Solitude in "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the types of solitude created by ghosts, memory and time in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The paper shows how time seems to be the major source of solitude; ghosts are trapped in the past, those without memories are trapped in the present and those with premonitions are like ghosts from the future. The paper describes how, in the story, the entire town of Macondo seems to be experiencing the same problem because it is trapped in a cyclical time cycle.

From the Paper:

"Ghosts exist in two forms in One Hundred Year of Solitude. The first form of ghost is represented by objects that have fallen into disuse. The perfect example of this type of ghost is the Spanish Galleon in the jungle. When the Galleon is found it is said, "The whole structure seemed to occupy its own space, one of solitude and oblivion, protected from the vices of time and the birds"(Marquez 12). The fact this ship is beached in a jungle makes it a truly haunting image of solitude. It is an object that is out of place and forgotten. In this way the Galleon is a symbolic representation of the people of Mocondo. Both the Galleon and the people of Mocondo are cut off from the rest of the world and normal space time."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alonso, Juan, "Memory and its Absences" in Queen's Quarterly, Vol.108, Iss. 4, Winter 2001: 574.
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia, One Hundred Years of Solitude, GregoryRabassa(trans), Harperperennial modernclassics, 1998.

More papers on Solitude in "One Hundred Years of Solitude":

• Book Review # 131378 : "One Hundred Years of Solitude" - An Analysis"
• Analytical Essay # 27041 : "One Hundred Years of Solitude": A Study in Isolation and Despair"
• Analytical Essay # 42324 : "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

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