 12

  • The Power of Remedios' Beauty - as a disturbing individual because of the power she possessed, unintentionally, Remedios the Beauty was a daily disaster that caused men to experience anxiety and die over her, literally, at any cost, or maybe it was just karma? Caused men to cry for no reason - strange fascination. All the men wanted was to at least be a figment of imagination of love to really exist by her. That was enough.

  • Jose Arcadio Beuendia's Ghost - appeared because of the intricate stew of truths and mirages.

  • Colonel Aureliano Buendia's Premonitions - He envisioned the death of his children. He knew that something terrible was coming to kill them all and he tries his hardest to prevent it by any means necessary.

  • The Death of the Men - the stranger jumped down from the roof to further see Remedios the Beauty and he cracked his skull but blood didnt pour, only amber-colored oil that smelled of her. The death of the man who thought he had conquered the world apparently when he attacher Remedios the Beauty and died mysteriously in the worst kind of way. It held to the dact that she tormented men beond death on into eternity because that's how powerful her beauty was.

  • The Levitation Tale of Remedios the Beauty

Chapter 13

  • The Reappearance of Jose Arcadio Buendia's Ghost to Fernanda and some others.

Chapter 14

  • The Invisible Doctors - (telepathic surgeons) it never failed that Fernanda would not write to them. It was almost an addiction that she didn't know how neither did she want to shake.

  • The Image of Death - it came to tell Amaranta she would have to sew her own shroud for the next 6th of April although it didnt tell her when or whether it was before Rebeca. Death assured her that she would die with no pain, fear or bittterness if she did as she was told.

Chapter 15

  • The Spray of Bullets in the Station – after Jose Arcadio Segundo started the rowdiness and the “jump off” so to speak, there was an outburst of bullets over the crowd of people in the station, but miraculously there was no initial reaction (sadness, terror, madness, etc.) as if no one was harmed physically or mentally if they had seen a loved one hurt by what had just taken place.

  • The Invisible Massacre – apparently the killing spree at the station that took the lives of hundreds if not thousands was seen my no one else than Jose Arcadio Segundo. To others it was a figment of his imagination. There was nothing known of it because there was no proof even at the station that it had ever happened. Very strange.

  • Imperceptible Jose Arcadio Segundo – though Jose Arcadio Segundo was there, mind, body and soul, the officer flashed his light right over his face and left Melquiades’ room after the search saying that there was nothing there to worry about as if he didn’t exist or just wasn’t visible though he saw him. It was exactly the same way when the colonel would enter the room and see but not see. It was like he had some protective cloak that kept him from harm magically. Since then he was free from fear, period.

Chapter 16

  • Rain – rain is normally nothing magical but in this case the length of time was just outlandish. It rained for four years, eleven months, and two days. There were periods of drizzle but that would just indicate that when it rained again it would come down two times as hard. Homes were flood and destroyed while animals drowned and Macondo drifted into despair.

Chapter 17

  • Labyrinth of Dead People – Ursula’s view of her heritage, ancient and recent, all who had past away, in one room.

  • The Death (Plague) of the Birds – some thought that it was caused by the appearance of the strange creature, half human half animal, but either way it was just so odd that they would all die simultaneously in one interval that had succumb to grief.

  • The Weird Creature - magically a half-man/half-animal creature appeared supposedly causing the plague of the death of so many birds in Macondo. It was unaware of where it came from but they made no doubt that they would kill it at any cost and they hunted it down and completed their mission.

  • Aureliano and Jose Arcadio Segundo's Closeness - they both described how it was always March and Monday, but the truth was, ironically, that they were just unique and saw how time also stumbled and had accidents so things like people's actions would repeat themselves.

  • The Death of Jose Arcadio Segundo - mysteriously, he fell upon the parchments, dying with his eyes open after speaking to Aureliano one last time of the massacre.

Chapter 18

  • Melquiades' Return - he had came back, this ime to converse with Aureliano who had learned so much while in his study. This time though, body and soul, I would believe that he really died because now the room had become vulnerable like it never had before.

  • The Invincible Ants - they could not be killed by the broom, insecticides or lye.

  • The Wandering About of Things - magically, according to Fernanda, things were being misplaced by her because they would get up, as if they had legs, and move from her chosen place for them to lay, that or Elves were up to mishief in the house cause her to go crazy.

  • The Force - there was a force from an unknown source that lifted the children in Melquiades' room when they tried to destroy the parchments until Aureliano returned.

Chapter 19

  • The Balancing of a Beer Bottle - on an "unbalancing" night, Aureliano undressed and ran through the house, mysteriously balancing a beer bottle on his unconceivable maleness.

  • Pilar was Still Alive - to everyone's surprise, Pilar was still alive at over one hundred forty years of age. She saw him as well but in the image of the colonel who he reminded her of.

Chapter 20

  • The Rituals of the Mulatto Girls – the girls came up with weird arrangements to be carried out for Pilar Ternera’s funeral procession that were indeed, carried out.

  • The Mischief of the Elves – this time the elves were at it again but this time with Catalonian instead of Fernanda by increasing the wandering about of things. To me it was the beginning of a sign to the living that death was on its way.

  • Melquiades’ Grand Premonition – one hundred years ahead of time he knew the Buendia family’s destiny, where it began and end.

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