Reader Response #3

[Iman Sharabash]

The third generation were both given birth by Pilar Ternera. Arcadio
is the song of Jose Arcadio, and Aureliano Jose the son of Aureliano.
Arcadio starts out as a schoolteacher but like his grandfather and
uncle he also acquires a change in personality and attitude. When
Arcadio gets involved in the war he gets obsessed with it. What seems
like a reoccurring theme is the males in the family line always let
their emotions get the better of them. Arcadio grew up with a fear of
everyone around him, and that's probably the main reason he gets so
into the war. One of the things different about Arcadio is close to
his death realization comes to him. Whats unfortunate is that many of
the men in the Buendia line never realize whats important until its
too late, or they don't realize it at all (as in the case of Jose
Arcadio Buendia). As for Aureliano Jose, desire consumes him. Be it
physical, material, or for knowledge that is the one thing that
occupies them all. For Aureliano Jose he gets into a forbidden love.
Amaranta, his aunt and caretaker, is the person he falls in love with.
When Aureliano returns him because "the war resembled Amaranta," (163)
and it was obvious where he really wanted to be, he found Amaranta
refusing him once more. Later, Pilar Ternera reading her cards ensures
him happiness with someone else. However, the warning she gives him
goes unheeded, and Aureliano Jose dies by bleeding to death from a
bullet wound in his back. What is sad about many of the characters is
that they get involved in the most outrageous relationships with
people or even objects, and end up dying young and not dying a simple
death. The men are all overpowered by desire and the women are either
dreamy and don't pay attention to things, or they inflict pain on
themselves either physical or emotional. Ursula is probably the only
normal person throughout the whole Buendia line.

[hcr...@yahoo.com]

My initial reaction after finishing the book was confusion. The last
line, "races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a
second opportunity on earth" in particular baffled me. I had tried to
figure out how the title related to the work without success until I
read this line. Each Buendia really was living a life of solitude.
Although the house they owned was full, and the family members
interacted, each Buendia was very self centered. Each person acted on
his or her own to please only themselves. It was a selfish family.
They did not depend on each other, work together, or pay attention to
each other at all. Each was focused only on his or her own life,
issues, and goals. They never listened to each others advice, or
heeded each others' warnings. For example, Jose Arcadio Buendia only
was interested in his experiments, and his research. Aureliano only
wanted to enjoy himself. Both of these men failed to notice how their
actions affected their family. Even the town was secluded from the
rest of the country. I did not like this family on the whole. It
bothered me that they never helped each other, or interacted besides
at a minimal level. The one Buendia that seemed normal, Amaranta
Ursula, ended up being crazier than the rest. It was she and her
husband/nephew that brought an end to the whole family line though.
If they had not refused to keep to themselves though, and paid heed to
their ancestors, the family could have survived many generations. The
Buendia family did not pass information along though. Each man that
studied Melquiades' papers refused to share his findings with the
relative that followed, so each started at the beginning. The family
might have been saved if they had only talked to each other. Ursula
had known all along that two family members should not become
involved, but her wise words were ignored. It was interesting to me
how at the end of the book, how all of the little pieces finally added
up. Ursula's prediction of a pigs tail had come true, and Melquiades
really was a gypsy and able to predict the future. Just as the pieces
added up though, and the last Aureliano finally understood the papers,
the entire Buendia family fell, with the town it had created. Macondo
existed only to serve the Buendia family, and it could not exist
without them.