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