the first 50 years of solitude

 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez* is considered one of the best pieces of literature in the whole world, let alone Latin America as a regional category. I mentioned at the beginning of the term in the intro blog that this was the only novel in this class that I had read before, so this was a bit of a reread for me. Truthfully, it felt a little like reading it the first time and I can't say I followed it as easily as I would've liked to. Anyway,,, 3rd time lucky? maybe?

This novel indeed exemplifies magical realism, in that things that would under any other circumstance be absurd are completely normal, such as a kid being born with a pig's tail. The confusing aspect is of course the fact that each generation of children bears the same names as those who came before them; the Jose Arcadios behave like the previous Jose Arcadios, the previous Aurelianos are like the new ones, etc. I wonder how much nominative determinism is at play here. Nominative determinism is basically the idea that the name you're given somewhat determines your character in the future. I saw a meme of Tom Hank's kids that had this idea; if you name your kid Colin you'll end up with a Colin, if you name your kid Chet you'll end up with a Chet. It's possible that this was answered in the novel and I missed it, but it's a question I have after having read it.

There are definitely some Oedipal vibes going on in this book too. Fate, curses, not to mention the incest. This novel probably hits the Oedipus trifecta if there's such a thing. Speaking of which, I wonder why incest plays such a role in the story. Is it just because it happened a few generations before the start of this family? Is it just playing on stereotypes of rural people? Is it more just about the attraction this whole family has to the same old, same old?


A question I ask you all; going back to the stuff about names and nominative determinism, do you think the choosing of the names had a causal effect to the children's characters? Might the course of the family have changed if they were a bit more creative when naming their kids?


* please forgive the lack of accents, I can't type them and the formatting goes weird when I paste them in

Comments

  1. Daniel OrizagaFebruary 27, 2023 at 11:03 PM

    From the beginning of the novel, the problem of the nomination is present, as you well point out. But it seems to me that the meaning is more playful than in other stories we have read, such as those of Borges. Whereas the speculation in "Labyrinths" feels less corporeal (although this is debatable, of course), here the recurrence and excess of names has a more affective aspect. Do you think this is clearer in this new reading that you just did? Or maybe I too have been trapped in the tangle of words by García Márquez.

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  2. Alyssa AlmerlingFebruary 28, 2023 at 10:48 AM

    Hi deeba! Loved your blog post! You always have such creative points and insights and I enjoy reading them. To answer your question, I think that the names could have a casual effect on the characters. In my soci classes I have learnt about labelling theory which is when someone is labelled something (like a certain group being called criminals) they will be become that because society labels them and social forces push them into it. If the characters knew the people who they received their names from and interacted with them, then I think it could have an affect on the children because they look up to them as role models and mimic their personality. It could also be the fact that because the relations are incest relations, that similar personalities arose because of genes deeply imbedded in this family. Its something that is interesting to discuss because it plays a big role in the book. Hence, the family tree on the first page.

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  3. KDMarch 1, 2023 at 11:58 PM

    Hi Deeba! What a unique experience it is to return to a book in university that you have already read. It is not something I do often however I know that some people enjoy returning to certain books at different points in their life, and are able to experience the book from a new perspective with new insights. Just as you mentioned nominative determinism I was about to go and look up the definition but then I saw that you explained it right after so thank you for your informative blog post! I actually quite enjoyed reading your entire blog post and the unique perspectives you came up with. In regards to your question, I actually feel a bit stumped on what my answer is. I think certainly at a surface level the alignment of the names and course of events are interconnected, and there would be more 'room' for other paths into the future.

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