100 years of solitude part 3

My sentiments regarding the 3rd part of this novel haven't quite distilled to the point of being able to say anything particularly coherent, but there are a couple examples that I found poignant.
In class we discussed how war had become a way of life, and that so much violence had made the characters desensitized to it. Eventually when Coronel Aureliano Buendia realized that with all the concessions, the Liberals had become just like the Conservatives, and that they were only fighting just to fight, or was it for pride? But on pg. 351 he says "Hicimos tantas guerras y todo para que no nos pintaran la casa azul", which I thought summed it all up in a nice simple way. Freedom.
Another bit of perspective on pg. 348 that I think was particularly insightful and seemed to ring true - in fact peal resoundedly, was "una vez satisfecha la pasion no habia un hombre capaz de soportar asi fuera por un dia una negligencia que estaba mas alla de todo comprension"...No great illumination here, apart from my admiration of Garcia Marquez in that he obviously was a careful observer of the human condition.
Finally, I found the sentence on pg. 336 containing "nadie podia saber a ciencia cierta donde estaban los limites de la realidad" to be a little tongue-in-cheek in that it refers to the people of Macondo, but obviously also has something to do with the literary style that in this novel was reaching a peak in its refinement. Ha ha - nice.
Oh yeah - what's with all the references to Wednesday??

100 years of solitude part 2

I'm surprised at the development of the character of Aureliano Buendia. When he was a child I thought him to be introspective, thoughtful and sensitive, but he grew to become a dispassionate tyrant. The premonitions that he experienced were an interesting facet that for me imbued a sense of the Divine in him, a validation of a future omnipotence. Indeed as an adult he rose to a great height of power within the rebel military. Eventually his power left nothing further to be challenged, no personal goals nor ideals to be achieved. Colonel Aureliano Buendia's apathy that resulted I think was a very realistic portrayal of the consequence of ultimate power. Of course Garcia Marquez was building on the theme of solitude and how eventhough one seems to have everything they want or need around them, one will probably also feel very isolated.
An aspect of the novel found throughout that I find controversial is the inter-generational relationships. It is kind of shocking. So far it is dificult for me to reconcile why Garcia Marquez would include this line of topic in his novel, eventhough it contributes greatly to the sub-theme of "power" - this concept being perhaps the overriding factor resulting from the aforementioned kind of relationship. Despite the fact that the book is a work of fiction, the vast majority of us would find the inclusion of inter-generational sexual relationships to be offensive. Garcia Marquez took a great risk in deciding to go down this questionable path. However, any work of art should push the envelope a little and maybe spark a cultural debate. In this way a work of art can find immortality.

Cien Años de Soledad (primero cuartito)

Ahora es tiempo para echar mi opinión de nuevo sobre la lectura de hoy. Este ejercicio es importante aunque no le doy importancia a impresionar al profesor ni cualquiera persona con mis *revelaciones profundas*, pero hay que decir que la novela de Cien Años de Soledad es una novela tremenda. Para entender mejor decidí que vale la pena de leer cada capítulo dos veces.
Desde la primera página he encontrado que es fácil a meterme por completo. Me gusta la organización del escrito. Por ejemplo, la primera frase tiene una declaración con mucha intriga que tengo que seguir para aprender lo que pasa, o como pasaban las cosas para llegar al punto de conocer el hielo, o estar frente al pelotón de fusilamiento. Esta declaración está en el presente, entonces García Márquez sigue con la historia de la gente y el pueblo hasta conocía el hielo, pero este punto no es la cima. Durante toda la narración G.M. ha sembrado muchas semillas que crecen poco a poco. Hay un ciclo que nos muestra alguna consecuencia en el presente, y explique cómo llegar al punto por hablar en el pasado, y repite. Cada vez que se repite, progresamos más en la tela de la historia.
Estoy interesado en el trabajo de José Arcadio Buendía con su laboratorio, el crecimiento de los niños, las relaciones entre los ciudadanos y los gitanos, la fluidez de la narración, y muchos detalles más que no voy a analizar por peligro de perder la hermosura del sentimiento artístico.
Yo creo que el peligro es cuando alguna persona analiza cada palabra de la obra, vomita sus opiniones que sueñan educados y conforman al corriente, y luego recibe un premio de crítica aunque había cambiado la calidad estética de la obra por un entendimiento sintético y casi científico.
Yo quiero desarrollar un método de análisis que se basa en la apreciación del arte (la literatura, la música, etc.) por su propio bien, por sus calidades intrínsecas, no solo con la manera de investigación rigurosa que advocan en los pasillos de esta institución en lo que gastamos todo nuestro tiempo, dinero, y confianza.