Loss, Nostalgia and Remembrance

Paper Summary:

The paper explains how "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys and "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by Edwidge Danticat all present themes of loss, nostalgia and remembrance. The paper discusses how all three authors have offered powerful lessons about the function of loss, nostalgia and remembrance, not only in terms of how they influence individuals and families, but how they influence society as well.

From the Paper:

"In One Hundred Years of Solitude's surreal but fascinating story of a small village in Columbia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez presents a powerful theme revolving around a family whose members, despite their material prosperity and superficial happiness, ultimately stand alone in life. Through magic realism, Marquez explores the postcolonial world
of 20th century Latin America and the Caribbean and demonstrates how forgetfulness, loss, human remorse, fear, pride, and submission lead to solitary lives and solitary deaths. He emphasizes that even though relationships can be flawed and painful, unless we live a life of emotional bonding with other people we will not have lived at all and will be remembered by no one. It is love more than anything else that must be remembered and cherished, for life has no meaning without love."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage, 1998.
• Fiorello, Robin. "A Family's Struggle Through a Tumultuous Century." Literature Review. Online. Available: http://www.literatureview.com/fiction/fict_solitude.html. 10 December 2006.
• Johnston, Ian. "On Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude." Liberal Studies. March 8, 1995. Online. Available: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/introser/marq uez.HTM/. 12 December 2006.
• Kennedy, Jason. "One Hundred Years of Solitude." New York Times Book Review, August 12, 1998.
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. One Hundred Years of Solitude. New York: Perennial, 1998.

More papers on Loss, Nostalgia and Remembrance:

• Book Review # 131322 : "Postcolonial Latin America and the Caribbean in Fiction"
• Essay # 18140 : "Love, loss, home and family in the poetry of Emily Dickinson"
• Essay # 137378 : "Narrative Essay: A Concert – and Remembrance"

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