Two Hundred Years of Solitude

The House of Spirits is a widely recognized book about feminism and not letting the ‘man’ hold you down. However, I feel that the book can very differently interpreted. We assume every female character in the book is a die-hard feminist however, there is one character who while had her moments I feel was not a feminist. Clara del Valle was a silent woman who was very in tune with herself, other people’s feelings be damned. While these actions were never intentional, they effected almost every character in the book. Be Clara falls into her silence due to pregnancy, or anger with Esteban, she did it in defense, never to ‘right the man’. This is not a topic I could find many if any backing too, just people placing Clara in the group due to who her family was. I want to explain why I feel Clara del Valle was indeed, NOT a feminist.

 

Clara was a silent yet steady character for the whole story, her presence known in almost all of the characters she met due to a lasting impact the clairvoyant had on those around her. She was kind and caring to those who showed her the same respect, or that respect to the others around her. When Clara fell silent the first time it was due to watching her deceased sister be fondled by a physician’s assistant. This is my first argument that Clara was never a feminist. If Clara was a feminist, and held those values as a young child, why did she fall silent instead of speaking out about the occurrences she saw? My Next point is the next time Clara spoke, offering almost demanding, that she be married to Esteban. No woman who holds the normal values a feminist’s holds would offer herself to any man. As a final example on things Clara did to give evidence she was never a feminist, was when her and her husband fell out of sorts, and she fell silent once more. This to me was a huge showing of Clara’s true feelings

 

I feel Clara’s silence was brought on by a need to protect herself in a way she felt nobody else could. After witnessing her sister be violated in a way that no one could ever take back or apologize for, think of how scared she was from that incident. How she chose to coup was to cut off her voice, cut off any chance of having to relive those moments through words. She does this one many occasions too. Such as when she falls pregnant with Blanca. To handle the stress and the pain of being a new mother on her way, and so very close she was, to birthing a child can put a lot of stress on any ones mind. She blocks off her voice to silence herself and the world around her. I don’t believe this to be sticking it to the man. I believe it to be Clara protecting herself.

 

Now I can give one instance when maybe her falling into one of her episodes may have looked like sticking it to her husband, Esteban. Now while she may have given scenes of feminism she was once more, standing her ground and protecting her. When Esteban would no longer listen she took away the things she knew he cherished, Her voice, her body, even her kooky happenings with the clairvoyant’s events. By completely cutting him off of any action to do with her, that may have been feminism in its rawest form, however it once again goes to show the length at which she’s going to go to hold together her soul, her heart, her mind. I feel Clara avoided these feelings because she didn’t see the point in having friends if the undead spoke to her. Why bother with ever feelings vulnerable or scared again when you could cut yourself off from the world and be alone to any thoughts.

 

With both sides in the open I feel people can begin to see Clara for who she was, a strong independent woman, who didn’t need to prove that she didn’t need no man. She was strong and while her couping mechanisms had similarities to how a feminist worked, I don’t feel the intent behind them is to be equal to Esteban, I think its more so to do with being equal to herself. Maybe if she had grown from what happened to her sister she would a very strong del Valle feminist, just like her mother. I also think that exploring her powers gave her an insight that lead her to a higher plane than being equal to any male. Clara was a wonderful example of how you can stand up for yourself, but not be a feminist.

 

García-Johnson, Ronie-Richele. “The Struggle for Space: Feminism and Freedom in ‘The House of the Spirits.’” Revista Hispánica Moderna, vol. 47, no. 1, 1994, pp. 184–193. www.jstor.org/stable/30203383

Frick, Susan R. “Memory And Retelling: The Role Of Women In La Casa De Los Espíritus.” Journal Of Iberian & Latin American Studies 7.1 (2001): 27-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Jenkins, Ruth Y. “Authorizing Female Voice and Experience: Ghosts and Spirits in Kingston’s The Woman Warrior and Allende’s The House of the Spirits.” MELUS, vol. 19, no. 3, 1994, pp. 61–73. www.jstor.org/stable/467872.

Levine, Linda Gould. “Weaving Life into Fiction.” Latin American Literary Review, vol. 30, no. 60, 2002, pp. 1–25. www.jstor.org/stable/20119878.

I seem to be utterly obsessed with this book, so I want to compare Rosa from The House of Spirits and the main character from the short story Axolotl. Each character is similar and different in their own way, in their silence as well as their obsessions. I want to go into depth about why I feel this way, with how Rosas personality and the main character’s decisions coincide, and resemble the same situations that the character’s face, their internal issues anyways. Ill compare what I consider to be their similarities in life obsessions, in moments of silence, as well as death.

Rosa and the main character in Axolotl have their own obsessions that were in my opinion rather weird. I mean come on, an amphibian that is perpetually stuck in water even though salamanders are primarily land creatures. Then a piece of cloth, on that was never put down and cherished upon, filled with creatures that are strictly in the imagination of the people who created them. Now you may wonder, why is this bad? How does is affect anything to do with the book? My answer is rather simple. Rosa never learned any skills other than how to embroider. No one pushed her to be a wife, or learn wifely duties, like gardening, or how to care for a child, or be a woman of substance. Really this happened because she was so beautiful no one knew how to handle it, no one wanted to fight for her until Esteban came along, and even then she showed no interest in being or wanting to become interested in being with him She literally embroiders mystical creatures onto a cloth for a living. She never craved anything more because she out herself into a space that was her own. She never needed anyone else. While Rosas obsession was healthier, and didn’t make her lose her mind, it still put her off in a world that separated her from the rest of society. The main character in Axolotl literally lost his consciousness to the creature. Became so ingrained with how the creature lived, and how they lived, he convinced himself that that was a life he wanted to live. A life he craved, and literally made a world where he was the Axolotl and was no longer himself. He disregarded his responsibilities and his previous life to be a creature that is stuck in a tank that is silent, and cannot be near or touch other beings in the tank.

With that being said I feel like the main character in Axolotl faced a worse fate than Rosa did. Rosa suffered death due to her father’s political cravings, however she fell ill and passed away. She didn’t have to spend the rest of her life in total solitude and loneliness. That’s what happened to the character in Axolotl, he became trapped in an existence he could never escape. He was forever lost in a world he believed the Axolotl inhabited. What if in a few months he begins to change his mind? What if he doesn’t want to be alone, and be in a world of total solitude? He could never change it, he chose his path, he chose to live as an Axolotl. He could never take back the life he once lived.

Each character faced something that was detrimental to who they were. Rosa and the poisoned alcohol, and the main character in Axolotl, his need to be away from those who didn’t understand his want for solitude. Even their obsessions can relate to each other. Rosa was consumed with just embroidering she never wanted to do anything else. Then the man in the Axolotl in the beginning was simply enthralled with the Axolotls physical appearance, their actions and motives. After that it’s all downhill for him.

Both characters had a great deal of silence to handle, and I feel like this came into light when these obsessions were created. I feel like Rosa’s lack of pushing in her life due to her beauty was why she basically shut herself off to the world. Why she felt like she didn’t have to try and advance as something, anything. With men falling over her beauty but not wanting to be with her because of it, I can only imagine that that might have some type of sting on a person’s mind. While the man in Axolotl simply didn’t have anything he felt was worth living for. He didn’t want to live his life anymore, he wanted something more. He found that more in the way the Axolotl lived. Its self-dependence, the way the Axolotls co-existed. He felt like their life was better than the one he lived. That’s why he came to the aquarium every day. He stared at them every day. He did it to understand the creature locked into a tank, how it could look so content. Because he wanted to be content.

Growing up with a sister like Rosa was fun, from an outsider’s view. Rosa was tall, and beautiful, with a silent disposition that left her mysterious, and a sight to behold by family and strangers. With long silk like hair, and an exotic stunning face, living in the shadow of her beauty was not something young Clara hadn’t grown used too. Since Clara was rather unremarkable, compared to her sister anyway, with semi-short brown hair adorned on an round face that held casual features. It was a normal occurance for Clara to say something rather intelligent, and to be ignored or looked at with a incredulous stare. However, when Rosa would say something remotely related to the topic it was a common that she was fawned over for the comment. With that Clara tried to not say anything unless spoken too, which was hard when at times the words would just fall from her mouth. It was never a good time in the del Valle house when those words lipped past her lips. Or at least for little Clara it wasn’t.

 

Rosa never knew that she made Clara feel the way she did, for she was oblivious to most everything. She simply didn’t notice the correlation between her actions and when her sister would fall silent or lash out with hurtful words. It was just something that never crossed her mind, mainly all that did cross her mind was her embroidering. So when Clara would lash out, it was a confusing moment for Rosa. Not understanding what she has done, or what was going through her sister’s mind, not that she ever stopped to ask either. With how many time Clara did spew violent words out at her older sister or the family in general, you would think that someone would notice, or perhaps even care, but no one did. The Del Valle family just assumed it was Clara being young and not knowing how to express whatever she was feeling. Partly that was true, and another part was Clara knew exactly what she was feeling, she just didn’t understand why she felt that way.

 

An example of this happening was a rather simple conversation over dinner, where the whole family sat down to ‘bond’ as their mother Nieva had stated. Clara was following the conversation with as much interest as a young girl could have. She was currently listening to her mother go on about how she was interested in pulling the current roses out of the back garden to implant tulips instead. She was extremely insistent on the flowers being removed, and replaced. Clara looked up from her plate and responded before her father could. ” I love the roses mother, they compliment the house perfectly, the color matches the dusty shade the house trim is, almost like what the bible says the devils coloring would be!”. With that statement the somewhat full table turned to stare at Clara with little belief such a vulgar statement had come out of the small girls lips. Severo was slowly turning red in the face, mouth open as if he wanted to speak but was a loss of words to respond to his youngest daughter. Then almost as if Rosa had fallen out of her stupor she slowly looked up from her plate with a soft smile, staring off at the wall past her parents, she spoke softly. “Maybe I could learn a new stitch for my next embroidery project.”, then with that statement she went back to focusing on her food, and carried on slowly pecking at the food that was adorned on the glass surface. Severo automatically turned to his oldest when she spoke, and his eyes softened from his previous rage. ” Well then we will be keeping the roses, for inspiration. Love,” he turned to his wife and spoke ” maybe you can plant tulips out front, in that spacious area around the front steps.” Their mother had the most serene look on her face as she looked loving at Rosa. “Why yes dear. I do believe that keeping them is a wonderful idea. Her work is always so beautiful.” The parents then tried avidly to reengage Rosa in an conversation, which was proving to be very unsuccessful. Clara stared at her parents flabbergasted at her parents that something Rosa said that wasn’t even related to what they spoke of had impacted their decision. Clara slowly felt her anger rise, how dare they. How could they simply over look what she had said, it was intelligent it related to

 

what they were saying, and they completely over looked her. They completely ignored her, and if Rosa hadn’t of spoke up they would have yelled at her. How was any of this fair? It didn’t make sense. She tried so hard to participate but they simply over looked her. Over looked. She slammed her fork down, which had stopped conversation instantly and she stood angrily. “Keep the ugly roses. No one cares!” And stormed off to her room. Clara’s parents looked at each other confused, and then back to where Clara had just stormed out of the room. Their dinner was silent for the rest of the evening, except for the few sparing chuckles Rosa made from her own train of thought.

 

Clara didn’t understand why when her father, Severo, over looked her and flaunted to his friend and colleagues about Rosa, it upset her so much. She reasoned for many years that he wasn’t overlooking her, it was simply her imagination. Even though she had past experiences that felt very much so like being over looked. It wasn’t until they were all sitting around the living room Clara truly felt like her father put her on the back burner, her opinions, knowledge, even presence wasn’t wanted. When they were showing off the embroidery project they worked on together, all Severo would acknowledge is what Rosa did, even though the work put in was equivalent for both girls. The small very detailed cloth was the product of Clara dealing with Rosa constant silence, her undeniable need to ignore everyone and anything when she was in her sitting room with her needle and thread. Clara was fairly certain that Rosa would ignore an earthquake is she was in her sitting room when the earth moved. Even with those wonderful feats on Clara’s part no one seemed to notice. No matter what Clara did to get recognition for her work on the fabric as well her father would pin her with an uninterested stare, then return to praising Rosa. In that moment Clara decided to be her own person, and be open with her words, feelings, and to not let what Rosa does, define her. While it was easier said than done, and when Clara went silent when Rosas presence was no longer in the home. She had grown up enough to know that sometimes saying what you felt wasn’t worth what one would receive in a response.

My little brother Joshua was born when I was ten years old on the sunniest day in July. He came out of the womb complaining, unlike most children who simply cry during their delivery my little brother came out speaking perfect spanish and english curse words that described his current unhappiness. He was born with a very dangerous high fever that no medicine or Mexican herb could fix. It wasn’t until I held him with my cool clammy hands that his terrible temper went away and he finally stopped cursing like a full grown adult.  Since Joshua’s birth it was quite obvious he received  my father’s  quick and hot temper. I on the other hand was born on a cool september night and received my mother’s patience and cool head. We are complete opposites in this sense and in many others. This became abundantly clear as Joshua grew older and attended kindergarten. I was known as the quiet student who always did as he was told exactly when he was told, while my brother was the student to question everything and demanded a reason for every action he did in school. I always kept to myself and rarely went outside, Joshua was one of the most popular kids in his class and hated the indoors. The differences between us are even more obvious in the way we play the game of baseball. I was the smart calculated player, while my brother loved to feed off of his emotions and relied on his instincts and talents to play. Growing up with Joshua was extremely entertaining for me as I loved to hear him speak without thinking and say anything that popped into his head at the wrong time. Such as when he told the doctor to “stop trash talking” when he was told the fried skin of the chicken was unhealthy for him. While I on the other hand cried when I was his age because, the doctor recommended I eat more. I also believed Joshua loved spending time with me as he always seemed to calm down and seem less angry. When it was finally time for me to select which college I would attend my cheapest and therefore only option was to attend a school that was several hours away from my home. It hurt me a great deal leaving my family behind as I traveled. I quickly learned that most of the people who attended this school were very different from the people I was accustomed to back home they spoke in a weird accent and it seemed like all of them were brought into this world by people who told my parents what to do day in and day out. I still however managed to make friends and adjusted very slowly to my new home , however I soon noticed I was showing even less emotion than I usually did I was cold and distant without my new friends even  realizing. I was extremely excited when break began so that I may go back home and see if everything was as I left it. When I arrived home from a long bus ride the door was wide open along with all the windows in the house. This is strange because, my hometown is in the middle of the country and becomes very cold that time of year. As soon as I stepped in the house I was greeted by an incredible heat wave, the house was at least 40 degrees warmer than the temperature outside. My mother greeted me in the kitchen, she was genuinely happy to see me but, there was obvious traces of pain in her face. She told me that my father was not home because he was  in search of a new job due to his last job being shut down. I asked my mother about the heat wave in the house. She took me to my brother’s room where Joshua was laying down with ice on his chest. The heat was coming off of him. My mother explained that Joshua had hit a rapid growth spurt, while he also became more angry and more emotional. She also explained that one day he had cut himself when he was throwing a fit and that his blood was literally boiling  and melted a piece of the table. He became ill with fever and had been asleep for one whole day. They did not have the money to take him to the hospital since she was the only one working. Since I was around my brother I actually felt emotion and was not numb, I began to cry as guilt fell over my body like a side effect of the extreme heat. I knew it was my fault for not being home so that my cold body could protect Joshua from himself. I immediately tried to hug my brother like the day he was born to cool him off and so that he may return to normal. It burned attempting to hug him, I knew in that moment that it was too late I began to cry. The next thing I remember was waking that night when my father woke me up he had found a new job. I went to joshua’s room where I began to weep again. That was the last form of emotion I have felt in my life even now as I write this story I am not sad by my brother’s death. My brother’s funeral required a special metal casket that would not burn like the wooden ones as heat continued to radiate from my brother even after his death. I felt nothing not even a wince of pain as the metal box was dropped into the earth and I no longer felt the warmth of my brother. The priest mistaking my lack of tears for disbelief attempted to hug me, he screamed in pain as the mild case of frostbite affected his skin. At that moment I realized I no longer could go back to school.I stayed at home where  my parents died of a severe case of pneumonia during the summer. I still felt no emotion.

Magical Realism is the acceptance of magical or spiritual properties that are are  accepted as normal or go unquestioned by the characters in a piece of literature. Magical Realism has found great success when used by Latin American  Authors especially when Magical Realism is used to emphasize a theme in a story such as the history of Latin America.  In this paper I will explore the use of Magical Realism in both 100 Years of Solitude and “The House of the Spirits” . I will try to explain how both authors Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende use Magical Realism as a way to explain the very complex history of Latin America such as the coup d’etat in Chile or the neo-colonization of American fruit companies in South America. In both stories the authors write about something very close to them.

Magical Realism has found great success in Latin America from a variety of authors from Isabel Allende in Chile,to  Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Colombia, and Laura Esquivel in Mexico. Since Magical Realism has found success through out the very diverse landscape of Latin America, we must evaluate what makes Magical Realism so appealing to these different cultures. I believe part of  the answer lies in the history of these cultures. All Latin American countries have experienced both colonization and neo-colonization  and the effects of both.Neo- Colonization in this paper will be defined as  the economic and political policies by which a great power indirectly maintains or extends its influence over other areas or people, and colonization is defined as   control by one country over another area and its people I believe it is Magical Realism’s ability to both explain the trouble with colonization and neo-colonization while

presenting it as a parody. The absurdity of the situations and hard to believe story plots force the reader to focus on the deeper meaning of the text and question what the text is actually saying.

In “100 years of solitude” by Gabriel Garcia marquez we can see clear examples of magical realism which contains a deeper meaning. An example being when Jose Arcadio Segundo attempts to organize all of the workers in the banana plantation. The absurdity comes when the banana plantation tells the workers they were invited to a meeting, but are instead massacred. All the bodies are put into a train by the soldiers including Jose Arcadio Segundo to be dumped into the sea. Jose Arcadio Segundo survives the train and walks back to Macondo where he discovers nobody remembers the death of the workers. Jose Arcadio Segundo slowly goes crazy from this information. The fact that a massacre so large would go undetected in the region where it happened seems extremely unrealistic. Gabriel Garcia Marquez does this in order to represent a real life event. The “Banana Massacre” occurred on December 6, 1928 when an estimated 47- 2,000 people were murdered by the Colombian Army after US officials and the United Fruit Company threaten to invade Colombia with the US Marines. This form ofpressuring is clearly an example of Neo-Colonization. Marquez uses the absurdity of the whole town forgetting a large scale event to create a social comment about the event. Marquez is trying to speak on the great injustice that happened to his country men and women who simply wanted better working conditions, and instead were senselessly murdered. Marquez also makes the point that the murderers never really faced any real punishment at all. A second would be the gypsies and the things they bring to Macondo such as magnifying glasses, magnets, and flying carpets. The magical realism obviously comes from  the fact that flying carpets are presented as a normal everyday thing such as a magnifying glass or magnet. Marquez does this on purpose in order to   demonstrate another effect of colonization or New-Colonization which is the arrival of new technology and other cultures to South America specifically by the Europeans. The Gypsies are an ethnic group which were originally from Eastern Europe. Marquez uses this group to represent all outside influences and their gifts both magical and non magical are  used to represent technology and cultures which affected the people of South America. The absurdity

of the gypsies traveling that great of distance in order to demonstrate magical items to a small town in South America is Marquez’s way of commenting on both the positive and negative affects of the outside influences that were introduced by colonization and Neo-Colonization. Marquez is saying that the influences were not necessarily a bad thing and also not necessarily a good thing. He does this by giving us the example of the magnifying glass which by itself would be a good technological advance until Jose Arcadio Buendia  tries to weaponize it and sell it to the military. This is to show the negative side of the outside influence. Marquez wants us to understand that these outside influences definitely had a strong part in affecting South America.

The novel “The House Of The Spirits” by Isabel Allende also demonstrates some sort of political and social commentary by using magical realism . We see this when Tres Marias experiences a horrible ant plague which is unable to be controlled by anybody including “Mr. Brown” a short white man who specializes in insecticides. A very old indigenous man named Pedro Garcia is given the opportunity to get rid of the ants out of pure desperation. He successfully gets rid of them by communicating with them and “showing them” the way off of the property. The absurdity of an old man speaking to ants and getting rid of them by simply showing them a different path is Isabel Allende creating Social Commentary. The Social Commentary is over the idea that the outside influences and ideas, which in this case are represented by Mr. Brown are not necessarily better than the old traditional South American way of  doing this. This comment is based on the effects of Neo-Colonization and Colonization.

In both novels there are examples of the author using Magical Realism in order to create some sort of political or social commentary by saying something absurd and making the reader focus on what the author wants them to focus on. I believe this is why Magical Realism is so widely popular in South America it allows the author to make a statement about the past or present state of things without sounding too direct or “preachy” it paradizes the situation in order for the lesson to be entertaining  while still making the reader think about things by focusing on the absurdity of the situation. This gives South American authors the perfect way to express their ideas over Colonization and Neo-Colonization which is a popular subject since those two factors are strong shapers of the current political and social situation in South America.

Works Cited

1. Thomas Edison Alwa The New trends in Latin American bloom “Magical Realism” in the Novel of Gabriel García Márquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude – a Postcolonial Study.

Dictionary.com

`    Mustanir Ahmad Magical Realism, Social Protest and Anti-Colonial Sentiments in One Hundred Years of Solitude: An Instance of Historiographic Metafiction

Adonis Martin

Mr. Duffey

CI

26 November 2016

What Hood Are You From:” Setting in”-Isabel Allende’s THOTS

Abstract:

If we analyze the setting, the difference in social class, and create our own autobiographical parody we could receive a better understanding of The House of The Spirits. Settings tell the audience a lot about a book. It can give one explanations for why certain decision were made, it can influence how people live, and it has an impact on the culture of people. In this case the setting is in Latin America during a time of revolution. Just understanding the setting alone can help the reader grasp a better understanding of the book. In addition, a major theme in the book THOTS is the differences in social class. In THOTS, everyone is either part of the aristocrats or the peasants. This class distinction often results in conflict, and in the book, there’s a huge one. The last part of this paper is an autobiographical narrative told by me and incorporating some aspects of the book.

Research Piece:

In the book, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende the setting is important to better understanding the work as a whole. If we know the time period, the location, and the cultural environment we can receive a better understanding of the book. The House of the Spirits takes place in Chile in the 20^th century and spans over a fifty-year time period. Knowing the time period gives us insight into what was happening in Latin America while the book was taking place. In 1939 there was a huge earthquake in Chile killing thousands of people. In Chapter 5 of Allende’s House of the Spirits there was an earthquake of this description. Clara used her magic abilities to foresee this earthquake, but nobody listened to her. Similarly, during this time period there were social uprisings and protests, and these are also consistent with the uprisings and protests in the novel. This further proves that the setting of the book is consistent with the setting of Chile. Drawing from these connections as an audience we have enough evidence to place the setting in Chile. Analyzing the life and the history of the people in Chile during this time period can help us better understand and relate to the characters in the novel because the people of Chile and the characters in the book will have the same life style, politics, and other things of the sort. In other words, the historical context of this book is important to the action and direction the story goes. Chile had a well-established social order. The wealthy aristocratic type usually lived in huge haciendas and these lasted generations. The lower class (peasants) grew to be a very loyal and submissive class to their patrons. They were virtually the equivalent of slaves. Latin America during this time period had many social upheavals and civil wars. In The House of the Spirits, the lower class is treated very harshly by their patrons and this is consistent with not only Chile’s culture but also Latin American culture in general. Esteban Trueba was a patron who often beat and raped woman and children, but they were still loyal because they needed him to survive. This is because before he got there they were in really bad shape. Knowing this we can understand the viewpoint of the lower-class characters in the book. We now know that they want change and to overthrow the socialist government. In addition, the geography, cultural environment, and climate also help us better understand the way of life of the people in the book. The geography determines how people get food. Chile is a very isolated from the rest of South America. Deserts, Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean make it relatively isolated. Chile is one of the longest countries in the world which accounts for its very diverse climate. The geography of the peasants plays a key part in the novel. The place where Esteban Trueba is patron is described as a wasteland, so I would say this is more desert type area. This is partly why Esteban is needed for the peasants to survive. In The House of the Spirits, the climate can control what people wear and eat, and the cultural geography can determine how people live. Most of the novel takes place in the big mansion on the corner. This is where the Trueba family lives. In this house, Clara raises her children and continues to thrive with magic. Since we are set 20^th century Latin America Clara, her children, and her grandchildren are abused. Esteban Trueba is a very abusive husband. In these times magic was a way to cope with the reality of society. The term for this is magical realism. Clara practiced magic with three sisters throughout the novel. Whenever Clara decided to, she could isolate herself and focus on magic. I believe magic was Clara’s way of coping with the problems that had occurred throughout her life. Apart from the big house on the corner, some of the book took place in a school. Esteban’s granddaughter Alba and her boyfriend Miguel spent some of the novel protesting the new government change. As I previously stated Latin America was in a period of social uprisings and civil wars. Alba was caught and tortured which often happens to prisoners in war. So as shown the setting not only gives the reader insight on where and when the novel takes place, but also helps us better understand the characters, motives, decisions, and way of life.

Thematic Analysis:

A very apparent theme throughout this novel is the separation between the upper class and the lower class. Allende uses social class to influence the character’s actions throughout the novel. In the novel Esteban and his sister are able to classify themselves as upper class because of their famous family ties, the money Esteban made, and the land/businesses Esteban owns. Esteban’s mother’s family name was tied to wealthy and upper class people. Even though Esteban wasn’t very wealthy growing up he had ties to a good family name, which had potential. This is how things were in Latin American culture. It was all about your family ties. Upper class individuals in the novel often find themselves as political leaders. Clara and her family are also considered upper class, as opposed to the Garcia’s who represent the peasants of the land. The lower class were either farmers or peasants and they would build wealth for the upper class. There is a very thick line separating the upper and lower class. One distinction is the way women are treated. In chapter four the women of lower class laugh at the things Clara is saying. They explained that if they did and said what Clara had said their husbands would beat them. On the other side of things Nivea could go out and protest and never get a hand laid on her. Nivea was upper class and wealthy and had a husband who respected her. This might be because wealthy people have all they need to survive and have virtually no worries. People would have more freedom to do the things they like in wealthy families. Another big thing that separates class systems is education. In the book, Esteban tries to educate the people of lower class, but most of them remained clueless. The book even states that some of them just couldn’t grasp the idea that the whole world could be placed on a little map. In chapter 4 Ferula states “For god sake! It’s impossible to live among such uncouth people”! This is after Ferula had a nerve attack after seeing a rat and she insisted they move back to the city. This only proves the upper and lower classes live very different lives in very different living conditions. Something I found interesting is that the upper class (aristocrats) rule over the lower class (the peasants). Esteban Trueba was a Patron for some lower class peasants. People such as Esteban boss everyone around and will punish them if they do anything wrong. It’s very similar to slavery. Esteban treats the people of lower class extremely harsh. Often differences in class or social status lead to many conflicts. With different class standings come different political viewpoints and lifestyles. In regards to The House of the Spirits the lower-class rebels and revolts against the socialist government. To do this the lower class had to find a way to unite with one another. The way they did this was by song. In the novel Pedro Garcia used the story of the fox and the hens, told to him by his elders, to make a song for the uprising. Similarly, during this time period there were social uprisings and protests, and these are also consistent with the uprisings and protests in the novel. There was virtually no middle class described in the novel. There was either the wealthy aristocratic type, or the peasant farmer type, there was no evidence of an in between. Class and social status might have been the most important theme throughout the novel because it dictated how a person’s life would go. It virtually determined what job a person would end up doing, it determined where people would live, and it overall determined how their life would be. One aspect of social class was the life opportunities a person receives. Upper class will have many more opportunities than lower class citizens. In the novel Esteban Trueba and is family had many more opportunities throughout their life than Pedro Garcia did. Class differences also affect personality in different ways. Peasants or people in poverty are more likely to think stealing or crime is ok because that might be what they need to do to survive. Wealthy people tend not to stoop so low because they usually don’t have too. Therefore, we can conclude that there is a great diversity in behavior with regards to social status. To conclude, social status played a huge role throughout the novel and was often the source of conflict. Class in my opinion is the most important theme to analyze in this book because it can give you a sharp understanding of the characters and where they come from in the book.

Creative, semi-fictional, autobiographical parody:

Christmas break was finally here. The date was December 20^th 2015 and it was a cold winter afternoon. Me, my mother, and three sisters went out to get our yearly ornaments from the Christmas store. Two of my sisters bought angel ornaments, and my other sister got a baby Jesus ornament. My mother glared at me angrily as I got a blue bud lite can ornament for the tree.

I laughed and with a grin on my face said “It symbolizes how times have change and shows that I’m now in college”. She sighed hard and proceeded to checkout.

We got home and prepared some delicious hot chocolate. My mom texted me urging me not to forget to get my three little sisters Christmas presents. On top of that I had to remember to get my two little brothers presents as well. My two little brothers didn’t live with me, both had different moms than me. We start decorating the tree and my little sisters gave mixed reactions. The two-year-old and the seven-year-old were very eager to put ornaments on the tree. However, my fifteen-year-old sister wanted to hurry and get it over with. Ultimately, we all had a good time decorating the Christmas tree.

While I was in college my mom gave my room to my oldest little sisters. So, I was forced to sleep on the couch. I was a little too big for the couch and my back pained me a lot. Even worse my dad came home at around 1 a.m. and started snoring so loud that I could hear it through my headphones. It was like this all the way till the month of January. My mother and father were very curious on what my Jan term would be. I kindly explained to them that I was going to Chile in South America to stay with my pen pal Alba Garcia for a whole month. My parents were very worried, but knew that I was a man now and they knew that I could take care of myself. My dad worked for American Airlines at the time so I flew with American Airlines. It was a very long flight and I was a little nervous. I had never been out of the country before. All these thoughts went through my head. Lucky Alba and her family could speak English. When I got off the airplane, I was greeted by Alba and her mother Blanca. However, I didn’t call her mom Blanca I called her Mrs. Trueba. Mrs. Trueba informed me that we had quite a drive before we arrived at their house.

It was kind of awkward most of the drive, but then I started to feel welcome. Alba started telling me about her life and school. She told me she really liked this guy named Miguel. I told her College in America was great, and I told her I was having an amazing time. She didn’t seem to care to much about American culture, so I didn’t say too much.

Hours went by and we ended up making it to their house. Their house was huge compared to all the other homes around. I was astonished. The house was on the corner of the street. I looked in excitement and yelled “Alba I didn’t know you were rich”! Alba said her grandfather was currently out of town. When I walked in the house Alba and Mrs. Trueba showed me around. They showed me to my room and it was a great size. I met an older woman and I was told to call her grandma Clara. It seemed extremely weird calling her grandma Clara, but Alba said it was fine. In the morning, I woke up and ate some food that I can’t quite describe. All I knew is that it was delicious. Alba said that I was allowed to go to school with her, but I declined partly because I only spoke English and partly because I wanted her to get a chance to hook up with Miguel (the boy she likes). I was left in the house with her mother and grandmother until Alba got home later at five. I spent the first couple of hours talking to my friends and parents and posting pictures on social media. Alba’s grandmother Clara started to tell me stories of when she was a kid. They were all very interesting. There was a wide variety of stories that she told, but perhaps the most interesting had to do with her older sister Rosa. Clara said she was called “Rosa the beautiful”. From what Clara told me I wanted to meet Rosa, but Clara said she passed a long time ago. Mrs. Trueba was astonished to hear grandma Clara talking to me. At first I was very confused, but eventually Mrs. Trueba told me that her mom had a spell and hasn’t spoken to anyone for the last five months.

Some days passed and me and Alba were getting to know each other very well. She told me how she started dating Miguel and I was very happy for her. Towards the end of the month she told me I should leave soon because her grandfather would be coming home soon. However, her grandfather came home earlier than expected. This is as far as I will tell because the sequences of events that happened after this I don’t ever want to repeat. Let’s just say some of the things her grandfather did would have him in prison for life back in the U.S. I started to understand why grandma Clara didn’t speak and why Alba wanted me to get ready to leave. However, Alba’s grandfather paid me no mind. I was still treated well as a guest in his house. I thanked the family for having me, and I returned home. When I returned home, many people asked me how the trip was and countless answers ran through my head, but I just replied with a simple “it was good”. Currently, it is 2016 and I will not be traveling for this Jan Term because the airports have become very packed due to the recent presidential election.

Works cited:

Bruno-Jofré, Rosa. “The Catholic Church in Chile and The Social Question in the 1930s: The Political Pedagogical Discourse of Fernando Vives Del Solar, S.J.” The Catholic Historical  Review 99.4 (2013): 703-26. Web.

Ko, Nusta Carranza. “Cementing Class Differences: Globalization in Peru.” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 12.3 (2013): 411-26. Web.

Andersen, Robert, and Josh Curtis. “Social Class, Economic Inequality, and the Convergence of          Policy Preferences: Evidence from 24 Modern Democracies.” Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue Canadienne De Sociologie 52.3 (2015): 266-88. Web.

Corvalan, Alejandro, and Paulo Cox. “Class-Biased Electoral Participation: The Youth Vote in Chile.” Latin American Politics and Society 55.3 (2013): 47-68. Web.

Topic: relationships and its importance

Throughout time, regardless of olden or modern ages, the human need/necessity to form connections/relations with others has always been present. Within Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits and Gabriel Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude, the recurring role of relationships has become more than a crucial theme in their stories. The relationships established made both novels almost believable, molding seemingly static roles to dynamic ones [and] gingerly mimicking the associations we form in real life. Upon scrutinizing each of the characters’ bonds, it is seen that they delve further into the reality and gravity of relationships, whether if they are in a romantic or rushed sense. Through their legacies and individual stories, the characters from Allende’s work portray and even embody the importance (or role) of relationships. The “r” that stands for relationships does not merely limit itself to only romance, it can also personify the ability to become ripe, reliable, and even the overwhelming rush of them too.

A common interpretation of relationships is the raw romance experienced by passionate couples, however, Allende unveils the dark reality of the “rush” of them too. While reigning over his hacienda, Esteban’s frustrating sexual drive destroyed the lives of many young women, which was all due to his urge of wanting to feel “the pleasure of the flesh”. The male characters of Allende’s The House of the Spirits share the same habit of dehumanizing women as mere instruments of pleasure and being overly proud of their authority upon them. Similarly, Gloria Duran points out that the Spanish Surrealist painter, Remedios Varo, had similar ideas to Allendes’. The love-hate relationship of Esteban and Clara is comparable to the autobiographical painting “in which the house is seen as tower-prison… in which the captive becomes so drained of life that she merges into the furniture” made by Varo (Durán 9). Varo’s and Allende’s works illustrate how women are confined by the fast paced relationships and track of thought, in these scenarios, brought on by the overpowering males, which demonstrates that through their eyes, the women have value equal to only being pleasure materials or better yet pieces of furniture (that they can utilize and throw away if useless). Esteban’s entire character concentrates on the whole conservative notion/idea of women being docile and “man-handled”, which thus leads him to think forcing girls and women into a rushed relationship is entirely normal. Esteban may have been seen as civilized at first, but in the end, he became the central symbol of a savage. His mother, Dona Ester Trueba, even says “my god! you look like a savage” (Allende 106) on her deathbed, which doesn’t even faze Esteban’s attitude of himself. Afterwards, Esteban may have shaved and cleaned up his outer appearance, but when his mother labeled him a savage, he really should have checked his inner personality.

            However, Allende shows that despite the risky ones, relationships are significant to open up and ripen a maiden’s heart, romantically or not. The newspaper, The Guardian, unveils the conservative labeling of “men being historically associated with rationality, straightforwardness, and logic; women with unpredictable emotions, outbursts, and madness” (Nunn 15-16).

Most notably, Almodovar and Allende’s works both portray heroines whose actions shatter this reasoning completely, which are Pepa and Alba respectively. The likeness between these two became apparent when I realized Pepa and Alba both were once very dependent on their lovers. However, towards the end of their stories, they sprouted into individuals who were free to think for themselves. Furthermore, both female protagonists broke away from the vicious cycle of revenge and hate, which, “obviously”, was created by the wicked and corrupt men. How did they do it though? Instead of giving into her stereotype and basing herself only off of emotion (like Lucia), Pepa rationalizes her anger and hatred to the point of even saving the life of the man who undermined and ignored her. While Ivan was swept away in his desire of lust and the glamour of new women, Pepa had the chance to ignore his dire situation and let him bear what he deserved. However instead she became the bigger, more levelheaded person and chose to save his life.

 

Important characteristic values of a relationship are also the reliable and raw traits. Allende demonstrates this through the strong relationships and actions between her female characters: Clara and Blanca. Even though she was upset when she discovered Blanca’s midnight escapades, Clara does not tell Esteban about it. Furthermore, Clara remains faithful to Blanca when Esteban rages over Blanca’s “impurity”, even taking her first punch from him because of her daughter. The mother and daughter bond of Clara and Blanca is so powerful that one takes abuse for another, which not only portrays Clara’s love for Blanca, but also Clara’s reliability as a mother. This is also seen inVolver as Raimunda takes full responsibility of Paco’s murder, even though Paula committed it. As Raimunda struggles to clean up the evidence and even take over a friend’s restaurant (without permission) to get rid of the body, she too illustrates how her daughter isn’t alone in this; they can get through the murder and other griefs of life together as a family. Additionally, a lot of Augustina’s personality was reflected in Ferula’s as they both had the charitable characteristic of taking care of others. As Augustina religiously takes care of Aunt Paula with the hope of someone doing the same to her missing mother, Ferula also parallels this train of thought as she dedicates her service to Clara. Both women help others and long for them to reciprocate the same quality of care to either themselves or loved ones. In Ferula’s case, she mainly took care of others to feel needed and only wanted love and compassion in return. On the other hand, Augustina properly took care of Aunt Paula in hope that her mother was being treated to the same level of comfort. So in a sense, both women devote their entire lives to others in a means of secretly conveying their own desires. These raw emotions experienced through the relationships between these two women are the inner reflections we barely see as an audience (since these characters are so closed off). Allende shows how the rawness of relationships really mark the importance of these bonds.

Works Cited:

 

Cooper, Sara E. Family Systems and National Subversion in Isabel Allende’s “The House of the Spirits” N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

(http://www.jstor.org/stable/41210003?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

 

Dulfano, Isabel. “A Response to Isabel Allende’s Tanner Humanities Center Human Values Speech.” N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

(http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=26bb997f-a519-4fd2-b03c-a790f7870576%40sessionmgr4007&vid=5&hid=4210)

 

Durán, Gloria. “WOMEN AND HOUSES – FROM POE TO ALLENDE.”Confluencia 6.2 (1991): 9-15. JSTOR. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

(http://www.jstor.org/stable/27922002?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

 

Jenkins, Ruth Y. Authorizing Female Voice and Experience: Ghosts and Spirits in Kingston’s The Woman Warrior and Allende’s The House of the Spirits. N.p., 1 Sept. 1994. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

(http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9c4787e8-4f43-4c13-a5e2-a609a7eafbef%40sessionmgr4007&vid=4&hid=4210)

 

[Creative Writing]

 

One dark and gloomy Tuesday afternoon, a particular lad sulked into his favorite grey armchair. The lad was turning a grand 31 this year, but was not, nonetheless, excited for any sort of celebration. The peculiar man, who still considered himself a mere boy, even sneered at the thought of how he managed to pass another weighty and burdensome year. As he continued to ponder on and relive his worst memories of the past year, the phone rang brightly and loudly. The boy stiffened and reached for the phone, it was his meddlesome sister again.

“Anders! Happy birthday little brother!”

The boy shriveled at the nostalgic sound of the woman’s voice and did not reply. However, the woman on the phone was charmingly relentless. “I’ll be coming to your birthday party at around nine, okay? I’ll bring a cake and everything, just like good old times!” the woman said cheerily.

“Beth. There is no party”

“That’s why I’m throwing you one silly! Tonight. You should be happy that I’m at least hosting it at your apartment. Mrs. Pepilis even said that she rarely sees you go out for grocery shopping anymore… so I figured I could bring the party to you! And don’t worry, I won’t bring your troublesome nephews, just us and Mrs. P, okay? Ah, want to say hi to the kids while we’re at it? Bill’s here too!” However, the growing lively atmosphere only darkened the boy’s mood further for he responded an immediate “no thanks” and hung up the phone. The bland air that constantly swirled the boy now began to suffocate him once more. The boy sighed, reached for a carton of cigarettes, lit the butt, and exhaled in mediocre satisfaction. The boy’s frustrations of his sister’s nosiness and his old neighbor’s useless motherly worries all hung in the smoke-filled air, making it heavier with gloom. His velvety grey armchair was perfect in scenarios like these, the greater the distress, the more inviting and comfortable the chair seemed to be. The boy’s chair was like a warm cabin in a frosty winter’s storm, like his own haven that disconnected him from the world, heck, it was even like his version of Beth’s kids and significant other. Yes, such a chair was dangerously crucial, for the boy was too contented with the worn down object. It was the only thing that truly made him feel at ease being alone. It was the origin and destructor of all his emotions; as he sank into the lush seating, he slowly unraveled the parts of him he never knew existed. But each time he stood from the fluffed pads, it was as if he awoke from a deep slumber. He resealed the hole he made while pondering in his chair and forgot the eureka’s he accumulated for self-improvement.

The boy abruptly stood up as he thought and thought of the day’s progressions: the neighbor’s loud dog barking again, his sister’s displeasing call, and even the very importance of birthdays itself—it was all too overwhelming. He finally sat back down on his beloved for the third time that day. Beginning to feel drowsy, the boy sank deeper into his chair and let it swallow him whole.

 

…

 

Although the supposed “party” swung into full action exactly at nine like Beth had promised, the night had grown moody and unwilling to shine even its dullest stars. The foggy, dark weather well suited the boy’s tattooed frown and obvious displeasure, yet the two unwelcome guests overlapped the dark bearings with their own vibrant gestures and ramblings. Still, the nosy sister and overly worrisome granny were uneasy with the boy’s lack of happiness, after all, it should be a joyous occasion. Prepared for such a turn of events, Beth also frowned and exclaimed, “Oh no, the cake! I forgot the cake at the store, Mrs. Pepilis! How could I have forgotten?” Beth turned slightly to the kind neighbor and winked. Catching on, Mrs. Pepilis briefly scolded Beth for her lack of responsibility and turned to the boy, “Anders, it’s far too late for your beautiful sister and an old, senile woman such as myself to go out, pick up the cake for us will you?”

For the first time since the start of the party, the boy agreed with his peers and unfolded himself from his beloved chair. “Don’t forget to wear your hat and scarf!” replied Mrs. Pepilis, referring to last year’s birthday presents. Stepping out into the cool, dark night, the boy felt uneasy, but still refreshed compared to how he felt while he was locked up inside his home with the intruders. However, the boy was unaware of how ridiculous he looked. The boy’s bright pink winter hat bounced, yellow knitted scarf swayed, puffy black jacket wiggled, and Hawaiian flowered shorts screamed for attention, yet forgetful of his surroundings, the boy marched on.

 

***

The boy meets a group of 4 adolescent teenagers while he has the cake. They barely stifle their laughs, bending their backs slightly back, the posture used for the best kinds of laughs. It came off as eerie to him, like they were a bunch of maniacal hyenas just before bouncing onto their prey. He sees they are crowded around something–somebody? He begins to quicken his pace. Out of a moment of curiosity, (as he gets closer) he steps a bit nearer, squinting his eyes to see what they were so eager about. It was a stray cat. Its tail was stomped off and one of the meatier boys preventing the cat from escaping sat on it. Still, the cat fought back, bending its paws to have a better angle to slice the ear of the pumpkin boy.

But it had no such weapon. It was declawed.

Savagely and desperately, it still bucked and churned like a wild stallion, pawing the smile of the pumpkin boy. And then, it died.

He dropped the cake and ran home

Boy went home and wept to two caretakers and hugged them lovingly as they presented him with his super-deluxe surprise special. The boy realized he couldn’t stay a boy forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabell Allende’s “Solitude” in House of the Spirits

Isabell Allende’s House of the spirit and Marques house of the spirits have obvious similarities and connections. Both novels tell the stories of Latin American families over a period of many years. House of the spirits has many of the same plot elements and similar characters as those in 100 years of solitude. Contrary to what many reviewers believe, House of the Spirits does not just copy elements from 100 Years of Solitude in a way that diminishes the book. House of the spirits uses these similarities openly and Allende uses them to compliment the theme of the novel. Allende uses similar elements from 10 Years of Solitude to emphasize not only the solitude of south America, but also the solitude of women specifically. She extends the solitude and isolation to the struggles of women as they fight and deal with the problems they are presented with. As 100 Years of Solitude showed the total isolation of Latin America, House of the Spirits showed the loneliness and isolation from the world ruled by men that the women in Latin American experienced.

The most obvious similarity in House of the Spirits that is taken from 100 Years of Solitude is in the plot format. Both novels tell the story of an extended family and its members for almost a century. This is the first noticed and most obvious similarity a reader would notice between the House of the Spirits and 100 years of Solitude. The way Allende uses the same format to tell the story of the Trueba family as House of the Spirits does she creates the parallel between the struggle of all Latin America to the struggle of women.  It shows the connection that the Latin American women should have with the men after the struggles of their past. The isolation and mistreatment of Latin America as a geographical area is similar to the struggles the women experience in Allende’s novel. The village Macando suffers through years of isolation and they learn to stay together to survive and become stronger. The women in House of the spirits do the same to cope with being ignored.  The village creates their own world and society not connected with the rest of the world. Clara and the other women band together, past down stories, and retreat into silence to stay strong. The similarities show the same struggles that the men and women of Latin America both suffered in the past. The similarities Allende uses show that the women have experienced that same experiences yet they are still faced with the same problems from the men.

Another similarity taken from 100 Years of Solitude is between Marques’ Ursula and Allende’s Clara. The similarities between them are not only in their characteristics but also the role that they play in keeping their family and those around them stable. Ursula’s influence became obvious after her death as the family and whole village of Macondo ascend into chaos. Clara also held together the Trueba household and the house itself. After the deaths of the matriarchs the families lose their stability. The importance of Clara and the women are made the focus of The House of the Spirits. Marques does not fail to show the importance of Ursula. The other male citizens in Macondo do not notice Ursula because they are focused more on JAB, but Ursula has influence over the women and convinces them not to leave. Women in House of the Spirits also have great respect for Clara (and Blanca) and in many cases they affect the lives of the men around them. Allende builds on the importance of Ursula with Clara, and shows how important the women truly are to their families and society.

The common plot elements, characters, and themes that Allende takes from 100 Years of Solitude are used successfully to support Allende’s themes. Allende has her own story to tell, but she takes the elements from 100 Years of Solitude to builds off of them in House of the Spirits. The smiliarities between Macondo and the Trueba  family bring together the isolation that Latin America ahs experienced along with the women in House of the Spirits. She uses the similarities between Ursula and Clara to show the importance and value of women as people and as a part of society. The similarities taken from 100 years of Solitude do not diminish Allende’s work, instead they show how she masterfully shows the struggle of women in Latin America.

 Jenkins, Ruth Y. “Authorizing Female Voice and Experience: Ghosts and Spirits in Kingston’s The Woman Warrior and Allende’s The House of the Spirits.” Melus19.3 (1994): 61. Literature Resource Center. Web.

Allende, Isabel, and Michael Moody. “Una Conversación Con Isabel Allende.”Chasqui 16.2/3 (1987): 51. Web

 

Gabriel Marques: Taking the Past and Making it the Present

Gabriel Marques was born in 1928 and was raised by his maternal grandparents.  His life, and works would be affected by his grandfather’s military service, his grandmother’s mythical stories he heard growing up, and the poor conditions many Colombians were living in around him would lead him to write showing the difficulties they faced. The past military exploits in Colombia were reflected throughout One Hundred Years of Solitude. Many of the magical stories in 100 years of solitude could have been derived from fairy tales Gabriel Marques, and many other South Americans, heard growing up. The history and stories that Marques grew up hearing would later help him create his great novel. 100 Years of Solitude took events from south America’s past and magical elements and made them relevant to present times. Marques’ work used these things to show that what had happened in the past was still relevant at the time he wrote 100 Years of Solitude.

The story of the Buendia family and the village Macondo were used to tell the story of Latin America’s history as a whole. From the conquistadors to the 1928 plantation strike and the communist control of Latin America governments and their removal, all were apparent through the story of the Buendia family and Macondo. Marques rendition of Latin America’s history was condensed in a way that showed how relevant many struggles throughout their history still were. The Buendia family suffered from re-occurring struggles. The last child of the Buendia family was affected by incest in the form of a pig’s tail, the same problem that they feared would afflict the first child of the Buendia family. For many readers the history of Latin America, and the isolation it suffered, was made apparent by 100 Years of Solitude. It took a problem that people within Latin America were aware of and told the story in the novel. It not only told the story to those who were aware of it, but also to those in the rest of the world who were not aware.  The way Marques highlighted the biggest struggles that Latin America suffered throughout history made their isolation and suffering noticed by the rest of the world.

Marques voice, in the form of the 3^rd person narrator, told the story of the Buendias and Macondo. The narrator is assumed to be reliable, so the story he tells is assumed to be accurate. Because of this, Marques is able to tell the story of South America through the stories in the novel and the narration of south America appears reliable. The reliable voice of the narrator further increases the truth of the parallels between the two stories Marques is really telling. The power of Marques narrator is apparent in the fact that his version, in 100 Years of Solitude, of the uprisings on the banana plantations were assumed to be the true events. Marques story was so powerful that it changed the way the readers viewed the history of Latin America.

The magical realism throughout 100 years of solitude not only made it a more interesting story, but also connected Latin America’s past too what it was currently experiencing. Much like Marques grandmother once told him fairy tales with lessons still applicable to his life, Marques told the story of Maconda with magical elements to present issues still applicable to present Latin America. The very thin line between what was real and what was magical allowed the reader to determine what was not just part of the story, but also part of Latin America’s story. Some parts of the story that appear magical to the characters in Macondo do not to the reader, because the reader knows that they are technological advancements that Macondo is not aware of. Marques used this, not as he did true magical realism, to show how isolated the people are from the rest of the world.

The way Gabriel Marques told the story of Latin America through Macondo and the Buendia family made it more relatable to many of the people who read 100 Years of solitude. The power of story showed the struggles of Latin America, and the power of Marques reliable narrator made the parallels stronger between the stories. The magical realism, and what appeared to be magical realism only helped Marques show the isolation of Latin America.

Ronan, McFadden. “The Reliability Of The Narrator In Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children And Gabriel Garcia Marguez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude.” Opticon1826 5 (2008): Directory of Open Access Journals. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Finnegan, Pamela May. “Vicente Leñero: The Novelist As Critic, And: García Márquez: 100 Years Of Solitude, And: García Márquez: The Man And His Work, And: Borges And His Successors: The Borgesian Impact On Literature And The Arts (Review).” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 2 (1991): 280. Project MUSE. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Columbus, Claudette Kemper, –. “The Heir Must Die: One Hundred Years Of Solitude As A Gothic Novel.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 3 (1986): 397. Project MUSE. Web. 27 Nov. 2016

Posada-Carbo, Eduardo. “Fiction as History: The Bananeras and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.” Journal of Latin American Studies 1998: 395. JSTOR Journals. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging Tree Road

 

When I got home for spring break I decided to go fishing at Hanging Tree Creek. After loading my pole and tackle box into my truck I drove alone across town to the bait shop to buy minnows. The bait store is in the old part of town out towards the lake; the houses around it are dirty and in need of new paint jobs, and many of them have an old trailer in the back yard that was probably at some time used to cook meth. After getting my minnows in an air filled plastic bag, I drive five miles out of town to Hanging Tree Road. The road sign is missing, as it often is, stolen by some high school students skipping class. I turn down the road and put the truck in four-wheel drive to get down the worn and rutted road from people repeatedly driving through it after a rain. Looking at the tracks, I wonder how many of the drivers had ever actually fished at the creek. The road ends right before the creek so I pull of onto high ground to park before I reach the bank. There was only one other truck there, and an old man set in the back watching the creek run. I had seen him a few times before, his grand-kids had grown up with me and I had played high school football with his grandson. Looking downstream, I see two brothers that grew up, and still live, across from the bait shop laying in the bottom of johnboat with old shotguns waiting to poach a turkey.  I walk the other way towards the old man and he looks up and nods without speaking so I nod back and go on. He, like most of the people you meet at the creek fishing, didn’t seem to want to say much. I walk down to the deepest pool in the creek, put on a minnow, throw it out into the water, and lean back onto the tree roots in the shade.

When the fish are biting, it’s easy to think about fish. When the fish aren’t biting, it’s nearly impossible to think about what happened at Hanging Tree many decades ago. The fish aren’t biting. The hanging happened, as far as I know, in the 1940s. It’s hard to say for sure because people around here don’t like to talk about the details of the lynching. There are still some old timers around here that know exactly what happened, but they get real quiet when you ask about what happened. (p?) The run down houses I passed on the way hadn’t always been that way. In the early 1900s those houses were where the black families lived in town. They say, the houses were once clean and well-kept and the community there once had their own stores, restaurants, and parks. In the 1940s, two black men were accused of raping a white girl. Many of the white people in town didn’t feel the need to wait for their guilt and punishment to be determined the law. The group turned into a lynch mob and went and got the two men from their homes. The mob threw the men into the back of pickup trucks and drove them outside of town. The men in the trucks weren’t the only ones in the mob at that point, and the lynch mob had grown into a procession of cars. They drove towards the lake and turned off on a dirt road that headed to the creek; they drove down to the bank and stopped at the first decent sized oak tree. They hanged the men from the tree on a branch jutting out towards the creek. The lynch mob drove back into town and stormed the houses on the black side of town. They threw furniture into yards and pulled people out of their houses. Before they left, they told them that any black man left in town the next day would meet the same end that the two men had earlier.

The next morning the houses were all empty, and there was not a black family left in town. Over time, poor whites unable to pay their rents moved into some of the abandoned houses because they had no owners or rent to pay. Other houses were taken by people in town and sold, without deeds, to people moving in to town. What had been the black part of town became the roughest neighborhood in town.

Over time the legend of the lynching grew, and the road and creek were both named after the hanging tree, As the tree grew its branches stretched out over the creek and created a deep shaded pool. A few years after the hanging, kids from the high school tied a rope on the branch that the men were hanged from and it became a tradition to swing from the rope into the water. The sign that said Hanging Tree Road had to be replaced every few months because teenagers started stealing the sign as a souvenir to hang in their room. At night, groups would drive out to the hanging tree to build a bonfire, tell ghost stories, party, and swing from the tree.

Some people still have a disturbing sense of pride about what had happened there. It was never a coincidence that people from town go out to the hanging tree, they go because it is the hanging tree. No one will ever really know who was in the lynch mob, because those who were there are never going to say. But there is no doubt that most of those people never left, and that many of the people who went to swing from the tree or steal the road sign are likely their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Almost eighty years later they still go.

I looked up from the pool at the big tree shading me; there were rope marks worn into the branch over my head from people swinging into the pool. Or, as some people liked to tell the story, the marks were burnt into the tree by the two men that were hanged that night. I wonder how the old tree has managed to live so long; it must survive through the constant water the creek offers.  Looking back down at the shaded pool, I know it’s the best spot to fish on the creek, but I decide that I’m not going to catch any fish today. I grab my pole and walk back up the creek bank, as I pass the old man he’s still sitting in the back of his truck. I head up the worn and rutted road, past the bare sign post, and drive into town away from Hanging Tree Road.

 

 

Martha Hobson

Patrick Duffey

CI: 200 Years of Solitude

28 November 2016

Semi-Autobiographical Narrative

I can remember this day like it was yesterday. Growing up in New York City I never really experienced the Christmases you see in the seasonal movies, but my experience was unique and I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. After Thanksgiving, because one cannot even begin to think about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over my family and would take my best friend and me Upstate to pick out a tree from Stew Leonard’s in Yonkers, New York. It was an annual tradition I am sad to say no longer exists. But enough of that sad stuff, I am her to tell you about a magnificent day many years ago.

Bright and early one Saturday morning my dad loaded us in the big green suburban I still drive today, and drove us what seemed like many hours to a ten-year-old, but was only about a thirty-minute drive. I can remember the city melting away into the beautiful trees coated in white snow, and when you rolled down your window you weren’t accosted with the stench of the city, but enveloped in the warm aroma of fallen leaves and the brisk cold. The drive was always magnificent because I was allowed to control the auxiliary cord and that meant either the Elf soundtrack was playing or I was blasting Hillary Duff’s Christmas Album. While the drive was always amazing, it didn’t even come close to what the day had in store.

I can remember becoming extremely impatient nearing the superstore because there were huge signs starting at about 3 miles out. I could not wait to run around the huge supermarket unattended with my best friend.

The time had come and our car was parked. We stepped out into the brisk morning and made our way to what seemed to be heaven. There were not many big supermarkets in the city, so to Sophia and me being native New Yorkers, this was a big treat. We walked into the building as a family unit, but the moment Sophia and my eyes caught sight of all the food and fun we bolted with empty promises of us staying together. I mean, how can you expect two ten-year-olds to stay put when brought into a huge building full of free samples, candy, talking bananas (we’ll get to that in a bit), and oh so many people? The answer is, you simply cannot. By simply walking in and feeling the warm air on my reddened, chapped face was enough to make a little girl happy. The first thing I saw when I walked in was an insane vegetable display, which would be a turnoff for many children, but this was such a special day that I could not possibly turn my nose up to just anything! As Sophia and I continued our adventure through the store we came upon the fruit section, and in the fruit section was a giant singing banana. Sophia and I would spend what seemed like hours pressing the button for her to sing the “Chiquita Banana” song. Ten-year-olds are easily amused. Next, we would wonder into the meat and dairy section where if you looked just at the meat packing area, you could see a family of animatronic cows singing and playing banjos, washing boards, and other instruments New Yorkers believed to be country and hick. After we had our cow band fix, we would venture off into the candy section where we would beg and beg my parents to buy us something, but alas, we never got any candy. The one treat I remember getting from Stew Leonard’s was their delicious chocolate milk which I had to finish inside because bring an ice-cold beverage outside was torture on your poor hands.

Once my mother was content with her purchases we would take the groceries out to the car and head back to the store to choose our Christmas tree. Stew Leonard’s had an amazing display of freshly cut trees just outside of their store, and that is where we purchased our tree for many years, and each of those years we brought Sophia along. I can remember being a small person amid hundreds of beautiful trees and just being taken aback by the different shapes, colors, and sizes. Because I was only ten and had the attention span of a squirrel, Sophia and I would run off and run throughout the trees as if we were in a forest. Sitting in the freezing cold with my best friend is one of my fondest memories because we were so small compared to the trees we were hiding behind.

Once my parents chose a few trees for me to have the final say (I would always choose the largest one to my mother’s dismay), we would drive through the line of cars for the workers to tie our tree to the roof of our car. Even though we were through with shopping and choosing our tree, the day was not over quite yet. The time would be about eleven to twelve, and it was time for us to eat! Every year on our way back home, we would drive through Little Italy and stop at a quaint Italian restaurant to have an authentic meal. We would order heaping plates of pasta and seafood, Sophia and I would enjoy some Coca-Cola while my parents sipped on a few glasses of Limoncello. Once we finished our meal, it was back to the green suburban with the huge tree. Of course, I would play Hillary Duff’s “Tell Me a Story” featuring Li’l Romeo, and we would drive with full bellies and happy hearts home to our loud city. Christmastime is not always the easiest holiday for my family and me, but I am grateful to have such pleasant and happy memories to ponder when I am having a less than happy day. The holidays are times for cheer and laughter, and I have many memories of cheer and laughter with the ones I love.

 

Martha Hobson

Patrick Duffey

CI: 200 Years of Solitude

28 November 2016

Thematic Essay

In many novels there is a strong female character, but rarely do you find a novel where every woman in the story is strong and independent. You may rarely find it, but it is found in the novel The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The House of the Spirits begins with the del Valle family, and then with a marriage, carries on with the Trueba lineage. Each female character is strong in her own way, but this analysis will cover Nívea del Valle, Clara Trueba, and Alba De Satigny. Throughout the novel each woman, though in very different ways, is exceptionally strong and independent.

Nívea del Valle is the one of the first women to be introduced in the novel and the wife of Severo del Valle. Nivea del Valle is a strong female character in the novel because she is very progressive for her time. When her daughter Clara was ten years old she decided to stop speaking because of a traumatic experience. Instead of overreact, she would take Clara with her to all of her woman’s rights meetings to expose her to the world. She would also tell her story after story and just let her daughter absorb the information without speaking.

Clara would smile without saying a word and Nivea would go on talking because she had grown used to her daughter’s silence. In addition, she nourished the hope that if she kept putting ideas into Clara’s head, sooner or later she would ask a question and regain her speech (Allende, 89).

This just comes to show the quiet and dignified way Nivea shows her independence. By using her love and understanding to help her daughter, she shows her strength, courage, and faith in a situation that many would not know how to handle.

Another woman who showed her independence, though in a very strange way, is Clara Trueba. Clara is a very interesting woman being she is clairvoyant and can move objects with her mind. She is not the strong independent woman you would expect because throughout the novel she is very docile and a bit of a pushover for certain things when it came to her nanny ‘Nana.’ Throughout her entire life she has had someone look after her, and in many cases, her entire family would spoil and do anything for Clara. But one reason I would say she is independent in her own way are the years from age ten to nineteen. When Clara was ten she saw her beloved doctor perform an autopsy on her sisters dead body. Not only did she see the autopsy, but when the doctor was finished, he told his apprentice to clean and dress Rosa. Through the eyes of a ten year old, the reader sees this, “She stayed until the young man she had never seen before kissed Rosa on the lips, the neck, the breasts, and between the legs; until he wiped her with a sponge, dressed her in her embroidered nightgown, and, panting, rearranged her hair” (Allende 44). This would be a traumatic scene for anyone to witness, let alone a ten-year-old girl. After that moment, she stopped talking until she was nineteen. But she did not just stop talking, she journaled and communicated by using a chalkboard. This shows the strength of a young girl who keeps going; because in that situation, the strongest thing you can do is to keep living and interacting the best way you can.

The next and final strong independent woman being covered in this thematic analysis is Alba De Satigny. Alba could be considered one of the most important characters in the novel, and it is no mystery why. During the military coups, Alba is captured. She is brutally tortured mentally, physically, and sexually Esteban Garcia. She is so brutally tortured by Esteban that she is sent to solitary confinement. While in confinement, Alba reaches her lowest point and tries to commit suicide. Before the deed is done, Clara comes to her and tells her she needs her to fight, and that she does. Alba makes a huge turnaround, and fights for her life. This shows her strength and independence, because even at her lowest, she finds the strength to fight and carry on through her horrible conditions.

Each woman in this novel is strong in her own way, but these three woman stand out because of their utter devotion to their passions and family. Without their strength, they would just be doormats, and that would not make a good novel or send a good message to all the little girls who grow up in a society who makes them think that they are less than. It is very important we have authors like Isabel Allende to show the little girls all over the world that it is okay to have a voice, use it, and be loud!