Please post your responses to this week's reading . . . sooner rather than later! You may earn extra credit by responding/posting a third time; don't forget.
The once thriving and exuberant town of Macondo is now facing tougher times as we approach chapter 17. With the arrival of more Europeans and newly arriving Americans, the once closely tied culture and tradition has slowly started to vanish and the import/export market becomes of most importance. It is interesting that since its beginning, the leaders of Macondo have strived to make their town connected with the outside thriving world. However now that it seems to be happening, the very thing they always were in pursuit of may be at the root of their destruction. As chapter 15 progresses, we see another conflict begin to rise. The low wage and primarily local workers on the banana plantation are not happy about the working conditions they face every day. In response, Jose Arcadio Segundo urges the workers to stand up for what they believe in and strike if they are not satisfied. Unfortunately, under the conservative and almost dictatorial leadership of the country, the strike is not successful. The workers are trapped into the attendance of a governmental meeting, where a firing squad shoots and kills 3,000 of them. Industrial advancement and having a town that contributes on a national level may not be all it’s cracked up to. When the settlers of Macondo complained of being too secluded and not having ocean connections/trade, they didn’t realize how good they had it. With industry comes colonialism and that precious land no longer becomes intimate. I find it something of interest that Macondo may have been at its peak when only few citizens resided there.
The newly plantation directed town of Macondo is facing some of its tougher times. It has aged a great deal since its early days where; no one had died; only 30 members lived in the village, everyone had an equally beautiful house, and the gypsies were the biggest attractions every month. Now it was a plantation dominated village segregated by foreigners and locals. To make it even more saddening the society that consumed that of Macondo and the entire country was that of dominance. The locals and poorer citizens were under control of the plantation owners and the owners looked up to or were a part of the conservative government. Even worse, a massacre had just taken place and the town was forced to deny that it ever happened. Since the murders a five year rain storm took place. I find this part to be the most significant of chapter 16, for of all it represents. In symbolic terms, rain is characterized as “change, rebirth, or new beginning” and that is exactly what is going on in Macondo. After this storm stops, the wealth of Aureliano is decimated and the entire town is thrashed and unrecognizable. It is actually described to be similar to the appearance of the town before it was inhabited many generations ago. Is this a good or bad thing for the town? Maybe the locals will have a chance to start over, or it might just be a sign of Macondo’s potential. This town may be doomed; I guess we will have to see.
In chapter 11 there are shown a few examples that might be used as examples of the difference between the cultures of the United States and Latin America. In this chapter we have a female character name Petra Cotes. She has her own little rituals and little traditions that people might think that they are a little superstitious. She states “The only candle that will make him come is always lighted”. Petra would always light candles right next to the picture of her lost lover, this candles are the ones that her neighbor had given to her. People might think that doing this type of things is kind of ridiculous. But for some people, doing these things, is the only way in order to be in peace with ourselves. Because makes us calm, and gives us hope and faith for what we want. Another character in this book also does some kind of tradition of her own. Fernanda Del Carpio is a person that daily takes a little “Siesta” which is a little nap that most people from South America do after school, work, etc. She does that because it gives her some kind of personal peace.
As the book goes on more reality comes through Macondo. One of the main reality hits on the town was the banana plantation. The plantation brought European and Americans into the town as well. Also with the plantation the train came too. They used the train to export the bananas to other towns.
On the Banana plantation the workers were not happy with the conditions in which they worked under. Jose Arcadio Segundo noticed that and threatened a strike to the government. The government said they will bring peace and help the works but instead they were setting a trap for them. When the workers came to talk to the government they shot and killed all of them.
Meme fell in love with an American banana plantation worker. They were caught kissing at movies and they were told they could not be together any more. Once Meme was told that he would sneak into her house when she would be taking a bath and make love and then leave. This went on for quite a bit. Finally they had a security guard put into the backyard so one night he shot him in the back and killed him. After his death Meme became a mute and was later sent to convent and lived there for the rest of her life.
In ch15, the tension between the laborers and the plantation owners gets stronger. To solve the problem, Jose Arcadio Segundo represents the labor union and sets the meeting with the plantation owners. As Jose Arcadio Segundo was thinking everything was going fine, the gov't soldiers show up and kill every laborer that they saw on the station. Segundo gets unconscious and later finds himself on the train with the dead bodies of laborers. This chapter shows that the government is abusing its power to take control of the people. Rather than solving the problem by talking, the gov't chose the easy way to solve the problem and maintain the control of the people.
In ch16, Jose Arcadio Segundo goes back to home. However, people don't know anything about the massacre at the banana plantation. It is quite hard to believe that people don't know what happened at the banana plantation. More than 2000 people died but nobody in the town realizes what happened. This scene is lampooning the government. Because the gov't is censoring the news that might give a negative feeling about the gov't, people cannot know what is going on. Controlling the information just makes government easy to control their citizens. In this way, nobody will fight back to the gov't since they don't have any issues with it.
When the Banana Plantation gets to Macondo, the owners build their own "city" inside of Macondo. They fenced it with the latest technology using electric wires, and whoever got to close, or whoever gave a little bit of attitude to them, got attacked in a very painful and brutal way. That kind of treatment is very unfair, people don't deserve to be treated like they were some kind of animal or even worse, it is an inhuman behavior. And besides all of that, they are treating like that, the actual persons that live in Macondo. Not only they are intruding in their village, but also they do whatever they want and for me that is very unethical.
As consequence of all the brutalities and inhuman behavior that the Banana Plantation owners, are having with the people of Macondo. Colonel Buendia gets tired of that and does what he thinks that is the right thing to do, he does something about it, he decides to act against that unfair behavior. He starts what we might call some kind of manifestation were he wants to eliminate all of the owners of the Banana Plantation, so he gathers hes 17 sons, and he uses them as his 17 soldiers. But things don't work as planned. Almost every single one of his soldiers get killed, except one. This kind of reaction against unfair treatment reminds me a little bit about somethings from back home. In Caracas, Venezuela there has been a lot of manifestations from the part of opposite side of the government. People who are truly against all of the bad benefits that they were getting thanks to the government, goes to the street and they try to express their anger and unhappiness. But since the government won't even let us express ourselves, that's were the aggressive part starts.
There are 2 things that we might consider very crucial for Macondo, and probably the 2 of the most important facts of the story. First the Banana Plantation and then the flood that lasted for almost 5 years. The Banana Plantation was more than just the cause of pain for a lot of people in Macondo, it change some important facts also, we have to remember that nobody in Macondo have died in a lot of time, and just with the manifestation of Colonel Buendia, 16 people were killed. And after that, the flood that lasted for almost 5 years nearly marked the end of the Plantation. The flood not only marked the end of it, but also marks the beginning of a new time in Macondo. As in the Bible, after the flood that Noah lived the world after passing through that "tragedy" became a better place and they could start over. That's how we must see things in Macondo, the flood will be the beginning of a new time in Macondo, and things will get better.
Meme's transformation was somethign that stood out to me because she's been through a lot. From going out at first and loving the smallest things and she seemed so happy, her insomnia is now prevailing and evidnet in her life. She is unable to cope with the death of Mauricio Babilonia. Fernanda sends off for Meme to be sent away, and Meme does go abroad the train and go away. However, Meme's child stays in Macondo, therefore I wonder if we will see Meme again in the chapters to come since she has a reason to go back.
The other main thing in the chapter is the large numbers of protests that are breaking out due to the unhappy workers. The government calls for a meeting and then begins to fire machine guns at all the people there and then doubt that it ever happened, when Jose Arcadio himself was there. I think that Jose Arcadio is a brave and strong man, because even though he knows that this happened, he also understands that no one will believe him if he tries to tell them that it did. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for him, to wake up among carts and carts of dead bodies, and then be told that none of it ever happened.
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ReplyDeleteThe once thriving and exuberant town of Macondo is now facing tougher times as we approach chapter 17. With the arrival of more Europeans and newly arriving Americans, the once closely tied culture and tradition has slowly started to vanish and the import/export market becomes of most importance. It is interesting that since its beginning, the leaders of Macondo have strived to make their town connected with the outside thriving world. However now that it seems to be happening, the very thing they always were in pursuit of may be at the root of their destruction. As chapter 15 progresses, we see another conflict begin to rise. The low wage and primarily local workers on the banana plantation are not happy about the working conditions they face every day. In response, Jose Arcadio Segundo urges the workers to stand up for what they believe in and strike if they are not satisfied. Unfortunately, under the conservative and almost dictatorial leadership of the country, the strike is not successful. The workers are trapped into the attendance of a governmental meeting, where a firing squad shoots and kills 3,000 of them. Industrial advancement and having a town that contributes on a national level may not be all it’s cracked up to. When the settlers of Macondo complained of being too secluded and not having ocean connections/trade, they didn’t realize how good they had it. With industry comes colonialism and that precious land no longer becomes intimate. I find it something of interest that Macondo may have been at its peak when only few citizens resided there.
ReplyDeleteThe newly plantation directed town of Macondo is facing some of its tougher times. It has aged a great deal since its early days where; no one had died; only 30 members lived in the village, everyone had an equally beautiful house, and the gypsies were the biggest attractions every month. Now it was a plantation dominated village segregated by foreigners and locals. To make it even more saddening the society that consumed that of Macondo and the entire country was that of dominance. The locals and poorer citizens were under control of the plantation owners and the owners looked up to or were a part of the conservative government. Even worse, a massacre had just taken place and the town was forced to deny that it ever happened. Since the murders a five year rain storm took place. I find this part to be the most significant of chapter 16, for of all it represents. In symbolic terms, rain is characterized as “change, rebirth, or new beginning” and that is exactly what is going on in Macondo. After this storm stops, the wealth of Aureliano is decimated and the entire town is thrashed and unrecognizable. It is actually described to be similar to the appearance of the town before it was inhabited many generations ago. Is this a good or bad thing for the town? Maybe the locals will have a chance to start over, or it might just be a sign of Macondo’s potential. This town may be doomed; I guess we will have to see.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 11 there are shown a few examples that might be used as examples of the difference between the cultures of the United States and Latin America. In this chapter we have a female character name Petra Cotes. She has her own little rituals and little traditions that people might think that they are a little superstitious. She states “The only candle that will make him come is always lighted”. Petra would always light candles right next to the picture of her lost lover, this candles are the ones that her neighbor had given to her. People might think that doing this type of things is kind of ridiculous. But for some people, doing these things, is the only way in order to be in peace with ourselves. Because makes us calm, and gives us hope and faith for what we want. Another character in this book also does some kind of tradition of her own. Fernanda Del Carpio is a person that daily takes a little “Siesta” which is a little nap that most people from South America do after school, work, etc. She does that because it gives her some kind of personal peace.
ReplyDeleteAs the book goes on more reality comes through Macondo. One of the main reality hits on the town was the banana plantation. The plantation brought European and Americans into the town as well. Also with the plantation the train came too. They used the train to export the bananas to other towns.
ReplyDeleteOn the Banana plantation the workers were not happy with the conditions in which they worked under. Jose Arcadio Segundo noticed that and threatened a strike to the government. The government said they will bring peace and help the works but instead they were setting a trap for them. When the workers came to talk to the government they shot and killed all of them.
ReplyDeleteMeme fell in love with an American banana plantation worker. They were caught kissing at movies and they were told they could not be together any more. Once Meme was told that he would sneak into her house when she would be taking a bath and make love and then leave. This went on for quite a bit. Finally they had a security guard put into the backyard so one night he shot him in the back and killed him. After his death Meme became a mute and was later sent to convent and lived there for the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteIn ch15, the tension between the laborers and the plantation owners gets stronger. To solve the problem, Jose Arcadio Segundo represents the labor union and sets the meeting with the plantation owners. As Jose Arcadio Segundo was thinking everything was going fine, the gov't soldiers show up and kill every laborer that they saw on the station. Segundo gets unconscious and later finds himself on the train with the dead bodies of laborers. This chapter shows that the government is abusing its power to take control of the people. Rather than solving the problem by talking, the gov't chose the easy way to solve the problem and maintain the control of the people.
ReplyDeleteIn ch16, Jose Arcadio Segundo goes back to home. However, people don't know anything about the massacre at the banana plantation. It is quite hard to believe that people don't know what happened at the banana plantation. More than 2000 people died but nobody in the town realizes what happened. This scene is lampooning the government. Because the gov't is censoring the news that might give a negative feeling about the gov't, people cannot know what is going on. Controlling the information just makes government easy to control their citizens. In this way, nobody will fight back to the gov't since they don't have any issues with it.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Banana Plantation gets to Macondo, the owners build their own "city" inside of Macondo. They fenced it with the latest technology using electric wires, and whoever got to close, or whoever gave a little bit of attitude to them, got attacked in a very painful and brutal way. That kind of treatment is very unfair, people don't deserve to be treated like they were some kind of animal or even worse, it is an inhuman behavior. And besides all of that, they are treating like that, the actual persons that live in Macondo. Not only they are intruding in their village, but also they do whatever they want and for me that is very unethical.
ReplyDeleteAs consequence of all the brutalities and inhuman behavior that the Banana Plantation owners, are having with the people of Macondo. Colonel Buendia gets tired of that and does what he thinks that is the right thing to do, he does something about it, he decides to act against that unfair behavior. He starts what we might call some kind of manifestation were he wants to eliminate all of the owners of the Banana Plantation, so he gathers hes 17 sons, and he uses them as his 17 soldiers. But things don't work as planned. Almost every single one of his soldiers get killed, except one.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of reaction against unfair treatment reminds me a little bit about somethings from back home. In Caracas, Venezuela there has been a lot of manifestations from the part of opposite side of the government. People who are truly against all of the bad benefits that they were getting thanks to the government, goes to the street and they try to express their anger and unhappiness. But since the government won't even let us express ourselves, that's were the aggressive part starts.
There are 2 things that we might consider very crucial for Macondo, and probably the 2 of the most important facts of the story. First the Banana Plantation and then the flood that lasted for almost 5 years. The Banana Plantation was more than just the cause of pain for a lot of people in Macondo, it change some important facts also, we have to remember that nobody in Macondo have died in a lot of time, and just with the manifestation of Colonel Buendia, 16 people were killed. And after that, the flood that lasted for almost 5 years nearly marked the end of the Plantation. The flood not only marked the end of it, but also marks the beginning of a new time in Macondo. As in the Bible, after the flood that Noah lived the world after passing through that "tragedy" became a better place and they could start over. That's how we must see things in Macondo, the flood will be the beginning of a new time in Macondo, and things will get better.
ReplyDeleteMeme's transformation was somethign that stood out to me because she's been through a lot. From going out at first and loving the smallest things and she seemed so happy, her insomnia is now prevailing and evidnet in her life. She is unable to cope with the death of Mauricio Babilonia. Fernanda sends off for Meme to be sent away, and Meme does go abroad the train and go away. However, Meme's child stays in Macondo, therefore I wonder if we will see Meme again in the chapters to come since she has a reason to go back.
ReplyDeleteThe other main thing in the chapter is the large numbers of protests that are breaking out due to the unhappy workers. The government calls for a meeting and then begins to fire machine guns at all the people there and then doubt that it ever happened, when Jose Arcadio himself was there. I think that Jose Arcadio is a brave and strong man, because even though he knows that this happened, he also understands that no one will believe him if he tries to tell them that it did. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for him, to wake up among carts and carts of dead bodies, and then be told that none of it ever happened.
ReplyDelete