Chapters 3-6 Reflection

I think chapters 3-6 were engaging, intertaining and kinda disgusting. I think JAB is a humorous character because of how he acts after going crazy. I think his odd nack for Latin that came out of the blue and his taunting of the priest was the highlight of these chapters. I also like reading about the progress of Macondo as a whole and Buendia family. Most of the new characters like Pietro Crespi and the magistrate are interesting but Rebecca is kinda strange because of her lust for mud and wite wash.

I am enjoying the book so far and im glad I can understand what is going on. It is tragic that characters like Melquíades and Remedios died but it couldnt be avoided. Melquiade's fate could not be avoided because of his old age, it was a time where he could not cheat death. Remedios was a good person. I thought it was very noble of her to adopt her husbands illigitimate child especially considering who the mother is.

Active Reading Blog

Chapters 3 through 6 are about the growth and expansion of Macondo as well as the Buendia family. After the arivial of Amaranta, JAB's youngest child, a strange orphan appears outside of the Buendia home. The note that came with the child claimed that her parents are dead and she is a second cousin of Urusla. She is welcomed into the Buendia family with open arms and named Rebecca, after her desceased mother. Unknown to JAB and the rest of his family, Rebecca is infected with insomnia. She will eventually give the desease to the Buendia's and the rest of Macondo. Rebecca also has the disgusting habbit of eating dirt and wall chippings. She is temporaily cured of this habbit by Ursula but will eventually continue in times of nerviousness.
Another new arrival to the Buendia family is Jose Arcadio's illegitimate son, Arcadio the third. After being delivered by Pilar Ternera he is hastily taken in by Ursula and eventually becomes like a brother to both Rebecca and Amaranta.

During much of chapter 3 Macondo is suffering from the effects of insomnia. Because insomnia causes amnesia the entire village begins to forget the names of objects. To resolve this JAB begins to label all of his possessions, shortly after the entire villlage is covered in labels. The insomnia is finally cured when Melquíades the gypsey meraciously returns to the village. He gives JAB the antidote and the village returns to normal. After the insomnia epidemic Ursula realized that her family needed more room. She constructed large additions to her house to accomidate her family and decendants. Upon completion a government official by the name of Don Apolinar Moscote arrived in town and demanded that all houses be painted white. After a confrontation with JAB Don backed down but brought his family to the village. Aureliano falls in love with the magistrates daughter at the same time Rebecca false in love with an Italian paino maker. Unfortunately JAB hates Don and Amaranta is jealous of Rebecca. In the end Aureliano marries Dons daughter Remedios but Rebeccas marrage falters when she falls in love with Jose Arcadio. Because of this Pietro Crespi the piano maker tries to get with Amaranta but she denies him and he commits suecide. To make matters worse JAB goes insane, and Melquiades and Remedios die.

Reflection Chapters 1 & 2

I found the first two chapters to be interesting and intertaining. The continous falures of Jose, and the repition of his falures via his decendants is unfortuneate but a vital in contributing to the theme of repition that Marquez centered One Hundred Years of Solitude on. I think that Jose should concentrate on raising his family and appreciating the patience and hard work of his wife rather than focousing on his wild ambitions of mastering alchamy and science. I think Ursula is an extremely important unsung character in Marquz's epic because of her steadfast loyalty and dedication. I find it hard to beleive that she could stand by her husband after all the foolish things he attempted. She is also a loving parent, looking for her son for five months,(despite abandoning the rest of her family).



Another unforuneate twist to the book is the dissapearence of Jose II. Because he shared the same traits of his father he could have been the future matriarch of Macondo. If given the right direction he could have become a great political leader like his younger brother who bacame a military leader. I have come to enjoy the magical realism of the book and the mystical adventures that always follows the arival of the gypsies. Jose's misguided attempts to advance on the gypsies new technology is humorous but unfortuneate. I think the best proof of Jose's incompetence is when he left on an expidition to find civilization but only found a dirty ocean and when his wife found a town two days away on a unprepared hystarical search for her son.

Active Reading Blog

In the epic, One hundred years of solitude several characters carry distinctive attributes that determines the outcome of the book. Characters such as Jose Arcadio Buendia and his decendents are are natural leaders and scholars who are intent on mastering science to improve their lives, but their mad obsessions lead them to to brink of insanity. Jose is the leader of a group of migrants who left civilization to start a new life. He would eventually found the prosperous town of Macondo in the middle of a desolate swamp.

Macondo is visited by gypsies who bring with them great and mysterious inventions from the outside world. Jose spent much of his life attempting to master inventions such as alchamy and would eventually influence his children with his passion for learning. The gypsies also made a large impact on Jose Arcadio Buenda's son Jose Arcadio II. After his love affair with Pilar Ternara, Jose Arcadio II leaves his family to join the gypsies in an attempt to escape from the responsibility of being a father.