e Hundred Years of Solitude seem to lack transitional periods, or rather the reader is not privy to they "whys" of their changes; we only see the outcome. Jose Arcadio goes away and comes back as an inked up version of "The Thing;" Aureliano goes from being a solitary, introverted scientist to the Liberal military leader. Jose Arcadio Buendia's personality is even more volatile than his sons'. This is especially difficult as a Western reader, who is used to knowing a character's intentions. In The God of Small Things, there is cause and effect. We understand that Estha's muteness is spawned from dramatic occurences in his childhood. In A Wild Sheep Chase, the narrator goes North to solve a mystery. I'm wondering whether character development is lacking for plot reasons or because Marquez is trying to assert the extreme capriciousness of a warring state; especially in the men. Something to think about.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Characterization
The characters of One Hundred Years of Solitude seem to lack transitional periods, or rather the reader is not privy to they "whys" of their changes; we only see the outcome. Jose Arcadio goes away and comes back as an inked up version of "The Thing;" Aureliano goes from being a solitary, introverted scientist to the Liberal military leader. Jose Arcadio Buendia's personality is even more volatile than his sons'. This is especially difficult as a Western reader, who is used to knowing a character's intentions. In The God of Small Things, there is cause and effect. We understand that Estha's muteness is spawned from dramatic occurences in his childhood. In A Wild Sheep Chase, the narrator goes North to solve a mystery. I'm wondering whether character development is lacking for plot reasons or because Marquez is trying to assert the extreme capriciousness of a warring state; especially in the men. Something to think about.
e Hundred Years of Solitude seem to lack transitional periods, or rather the reader is not privy to they "whys" of their changes; we only see the outcome. Jose Arcadio goes away and comes back as an inked up version of "The Thing;" Aureliano goes from being a solitary, introverted scientist to the Liberal military leader. Jose Arcadio Buendia's personality is even more volatile than his sons'. This is especially difficult as a Western reader, who is used to knowing a character's intentions. In The God of Small Things, there is cause and effect. We understand that Estha's muteness is spawned from dramatic occurences in his childhood. In A Wild Sheep Chase, the narrator goes North to solve a mystery. I'm wondering whether character development is lacking for plot reasons or because Marquez is trying to assert the extreme capriciousness of a warring state; especially in the men. Something to think about.
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2 comments:
I'd argue that the text critiques the very notion of identity as a stable, unchanging entity. Identity, in this novel at least, is not the "I" but the "they."
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