week 9: One Hundred Years of Solitude pt.2
To partly respond to the question posed in the lecture video, "Is this inevitable.... does history here have to mean deterioration and decay?" I have a rather abstract idea to propose. I do not believe Macondo's history would always have to end in deterioration and decay. By following the concept that the events that transpire throughout the novel are cyclical in nature, I would instead categorize the periods of decay and turmoil as a "dark period" or something. That being said, yes I do acknowledge that the hurricane does seemingly bring a conclusive and rather permanent end to the existence of Macondo. The novel does end with the "erasure" of Macondo, however to me this signifies that technically the metaphorical door is left open, and a return of vitality from new visitors (or future residents) of the area is an example as to how that could be a hypothetical possibility. In this alternate universe the events would presumably transpire in a similarly cyclical pattern (assuming history inevitably repeats itself one way or another), but the course of events would be different due to new lineages being formed.
The multitudes could be subjectively both good or bad again, perhaps this is where 'fate' re-enters the conversation and thus there is no telling how things will turn out. In saying that this could be an alternate possibility in regards to how the story could continue and further unfold, it is also simultaneously true that openness cannot save the house nor can closure protect it (as mentioned in the lecture video), the events of the future are imminent regardless.
My question for discussion - do you believe the hurricane and the erasure of Macondo leaves the door open ("sign of health") or closed ("death / bare life") for potential future settlements? (ignoring the the novel certainly ends with Macondo being seemingly wiped off the face of the earth)
From the beginning of the novel, there is a struggle between nature and civilization, between geographical elements and the abilities of the human being to master, understand and name them. Curiously, it is men who are hopelessly failing in this fight. It is undeniable that the voice that narrates this novel sounds rather "masculine" to us, as one of this week's posts mentions. Could the fate that leads to the erasure of Macondo be broken if the stories are told again, but under another lineage, less obviously patriarchal?
ReplyDeleteHey KD, you have such a well thought out answer to the lecture, and I think I actually agree with you after hearing what you said. My answer might be somewhere in between the 2 options. I think anyone that comes and decides to reside on the same land will no longer have that space be the same as "Macondo". I think since the people that founded the land all eventually died off, the name might even change after its re-inhabited. I think it's very likely that people might have even resided there before and maybe something took them all away too, considering how they once found a set of bones there in the beginning. So I think once the storm/hurricane/whatever natural disaster blows over, the place will be a clean slate, and then "open" to new people, to create their own version of Macondo.
ReplyDeleteHi KD! Great blog post! I love your response to the lecture question. To answer your question I think the wiping of Macondo, does leave the door open for future settlements. To me, this books timeline was "circular", meaning that life would essentially repeat itself. I was thinking about the ants (which I discuss in my blog post) and maybe the reason for bringing them at the end was to show that life would continue on. Like if the town and its people got wiped out, but the ants would survive and would be an indication that history might repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteHey KD! I really enjoyed readying your blog post. I find myself reading your posts each week but I feel like you write so detailed that I don’t have too much to add! I really like your perspective on the possibility that Macondo is not gone forever. Maybe it’ll reoccur with a different name, different faces, in a different point in time, but it seems inevitable that the cycle will continue. Maybe the hurricane cleaned the town of its history so that a new one could be born.
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