Thursday, March 29, 2007

Referances

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC100357581033.aspx?AxInstalled=1&c=0
Used for template of the test.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LessonTemplate.htm
Used for lesson plan template

100 Years of Solitude
Used for questions in test and topics for lesson plan

Complete Overview

100 Years of Solitude

Goal: Complete understanding of the book. Children will review entire book listing anything of importance to the story and its use of magical realism. Also to learn all references to the real world used in the book.

Activity: Research references to modern times used in the book.
* This will be conducted in computer lab.

Lesson Plan: Day After Test

100 Years of Solitude:

Goal: Review: Chapters 11-20. Students will discuss chapters 11-20 then will debate the major themes of the book.

*Debate: Children will be divided into equal groups debating major conflicts of the book.

Purpose: Main focus is in depth understanding of the book. Also to find any topics of confusion within the book.

Lesson Plan: Test

Name: You
Class Period: 3
100 Years Of Solitude
Your Score:
Highest Possible Score: 100


Multiple Choice: For each of the following questions, circle the letter of the answer that best answers the question.

  1. Who is Colonel Aureliano’s Father?
    Some Guy
    Jose Arcadio
    José Arcadio Buendía
    Melquiades
  2. Jose Arcadio Jr. has how many children?
    1
    2
    3
    10,000

True or False: For each statement, circle True or False.

1. Colonel Aureliano loses most of his battles?
True
False

2. Rebeca kills Jose Arcadio?
True
False

3. Yellow flowers rain from the sky when Jose Arcadio Buendia dies?
True
False

4. Ursula and Jose Arcadio Buendia are related.
True
False

5. Colonel Aureliano has more than 17 children.
True
False

Fill in the Blank: Into each sentence below, copy a term from the word bank that correctly completes the sentence.
Word Bank:

Monkey
Huge
Hurricane
Michael Jackson
Donkey
Kidney
Candy Mountain
Tree
Flies
Immortal
Red Ants
Charlie
Wall
Runs
Crazy

Jose Arcadio Buendia is chained to a _____.

The town of Macondo is destroyed by a ________.

Remedios _______ away.

Aureliano Babilonia’s baby is carried away by________.

Essay Question: Compare and contrast the Aurelianos and the Jose Arcadios.

(For teacher’s use only)
Your Grade: A+

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Lesson Plan Numero 1

100 Years of Solitude

Topic: Chapters 1-10 Overview
*Group discussion on the major themes from the first 10 chapters.

*Discuss the behavior of the Jose Arcadio's and the Aureliano's up until the twins. How are they different how to they compare.

*Discuss Ursula's purpose. Was she a symbol of the family's history and pride or was she just a really old lady

Test

*2 Multple Choice

*5 True or False

*4 Fill in the Blank

*1 Essays Questions


Sources: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PLessonTemplate.htm

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC100357581033.aspx?AxInstalled=1&c=0

As It Is Written

The book is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 20

"Pilar Ternera died in her wicker rocking chair during one night of festivities as she watched over the entrance to her paradise." She is the oldest person in Macondo. The few people that lived in Macondo are beginning to live, the bookstore owner moves to the Mediterreanan. He advises the many to leave too, only a few heed his advise. Macondo becomes of ghost town, only a people live there now and the town is infested with bugs. Gaston, tired of waiting for a airplane, catches a ride with some Germans to Brussels. With Gastons absence, Amaranta and Aureliano can love each other without fear. From their love they later bare a child, name Aureliano by Aureliano. The baby is examined by the midwife and a pig tail is found on the baby. Amaranta dies 24 hours of blood loss from the pregneacy. Aureliano, depressed by the death of Amaranta, drinks constantly and neglects his child. To his horror, Aureliano sees child on the front lawn; "It was a dry and bloated bag of skin that all the ants in the world were dragging toward their holes along the stone path in the garden." This reminds Aureliano of the final line of Melquiades parchment. Aureliano finds out that the parchment was just his family history. Aureliano does not read the rest of the parchment because"for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."

Magical Realism: Ants taking over the town, Melquiades predictions, and the town being destroyed by a hurricane.

Theme: History is man's worst enemy

Character Development: Aureliano is a loser, who should have listened to the bookstore owner.
Quotes: "They were not alarmed. Aureliano and Amaranta Úrsula were not aware of the family precedent, nor did they remember Úrsula’s frightening admonitions" They due not know of the family curse

"Amaranta Úrsula’s passionate blood was insensible to any artifice that did not come from love." Amaranta will not bleeding after the baby is born.


Random Quotes: "I shit on Canon Twenty-seven of the Synod of London."

"While he would rub Amaranta Úrsula’s erect breasts with egg whites or smooth her elastic thighs and peach-like stomach with cocoa butter, she would play with Aureliano’s portentous creature as if it were a doll and would paint clown’s eyes on it with her lipstick and give it a Turk’s mustache with her eyebrow pencil, and would put on organza bow ties and little tinfoil hats."

Active Reading Chapter 19

Amaranta Ursula returns with her luggage and her husband. Amaranta Ursula brings life, to the now dead house. She cleans up the place and cleans up her "darling cannibal" Aureliano. Gaston, Amaranta's husband, begins collecting insects around the town and talking to Aureliano to ease his boredom. Aureliano soon finds himself wandering the village. Nothing is what he remembers it is, The Banana Company is destroyed and town is in horrible condition. He meets Nigromanta on his voyage and they become lovers. While at the book store, Aureliano meets 4 arguing boys. Their names are Alvaro, German, Alfonso, and Gabriel, they are Aureliano's first friends.

"She was irresistible, with a dress she had designed and one of the long shad-vertebra necklaces that she herself had made." Aureliano begins to lust after Amaranta, soon becoming infatuated with her. He begins to dislike Gaston calling him "a fool on a velocipede". One day he expresses his true feelings for her, but she is frightened by them and threatens to leave. Aureliano arrives at the house, following the advise of Pilar, and finds Amaranta coming out he shower. Aureliano then precedes to rape her, "She barely had time to reach out her hand and grope for the towel to put a gag between her teeth so that she would not let out the cat howls that were already tearing at her insides."

Magical Realism: Pilar still being alive, no one remembering the Beundia family.

Theme: History: this seems to focus on the history of the family.

Charecter Development: Aureliano repeats the same mistake many in his family have done.

Quotes: "Aureliano could not find anyone who remembered his family, not even Colonel Aureliano Buendía, except for the oldest of the West Indian Negroes, an old man whose cottony hair gave him the look of a photographic nega-tive and who was still singing the mournful sunset psalms in the door of his house." The Family has become a distant memory.

"There was no mystery in the heart of a Buendía that was impenetrable for her because a century of cards and experience had taught her that the history of the family was a machine with unavoidable repetitions" History allows repeats itself because people are not knowledgeable of history.

Active Reading Chapter 18

Aureliano (Little Aureliano) takes up were JAS left off. He becomes absorbed in the writings, Melquiades helps him ever so often. Aureliano figures out he writings are in Sankrit. With no one the support the family, the house is in shambles. Santa Sofia's position in the house very low for her age. Fernanda only say her as "her husband’s mother" and left her to do house work and live in the lonely corners of the house. Santa Sofia tries to keep the house clean, but everyday the weeds and dirt return. She leaves soon after, without telling anyone except Aureliano.

With only Aureliano and Fernanda in the house, she starts to show Aureliano more favor. He, in turn, makes her meals and helps with the cleaning. During his solitude, Aureliano translate some of Melquiades documents into Spanish. Fernanda finally dies in solitude, found by Aureliano. Jose Arcadio returns 4 months after her death, he comes to take care of her estate. "You’re the bastard." is the only thing he says to Aureliano. It is revealed that Jose Arcadio never stayed in Rome to learn to be a Pope, but left to live a lavish life. He allows children to run around the house without care. The kids were used as Jose's personal sex slaves.

A yellow glow comes from the floorboard one night, it is Ursula's gold. Jose uses it to live is his lavish lifestyle, buying foreign clothes and fixing up the house. With his new found wealth, Jose sees no use for the children and forces them to leave. One September day, "José Arcadio was finishing his daily bath when through the openings in the tiles the four children he had expelled from the house burst in. Without giving him time to defend himself, they jumped into the pool fully clothed, grabbed him by the hair, and held his head under the water until the bubbling of his death throes ceased on the surface and his silent and pale dolphin body dipped down to the bottom of the fragrant water."

Magical Realism: Aureliano burning silver to preserve Fernanda's body.

Theme: This chapter seems to focus on justice. Fernanda dies in solitude because of the way she acted. Jose Arcadio dies bacause he molested those children.

Character Development: Aureliano lives in solitude just as all previous of his namesakes. Jose Arcadio lives a life of evil just like his namesake.

Quotes: "I give up," she said to Aureliano. "This is too much house for my poor bones." Santa Sofia giving up on the family

"Then he looked into her bedroom and saw her lying on the bed covered with the ermine cape, more beautiful than ever and with her skin turned into an ivory casing." Aureliano finding Fernanda dead

Active Reading Chapter 17

Ursula is infuriated that she has been used like a doll by the children, her face was painted. She finds the house in ruins, because of AS looking for the gold. Ursula continues to inspect the house and finds JAS. In has not left the room since he entered; his teeth are rotten and he hasn't showered. Ursula yells at him and tells him take a bath, but he will not, saying that "he did not want to see the train with two hundred cars loaded with dead people which left Macondo every day at dusk on its way to the sea." Ursula is cheered up by the news that Jose Arcadio would come the visit Macondo. Her happiness doesn't last long because she finds out that AS destroyed the front porch. In all the confusion in the house AS leaves back to live with Petra. Money from the livestock is slow, so AS starts selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a pig or any other animal. It soon turns into a big festival, people kill the animals they win and get some liquor. AS tries to find out why the animals are not breeding like they used to; they think it is because their animalistic lust has been replaced with love.

AS is so distracted with the raffles , he doesn't relieves that Amaranta Ursula has started school. However, Fernanda does not allow Little Aureliano to go to school saying "that she had already relented too much in letting him leave the room." Ursula's brain has gone, she confuses Little Aureliano with Colonel Aureliano and she continues to see dead people. Something weird happens soon after,"Little by little she was shrinking, turning into a fetus, becoming mummified in life to the point that in her last months she was a cherry raisin lost inside of her nightgown, and the arm that she always kept raised looked like the paw of a marimonda monkey" Ursula has finally died, coincidentally JAS, AS, and Rebeca die shortly after. JAS dies interpreting the secret to immortality; AS dies at the same time as JAS, he dies making love to Petra; and Rebeca just dies.

Magical Realism: Ursula shrinking and when she dies birds fly into buildings killing themselves.

Theme: This continues the theme of "in with the new, out with the old". The old generation is completely gone and a new regime is in power.

Character Development: Members of the new generation are starting to accept the attributes attached with their names.

Quotes: "She was too old then and living on borrowed time to repeat the miracle of the little candy animals, and none of her descendants had inherited her strength. The house stayed closed on Fernanda’s orders." Ursula has lost all power in the house.

"they enjoyed the miracle of loving each other as much at the table as in bed" Petra and AS talking about their love making.

Reflection 3

The book became really good toward the end. I liked the whole history repeats itself thing. The book is pretty awesome, I loved it! I loved the links between modern history and past times. The book illustrates how repeating our mistakes through history will lead to our downfall.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Active Readng Chapter 16

It rains for 4 years, 11 months, 2 days straight; when it ends people celebrate in the streets. During the storm, AS would travel from Petra's house to the Buendia Home. He lost a lot weight because of the walking, also he fixed up the house. AS sons realizes that he is old, because when he thinks of Petra he does not quiver. Ursula has become increasingly sickly, and is reaching her end, she predicts that after the rain ends she will die. AS returns to Petra house to find all the live stock dead and also sees Petra has old and dreary. Well, the only people having fun are little Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula. They play in the rain and puddles, in spite of Fernanda strictness. Ursula starts to confuse the children in the house with her kids. She also starts to see ghost. AS interrogates Ursula for the location of the gold, but she will "carry the secret to her grave". He hies digger to search for the gold in the house. He goes to Pilar for help, "she
confirmed the existence of the treasure with the precision of its consisting of seven thousand two hundred fourteen coins buried in three canvas sacks reinforced with copper wire within a circle with a radius of three hundred eighty-eight feet with Úrsula’s bed as the center, but she warned that it would not be found until it stopped raining and the suns of three consecutive Junes had changed the piles of mud into dust." AS becomes more confused. The rains finally stops, the town is destroyed by the storm.

Magical Realism: It raining for for a long time, One the plagues that hit Macondo.

Theme: this chapter has a biblical theme. Especially ate the end, where it list the plagues that hit Macondo.

Character Development: AS returns to his normal, Jose Arcadio ways. Ursule is the last of the old generation that knows of the curse.

Quotes: "I’m only waiting for the rain to stop in order to die." Ursula predicting her death
"Macondo was in ruins." Description of the town after the storm.

Easter Eggs

The Banana Plantation symbolizes the drug cartels in Columbia. Yeah, I'm good.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 15

"The events that would deal Macondo its fatal blow were just showing themselves when they brought Meme Buendia’s son home." Fernanda does not want the child, Aureliano, to stay in their home, but can't drown it because of the guilt she feels. She told everyone that she found in a basket, she kept him in Colonel Aureliano's workshop. Fernanda and Meme travel far to a distant place, she leaves Meme there by herself to live in shame. Fernanda returns to find the town filled with tension. JAS (Jose Arcadio Segundo) has instigated a strike among the plantation workers. It is resolved weeks later, they get a day off now.
AS (Aureliano Segundo) is upset that Fernanda sent his daughter, but dares not go against her.

JAS leads another strike against the banana plantation. This time he is not that successful. His complaints are met with gunfire. JAS is the only survivor of the massacre. He returns home to hide, but is discovered by the soldiers. He hides in Melquiades' room, which is immortal just him. JAS then starts to read the notes on the table becoming interested in the documents.

Magical Realism: Melquiades room being immortal. The yellow butterfly flying into the fan is symbolic of Maurico death.

Theme: Man Vs. Authority, This focuses on the clashes between the people with power and the ones without it.

Character Development: Fernanda, again, shows her power as matriarch. JAS starts to act like a Jose Arcadio and AS likewise.

Quotes: "She was still thinking about Mauricio Babilonia, his smell of grease, and his halo of butterflies, and she would keep on thinking about him for all the days of her life until the remote autumn morning when she died of old age, with her name changed and her head shaved and without ever having spoken a word, in a gloomy hospital in Cracow." Meme never speaks to her mother after she sends her away, and dies there.

"An anarchist in the family." Fernanda commeting on JAS's a behavior.

Active Reading Chapter 14

Meme's return is marred by the death of Colonel Aureliano. Aureliano Segundo returns to the house when Meme returns. Aureliano Segundo (AS) somehow gets Fernanda to have sex with him and they have a new baby girl, Amaranta Ursula, Ursula is highly against the name. Meme soon graduates from school and is an accredited clavichordist. Meme had always been a wild child but when she played the clavichord she became more mature and confident. Meme is spoiled by her father who showers her with gifts and visits to the circus. Petra, growing jealous, hated the attention Meme was getting from her father. Meme has become friends with Mr. Brown's daughter. AS is so excited by this he buys her some books to learn English. Meme, like her father is wild, see drinks on occasion and tells her father, who finds it funny.

Amaranta continues to make her shroud, sewing everyday without regard to others. Amaranta suddenly dies, oddly since she was always healthy. The mystery behind Amaranta's death is revealed as: "Death did not tell her when she was going to die or whether her hour was assigned before that of Rebeca, but ordered her to begin sewing her own shroud on the next sixth of April. She was authorized to make it as complicated and as fine as she wanted, but just as honestly executed as Rebeca’s, and she was told that she would die without pain, fear, or bitterness at dusk on the day that she finished it."

Meme has become a spoiled child, getting what ever she wants. She even has relations with Mauricio Babilonia, a banana factory worker. When the relationship is discovered Fernanda is against it but AS doesn't care. Fernanda soon cooks up a plot to get rid of Mauricio. She contacts the Mayor of the town and asks him to kill Mauricio, however he ends up just getting paralyzed.

Magical Realism: The yellow butterflies appearing everywhere, just like when JAB died and yellow flowers appeared. Death talking to Amaranta

Theme: The chapter seems to focus on accepting of roles. AS finally accepts his role as a father, poorly I might add. Also Fernanda accepts her role as supreme matriarch of the village.

Character Development: Fernanda has become like how Ursula once was. Meme has become out of control. Amaranta dies, knowing full well of it and becoming more of a layered character.

Quotes: "As far as I can see," she thought, "that’s the same thing that happens to drunken people." Ursula using her super powers.

"Amaranta Ursula, who was mischievous and sickly, and a touching correspondence with the invisible physicians." I think this means she got sick then well without explanation.

Active Reading Chapter 13

Jose Arcadio has started his papal education a is leaving for seminary school. Ursula's age is starting show. Her vision has become all but gone, however her other senses have heightened to immensely. She also seems to have obtain the power perceive things that aren't accessible to the main senses. Ursula hides her debilitation from the others so she will not be labeled as useless, but Ursula has some how obtain the power of absolute understanding.

Jose Arcadio leaves shortly for seminary school, oddly Colonel Aureliano did not support him going to the school. Reneta "Meme" Remedios leaves for school also. Ursula starts to step down from her usually responsibilities and Fernanda steps up. Since Fernanda takes control "there were radical changes in the traditional sense of hospitality because at that time it was Fernanda who imposed her rules." Fernanda is incredible strict, even imposing her rules on guest. Her one biggest rule was that the banana company have nothing to do with their household. So when Jose Arcadio Segundo takes a job at the banana plantation he is promptly kicked out of the house. Her strict rules leads Aureliano Segundo to leave the house and live with Petra, where he has fiesta in celebration of his liberation. He even has a eating competition with a girl named the "Elephant".

The house has become empty, once full of life, is empty and cold. Fernanda reverts to her old ways of weaving to pass the time ans Coonel Aureliano has started making golden fish again. Meme returns from school for a visit, Fernanda and Aureliano Segundo have an agreement to at like a couple for Meme's sake. On Meme's third visit she brings her whole school with her, without warning her mother.

Jose Arcadio Segundo (JAS) returns to the house, without Fernanda knowing, he visits Colonel Aureliano. Ursula tells him to take Colonel Aureliano out of the house since he had not left in a while. He refused to leave, he only left the house to urinate on the chestnut tree. One day a parade goes to through the town. The Colonel goes to urinate by the tree and then "he pulled his head in between his shoulders like a baby chick and remained motionless with his forehead against the trunk of the chestnut tree. The family did not find him until the following day at eleven o’clock in the morning when Santa Sofía de la Piedad went to throw out the garbage in back and her attention was attracted by the descending vultures."

Magical Realism: When Petra has sex the animals follow suit. Ursula becoming almost super human when she becomes blind.

Theme: The chapter focuses on in with the new out with the old. With Colonel Aureliano's death the new generation takes complete control.

Character Development: Fernanda becoming the new matriarch. Ursula is no longer in power, the Colonel is death. Aureliano Segundo is acting a lot like an Arcadio.

Quotes: "He won’t ever come into this house again, Fernanda said, as long as he carries the rash of the foreigners." Fernanda kicking JAS out of the house because he is working for the white people.

"This child is as much of a barbarian as her father!" Fernanda commenting of Meme doing something impulsive and stupid.

Active Reading Chapter 12

Aureliano Triste returns with inventions from the outside world. Bruno Crespi, the merchant, is making a fortune off the new inventions. Meanwhile, the ghost of JAB has appeared by the chestnut tree, he seems confused and wanders around the house at noon. Mr. Herbert arrives at the town and eats at the family's house. He usually ate a large amount of bananas. Mr. Brown arrives a little later, he and some other men go exploring where Mr. Hebert usually caught butterflies. The find a huge crop of bananas during their exploration. They start a plantation on land where the old ship was. The train is a curse and a blessing, more people and new inventions are coming to Macondo but so are the whores and criminals of other towns.

Remedios is the only person unconcerned with the problems caused by the train. She lives her life, ignorant of what goes on around her. She does, however, grow tired of the attention she receives form the other men and women of the town. She cuts all her hair off so people will leave her alone, but people find her even more beautiful than before! Many men die for her beauty, some commit suicide or are just killed by their vain attempts to possess her beauty. Remedios is still unaffected by what is going on around her, some of the townspeople believe she emits a poisonous odor. Ursula goes to the extent of hiding Remedios from the public, however she does this in vain because Remedios soon became "lost forever with her in the upper atmosphere where not even the highest-flying birds of memory could reach her."

Colonel Aureliano has become fed up with the white men, Mr. Brown and Mr. Herbert, who run the banana plantation. The Colonel's angry is caused by the killing of boy who spilled his drink on the security guard of the plantation. The Colonel sends his sons to take down the plantation, but are all killed except for one, Aureliano Amador, who flees to the hills. Colonel Aureliano received a condolence from the Republic's President, but responded with angry letters to him.
Colonel Aureliano "as had happened with the death of his wife, as had happened to him so many times during the war with the deaths of his best friends, he did not have a feeling of sorrow but a blind and directionless rage, a broad feeling of impotence." His angry forced him to stop making his fish and his appearance became very haggard. He was not a very happy camper.

Magical Realism: Remedios flying away, she flew to her freedom from the foreigners who lusted after her every hour of the day.

Theme: This chapter seems to focus on the problem with expansion and communication. When Macondo expanded and started finding new ways to communicate with outside world, they were introduced to the world's problems. They can no longer live in blissful solitude.

Character Development: The Colonel is acting like is father when the republic first entered the village. The Whites have become sort of the new antagonist. Remedios flew away. Ursule has to be like 200 now.

Quotes: "It was as if God had decided to put to the test every capacity for surprise and was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between excitement and disappointment, doubt and revelation, to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the limits of reality lay." Narration of the good and the bad with the modernization of the town.

"Just because we invited a gringo to eat some bananas." The Colonel regretting allowing the whites to live in the village.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Reflection 2

Well I'm cathing up on my reading and I'm bout half through. The book is getting more interesting, all the deaths made it better. The book is weird. but if you look deeply and do some research. I found that you can link the book the corruption in the Columbia government during that time. The political war in the book is pretty directly taken from Columbia history. That's a little easter egg I found. Another I still don't get why all the kids have the same name, kind of get it. The Jose Arcadios are ruff, crazy people, while the Aurelianos are timid and more of a leader. Another thing how old is Ursula? She got to be like a 156 years old.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 11

Fernanda del Carpio and Aureliano Segundo have become a married couple, however Aureliano is still having relations with Petra. "The marriage was on the point of breaking up after two months because Aureliano Segundo, in an attempt to placate Petra Cotes, had a picture taken of her dressed as the Queen of Madagascar." Fernanda was born in a dark, scary town 600 hundred miles away from Macondo. She lived a secluded life, taking care of her sickly mother who told her she was a queen. Her contact with the outside world was her piano lessons. She later finished school, only to return home to make funeral wreaths. Her mother later dies and her family is thrust into poverty. Her father arranges marriage with Aureliano.

2 weeks after their wedding night Fernanda finally allows Aurelino to consummate the marriage. "He was so fascinated with that vision that it took him a moment to realize that Fernanda was wearing a white nightgown that reached down to her ankles, with long sleeves and with a large, round buttonhole, delicately trimmed, at the level of her lower stomach. Aureliano Segundo could not suppress an explosion of laughter."

Aureliano Segundo, because Fernanda wouldn't have sex with him, went to Petra for pleasure. Fernanda left him, but soon returned Aureliano Segundo. Fernanda and Aureliano later give birth to 2 children: Jose Arcadio (whatever number) and Renata Remedios. Fernanda's father would send them giant gifts every Christmas, they was never anything they could play with. One Christmas, he sent his dead body to them.

Around Easter, Colonel Aureliano's 17 children to visit their family. They were wild people, breaking many things in the house and making Remedios climb a pole. Aureliano Segundo offers them all job, but only Aureliano Triste accepts. Aureliano Triste becomes used to the town and looks for a house live in. He stumples onto an empty house in the town. The people he ask say the home is empty, however upon exploration he is confronted by Rebeca who attempts to kill him. Later on, the other Aurelianos return and Aureliano Centeno stays to work in the ice factory. Aureliano Triste seeks to expand the village by obtaining a train for the village. Aureliano Centeno starts mixing fruit and accidentally makes a new flavor of snow cone.

Magical Realism: When Petra has sex the animals seem to imitate her and start having sex. Also, when the Aurelianos get their ashes they do not rub off.

Theme: The this chapter seems to focus on family problems. It starts with Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda's problem and flows into the Colonel Aureliano and his 17 bastard sons problem.

Character Development: Aureliano Segundo seems to act more like a Jose Arcadio. Colonel Aureliano has become like his father in his late life.

Quotes: "I was saying," she told her, "that you’re one of those people who mix up their ass and their ashes." Amaranta making fun of Fernanda

"he barely had time to give a cry and push the children aside when be raised the lead cover and saw Don Fernando, dressed in black and with a crucifix on his chest, his skin broken out in pestilential sores and cooking slowly in a frothy stew with bubbles like live pearls." Aureliano Segundo discovering his father-in-law's corpse.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 10

Aureliano Segundo is on the edge of death. He sees his son in the bathroom and names him Jose Arcadio. Fernanda del Carpio, Aureliano Segundo's wife, is a beautiful woman. Ursula doesn't support naming the child Jose because the name carries tragedy. José Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo as children loved to confuse people by switching clothes so they could not tell the difference between them. Ursula says they were odd since they could not be easily classified as a Jose or as a Aureliano. She suspects they switched identities with the other permanently once before. They did everything together, even had the same prostitute. Her name was Pera Cotes, she slept with both Decides to stay with Aureliano. This doesn't last long when Aureliano meets Frernanda. Remedios has grown to a very attractive women. Colonel Aureliano begins his life as a hermit, secluding himself making strange things.

Magical Realism: José Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo being able to read minds and that Ursula still being alive.

Theme: This chapter emphasizes the new generation and the connection of names.

Charecter Development: Remedios is the most beautiful women in town. Aureliano is becoming more like his father.

Quotes:"The women in this house are worse than mules." Aureliano Segundo expressing his frustration towards the women of the house.

"Remedios the Beauty was proclaimed queen." expressing the beauty of remedios.

Active Reading Chapter 9

"Colonel Gerineldo Marquez was the first to perceive the emptiness of the war." Many start to believe the war has no meaning anymore. Many have lost sight of the meaning of the war. Amaranta relieves the beauty of Remedios for the first time and hopes she doesn't become jealous of her. Ursula is suprised by the change in Aureliano's behavior and appearance. General Teofilo Vargas, a full bloodied Indian, grew tired of the war and planned a rebellion. He is successful and takes over the Liberal Army. Colonel Aureliano, however, chops him up with a machete and takes command of the army.

Aureliano doesn't manage his power well. He usually lays in his hammock ignoring people. When liberal landowners ask permission to built churches Aureliano fiercely refuses. One of his officers objects to this, so Aureliano has him killed. Ursula, tried of seeing Aureliano misusing his power, visits him during one of his sleepless nights. She tells him "I swear to you by the bones of my father and mother, by the memory of José Arcadio Buendía, I swear to you before God that I will drag you out from wherever you’re hiding and kill you with my own two hands." She also says "It’s the same as if you’d been born with the tail of a pig."

After hearing this Aureliano changes his ways and tries to end the war. He soon, returns to Macondo, with a peace treaty between the Liberals and the Conservatives. Aureliano attempts to kill himself but fails. Oddly, he is given a medal of honor for surviving his suicide attempt.

Magical Realism: Aureliano surviving a direct shot to chest.

Theme: The theme of the chapter seems to be peace after turbulence.

Charecter Development: Aureliano changes his ways and becomes noble again. Ursula retakes her matriarch position.

Quotes: "Take them to the whores," Colonel Aureliano's response to the lawyers seeking shelter.

"It’s the same as if you’d been born with the tail of a pig." Ursula telling Aureliano he is acting like and animal.

Active Reading Chapter 8

Aureliano Jose is shaving for the first time by himself. The war has made a major turn for the Liberals. With three Liberals put in to positions of power. Even with upon hearing this news, Colonel Aureliano continues to attack the Conservatives. His son, Aureliano Jose, has fallen in love with Amaranta. After a fellow, stupid officer tells Aureliano Jose that it is acceptable to marry a relative, he leaves the army. When he reaches Macondo he professes his love for Amaranta and ask for her hand in marriage. She refuses, telling him for the curse of the pig's tail.

Ursula is shocked one day when 17 Aureliano's come to her house looking for their father. She is skeptical at first, since all of them are of a different race, but they all have the same "solemn" look in their eyes. Pilar later predicts the death of one of Colonel Aureliano's officers. However, he dies but so does Aureliano Jose. Aureliano Jose was attempting at the time to make babies with a prostitute. Aureliano takes revenge by destroying the city. He takes control of Macondo using brute strength.

Magical Realism: Colonel Aureliano's 17 rainbow children.

Theme: The chapter seems to talk of the past alot. Bringing the subject of incest back and Ursula being powerful again.

Charecter Development: Armaranta knows the story of the pig tail. Aureliano shows his darker side. Ursula seems to be the glue again.

Quotes: "If he follows this path he’ll spend Christmas at the ends of the earth." Ursula fearing for Colonel Aureliano's life.

"Any children will be born with the tail of a pig." Amaranta telling Aureliano Jose of the curse.

Active Reading Chapter 7

Colonel Aureliano has been finally captured after his many failed rebellion attempts. Word reaches Macondo that the Colonel is alive. Ursula visits Colonel Aureliano in prison, she gives him a pistol. The Colonel's excecution is pushed back due to fear of uprising. The exceution is finally to happen. Jose II saves him from the firing squad. Colonel Aureliano returns to the battle field. He seen as a legend by most peop

Ursula takes in Jose III's family. Remedios was supposed to be named Ursula, but Ursula, Jose III grandmother, disapporves. The twins are names Jose and Aureliano. Jose II and Rebeca move out of the house. They live off the money Jose II made from the land he took. One day, Jose II goes to the bathroom and Rebeca hears a gun shot. Blood flows from the house to Ursula's kitchen. Ursula follows the trail to Jose's ear. There isn't any sign of a gunshot wound. Rebeca becomes depressed and rarely lives her house.

Colonel Aureliano returns due to his poisoning. He is forced to rest for weeks. During this one of his officers ask for Amaranta hand in marriage. she refuses saying he is truly in love with Aureliano. Aureliano, feeling that he will die soon, tells his mother to take care of JAB. JAB's madness is increasing, he is visited by Prudencio Aguilar three times a day now. JAB dies shortly after.

Magical Realism: Yellow Flowers raining from the sky when JAB dies. Jose II blood traveling to Ursula.

Theme: The theme seems to be the ending of generations. Members of the previous generations are either dieing or leaving.

Charecter Development: Jose II is not as evil as oringinally thought. Aureliano is a hero tio some, but he isn't really successfu. Ursula has seen her husband and son die. Amaranta seems to still feel guilty about Pietro.

Quotes: "I was born a son of a bitch and I’m going to die a son of a bitch." Captain Roque Carnicero expressing his feelings about executing Aureliano.

"I’m not going to marry anyone, she told him, much less you. You love Aureliano so much that you want to marry me because you can’t marry him." Amaranta expaining to Gerineldo Márquez why she refuses to marry him.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 6

In Chapter 6 we told of the Colonel's campaign. He was not very successful in his campaign. All 32 of his battles, he is defeated. However, he has 17 children all by different women. Oddly, most of his children die at the celebration of the eldest child's birthday. The Colonel, who survived 14 assassination attempts, is finally captured. Ursula visits him in prison, she feels for her son and tries to get him released. He is sentenced to death by firing squad, but is saved by Jose II. Jose II rides in with a shotgun and shoots his way throw the guards. Setting his brother free he joins the uprising. However he dies mysteriously, leaving his now large family behind.

Theme: It seems to follow the conflict theme of the last chapter.

Magical Realism: The Colonel having 17 children with 17 different women, surviving 14 assassination attempts, and Jose II trying to revive Melquiades.

Charecter Development: Jose II becoming like his father, authoritative figure of the town. Ursula returning to her dominate role. Macondo becoming a war-torn town.

Quotes: "Closed the doors of her house and buried herself alive" Rebeca living in solitude after the death of Jose II
"That way I won’t have the eyes to weep for the shame of having raised a monster." Ursula disowning Jose II during his public punishment.

Active Reading Chapter 5

Aureliano Buendia and Remedios Moscote finally are married when she reaches puberty. Remedios had a long way to go to be recognized as a woman. She had a problem with peeing on the bed and smearing chocolate on her panties. They are wed by Father Nicanor Reyna, who came to the town on short notice just for the wedding by the magistrate.

Father Nicanor stayed in Macondo because "he was appalled at the hardness of the inhabitants of Macondo". He said the people of the town were living with the original sin because none of their children were baptized and they did not celebrate Church holidays. However, he needed money to build his church. Collecting alms was his first tactic, but soon it became counter-productive. The Father then held an open mass, in which he performed the miracle of levitation. JAB was the only doubter.

Rebeca and Pietro are prepared to be married but are met with many obstacles. The death of Pietro's mother postpones the wedding, financial constraints postpone the wedding, and Amaranta many attempts to stop their matrimony. Unfortunately, the wedding is postponed indefinitely with the death of Remedios, who was carrying twins.

Every one's life turned upside down with the return of Jose II. He looks completely different, covered from head to toe with tattoos. Jose II states he has come back for the women of the town. Rebeca, who is set to wed Pietro, falls in love with Jose II. They have sex and three days later are set to wed. Pietro is heartbroken by the news, but pulls himself together and starts a relationship with Amaranta.

The town council is controlled by the Conservatives, but the Liberals are planning an upraising. Aureliano, after witnessing the corruption of the Conservatives, becomes the rebel leader of the Liberals. The leader of the Conservitives is Don Moscote, who after the death of Remedios confronted Aureliano, all of his weapons are seized and the Liberals gain control of the town. Aureliano becomes Colonel Aureliano Buendia and joins the Liberal National Army.

When he leaves he gives command of the town to Jose III, who misuses his power on the townspeople. During this, Pietro proposes to Amaranta twice and is rejected both times. He kills himself after her final rejection. Ursula is left in distress while observing the behavior of her child and his son. Jose III allows his father Jose II to run wild, while he has an affair with a child named, Santa Piedad, who bears him a daughter and is pregnant with another child. The Liberal Army suffers a defeat to the Conservatives and they recapture Macondo. Jose III faces death by firing squad, his last wish is for his daughter to be named Ursula and unborn child to be name Jose Arcadio.

Theme: The theme of this chapter is conflict. There are many conflicts between the political parities within the country. there is also conflict between the Buendia family.

Magical Realism: Jose II claimed to have sailed around the world 65 times.

Character Development: Jose II has become womanizing, immoral man. Aureliano has become the most dominate figure in the story. the woman have become weak in comparions with the men.

Quotes: "She was the last person Arcadio thought about a few years later when he faced the firing squad" Foreshadowing his pending death.
"God for having been born before she lost herself in the inconceivable pleasure of that unbearable pain" Rebeca having sex with Jose II, rough sex.

Active Reading Chapter 4

The house now remodeled and "white as a dove" is now happy with dance and drink. To and to the celebration, Aureliano announces that he plans to marry Remedios Moscote, the magistrate's daughter. There is much concern since she has not hit puberty yet. However she turns out to be a wonderful wife; taking in the love child, Aureliano Jose, of Aureliano and Pilar Ternera. Unfortunately, she will die suddenly from a stomach ailment.

Also at this time, Rebeca and Amaranta begin to fight over Pietro Crespi, an Italian. Rebeca is suppose to marry Pietro, but Amaranta is highly against it, even threatening murder! The wedding will be postponed though, because of the sudden death of Remedios Moscote.

JAB is at his usually work of inventing mechanical gadgets and toys. JAB reaches an unfortunate set back when Prudencio Aguilar appears to him. He becomes violently obsessed with making his pendulum machine work. When it doesn't he goes crazy, it takes 20 men to subdue him and tie him to a tree. Ursula comes a day later to untie him, later Aureliano and her build a little house.

Theme: The theme of this chapter seems to be change. The Buendias have a new home; Amaranta ands Rebeca are young women.

Magical Realism: Burning mercury is revealed to be the secret of immortality. The room where the Mercury was burned never seems to collect dust. It seems to be stuck in the same time period.

Character Development: JAB has become a minor character compared to his children. All the children of the close are adults. Pietro has become an object of affection for Amaranta and Rebeca.

Quotes: "You will not be happy as long as your parents remain unburied." Pilar tells Rebeca that it is the only to find peace.
"What day is today? Aureliano told him that it was Tuesday. I was thinking the same thing,"
This is the beginning of JAB's madness.

Active Reading Chapter 3

Now that the village has contact with the outside world, people from other villages start to visit Macondo. With all the new visitors, the town starts to become more vibrant and alive. Pilar brings her child to Ursula, seeking refuse, and Ursula accepts the child and names him Jose Arcadio. At this time the gypsies return, however Jose II is not with them so they are not welcomed. Aureliano, now in charge of the Laboratory, becomes adept in his studies. Suddenly, a little girl comes wandering to town dressed in a striped dress and carrying a bag of bones. She looks like an animal, but the Arcadios accept her into their family. They name her Rebeca, supposedly it was her mother's name. Rebeca is a strange girl, she likes to eat dirt and is obsessed with clocks.

With the arrival of Rebeca, an insomnia epidemic starts to spread. Everyone in the town becomes very forgetful and disoriented. Aureliano, soon figures out a way for the townspeople to keep their memory from day to day. The insomnia epidemic suddenly disappears with the return of Melquiades. Melquiades brings with him a new invention, the photograph or daguerreotype. JAB and Melquiades talk for a little and it is revealed that Melquiades rose from the dead.

Ursula starts expanding the household because all the children are becoming older and bigger. Don Apolinar Moscote, the magistrate of the governing party, soon arrives and sets up office two blocks away from JAB's house. His first order was for all the houses to be painted blue. JAB is highly upset by this, even going so far as to pick the magistrate by his lapels and throwing him out of town. He returns soon with six soldiers and his family. The magistrate wants to settle the situation peacefully so they come the an agreement; the citizens can paint their house any color and that the soldiers must live immediately. They both agree to the terms and they the magistrate is given a home for his family to stay in. The only person who is not happy is Aureliano, he has fallen in love with the magistrate's nine year old daughter!

Theme: the theme of this chapter seems to be integration. There are a lot of new characters introduced in this chapter and the town has expanded greatly.

Magical Realism: Melquiades raising himself from the dead because he was lonely is a very good example.

Character Development: Aureliano has become the male leader of the village and is the head alchemist. JAB has a new obsession, finding the image of God. Ursula has a very productive pastry shop and has become a mother to many.

Quotes: "He really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude." Melquiades states that he returned from the dead because he was lonely.
"It was a physical sensation that almost bothered him when he walked, like a pebble in his shoe." Aureliano is so infatuated with the magistrate's daughter that it makes him aroused constantly.

Active Reading Chapter 2

We find out that JAB (Jose Arcadio Buendia) and Ursula are cousin. When JAB and Ursula married, Ursula became frightened that if they had children they would be deformed like the others who practiced incest in their family. Their aunt and uncle also practiced incest and they gave birth to a pig-tailed child. Ursula was so frightened that she put on a chastity belt, so they would not be able to have sex. JAB is ridiculed by most of the village since has not gotten Ursula pregnant in the six months they have been pregnant. One evening at a cock fight, after losing to JAB, Prudencio Aguilar insults JAB's man hood by saying: "Maybe that rooster of yours can do your wife a favor." JAB then calmly walks away and gets a weapon and returns ten minutes later and kills Prudencio. He then goes to Ursula and forces her to remove her chastity belt. JAB makes passionate love to his wife for first since their marriage.

Several months later, Ursula starts seeing the ghost of Prudencio. JAB, filled with guilt leaves his village. A band of people follow him on his journey for a new home. 14 months into their journey Ursula gave birth to a normal, pig-tailed-less child. 2 years after they left, JAB founded Macondo. The name came to JAB in a dream.

Jose II was grown into a young man with a giant "member". This attracts a local girl, Pilar Ternera, who invites Jose II to her house. After a few late night visits, Jose II gets Pilar Pregnant. Jose II is distraught by the news and stops visiting Pilar. Ursula does not notice Jose II's weary state because of her new born child, Amaranta. The gypsies return to town with shows and fun, Jose II meets a young gypsy girl and has sex with her. He runs away with the gypsies as they live to escape his obligation's to Pilar. Ursula pursues the gypsies, leaving her family behind. She returns later without Jose II, but with the route to JAB's dreams.

Magical Realism: Jose II's penis size is an example of magical realism. The size of his penis is said to be more like an animals than a humans.

Character Development: Jose II was become a young man, but is also a coward. He runs away from is problem instead of facing it. Ursula is now, without a doubt, the leader of the village. She goes after her son, without any help, while JAB needs a group of men to look for her.

Quotes: "It’s like an earthquake." Jose II explaining to his brother what sex feels like.

"On the first contact the bones of the girl seemed to become disjointed with a disorderly crunch like the sound of a box of dominoes, and her skin broke out into a pale sweat and her eyes filled with tears as her whole body exhaled a lugubrious lament and a vague smell of mud." Jose II's penis is too big for the gypsy girl's small frame.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Active Reading Chapter 1

The story begins in Macondo, a small isolated island, the village is led by Jose Arcardio Buendia. He is an alchemist and strives to advance his village, however his wife, Ursula, is greatly opposed to it. Every March, gypsies travel to their village selling their wares to the villagers. Since the village is located on an isolated island, the objects they bring are seen as magical new technology. Jose, being an alchemist, buys a pair of magnets from the Gypsies in hope of finding gold. Melquiades, the Gypsies' leader, is the person who shows these "new inventions" to Jose. Jose thinks that with these tools he will find secret treasure, but his wife thinks he is wasting his time. Jose soon trades his magnets in, after he only finds rusty armor, for a telescope. With his telescope he discovers the world is round, which his wife strongly disbelieves.

Jose is the founder and planner for his village. Every house gets the same amount of sunlight and water. Jose has two sons Jose Arcadio II and Colonel Aureliano Buendia, both are weird in their own way. When the Gypsies return, Melquiades is not with them it appears that his illness finally got the better of him. This year the Gypsies bring ice to the small village. Many are astonished by and refuse to touch it.

Theme: Time is a major theme in the story. Time plays a major part, everything happens at a certain. The book starts in a different time then returns to the present.

Magical Realism: This chapter introduces magic with the inventions Jose buys. The magnets and telescope have a magical aspect in the way they work.

Character Development: We are introduced to Jose, thinking that he will be the leader of the village, however we find out that his wife is really the leader. Jose is seen as the protagonist, but there is a hint that he is hiding something.

Quotes: "It's the smell of the devil" it shows their primitive nature and isolation from society.
"The earth is round, like an orange" Jose has found out the world in round and that they have been living in the past.

Reflection 1

As I read the first chapter of "100 Years of Solitude" I can tell the story is going to be unrealistic and weird. This usually means it is going to be an interesting book, but it feels kind of slow, I get this feeling that time going to play a major part. But besides that the book is not that bad. However, I do have a complaint with the many characters being named Jose. It would be easier to follow if they just said the person's full name, like José Arcadio Buendía or José Arcadio II, instead of saying just Jose. Another complaint, why is José Arcadio Buendía such a wuss? He never tries to stand up against Úrsula, maybe it's because Macondo is lead by the women of the village? I also think that suit of armor and ship will be something of importance in later chapters. Right now, I hope the book speeds up and becomes really intriguing.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Done.

Finally, finished my blog and its not as fun as I tought it was.