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GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
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One Hundred Years of Solitude 8117 Views
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Description:
One of the bestselling books of all time? Yes, please.
Transcript
- 00:01
One Hundred Years of Solitude: Why does the book jump forward and backward in time so
- 00:06
much? Unless you hop in your super cool homemade
- 00:09
time machine, you most likely expect time to move forward.
- 00:13
Naturally, we expect stories to be told in the same manner.
- 00:16
Sure, novels occasionally divert to a flashback or even a flash-forward, but most tales, like
Full Transcript
- 00:21
life, unfold in a linear fashion. A happens, then b, then c.
- 00:26
So, what’s up with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s clock in One Hundred Years of Solitude?
- 00:32
Why did he choose to tell this story in such a funky way?
- 00:35
Is it a sneaky tactic to keep us on our toes? The author’s way of making sure we’re
- 00:40
paying attention? Sort of like a little wake-up call. Or a sadist’s
- 00:45
means of exacting pain. Choosing to swing back and forth through time
- 00:50
forces us to stay focused. It’s all about watching an intense tennis match.
- 00:55
And therefore, we’re encouraged to stay alert and not miss any important details.
- 01:00
Marquez is simply ordering us to pay attention by structuring the book this way. We have
- 01:04
to reset our sense of time and timing on a regular basis.
- 01:07
He’s basically challenging us to keep up with him as we follow him on this zigzagging
- 01:12
journey. Or maybe it’s to confuse and disorient the
- 01:14
reader. Sounds devious, but we wouldn’t put it past
- 01:18
him. Maybe Marquez wants us to feel as if we’re
- 01:21
walking inside a dream. Like a Salvador Dali painting, he creates
- 01:25
a dreamlike atmosphere by telling the story this way.
- 01:28
The dreamy concept of time whizzing around is simply there to provide us with a mood.
- 01:33
Marquez puts us under a purple haze-like spell and invites us to see the story through his
- 01:37
dreamy eyes. We enjoy the experience of the story coming
- 01:41
together in bits and pieces, like memories. Or perhaps the title is a clue to the author’s
- 01:46
intentions. Maybe Marquez is trying to make a broader
- 01:49
statement with his time-bending tactic. Maybe it’s his way of saying we are all
- 01:53
woven into the fabric of time. And in a way, we’re all connected.
- 01:58
Maybe the story does its unique dance through time to remind us that beginnings and endings
- 02:02
are not as clear-cut as we would like them to be.
- 02:05
What do you think? Is this video over yet? Or maybe it has just begun…
- 02:17
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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