Nicholas Notes

Just as anticipated following last week, I was not bothered in reading Marquez’ wacky yet thought provoking story. Although I feel like I’ve lost a bunch of the details, like who actually he’s talking about half the time, and when the thing is actually happening - things came together a little better after watching this weeks lecture, which pointed out a few of the primary elements folks have been analyzing, one of which I will discuss below. Moreover, there was some similarity of nostalgia as a theme to some of our previous texts, of family and the progression (perhaps repetition), of generations.  To clarify, we see the town of Macondo, with so much promise of euphoria, experience challenge and frequent defeat against oppressive forces of politics, plague (of the bananas), of dreams dying, and eventual disappearance of loved ones. We are left with the reflections of times when kids roamed like ‘boarding schools without rules’, playing and laughing under the sun. In reading and wa...

Reading Marquez over this reading holiday was a treat compared to previous literature we've been assigned. I’m not thorough with it just yet, but have enjoyed reflecting on the writing, and seeing what others have to say about the themes and style of the book. I have spoiled the text a little bit for myself, and have a general idea of what comes out of the longer and more repetitive lifespan read halfway through the book, and can see why its reviewed as a piece of literature equally symbolic as a religious text.  I would like to take the first week of One Hundred Years Of Solitude to appreciate and discuss the ideas of time, seemingly cyclical and never-ending, as well as the beings that get to experience it (ie. us readers as well as the characters inside the story). The story kicks off recounting Jose’s fascination with gypsy technology, and seems never to learn the cycle he falls into. Little do we know, that is only a glimpse at what Marquez has in store for us. Firstly, I don’...