One Hundred Years of Solitude - Essay Example

This town seemed to be isolated from the outside world and the people who lived there were alienated from the rest of the world and suffered greatly, each in their own world. The primary intention of the author for using the theme of solitude was to make a protest against the Western world for denying the colored race access to the resources of the developed world. Religion, especially organized religion, which is one of the main themes in the novel, is regarded with much skepticism and therefore becomes the subject of satire and jokes.

Gabriel’s novel has some of the most unsympathetic characters which he uses deftly to depict his thoughts and ideas on Solitude and religion and how it leads to their destruction. One such character is Fernanda del Carpio, who was portrayed as a staunch, religious and fervent catholic, who is intent on sending her own child to a convent and forgetting about her. Fernanda del Carpio was the wife of Aureliano Segundo and mother of Renata Remedios, Jose Arcadio II and Amaranta Ursula. She was one of the last descendents of a very impoverished royal family of a dreary dying town.

However, even though their family was quite poor and had no money, her father always stressed that she was a queen and this belief she had right unto her death. Fernanda always clung to her strict medieval code of ethics and made life quite miserable for the “common” Buendias. . One of the longest living members of the Buendia family, Ursula Iguaran, represents the Biblical Eve. She is witness to the birth of the most new generation of the Buendias. She is perhaps the strongest of all the Buendias.

Ursula is treated with dignity and respect as she follows the path of God in a moral way rather than in the conventional manner. She raised the child of a stranger as her own daughter and showed true Christian spirit by welcoming dozens of strangers to her table. The strength shown by Ursula in binding the family and being their mainstay is truly praiseworthy. In trying to keep the family together she is sometimes quite harsh. The idea that terrified Ursula most was that any kind of incestuous relationship would lead to the birth of pig-tailed progeny.

She is a contradictory character as she is terrified of incest which is the ultimate in family bonding, yet she always works towards binding the family. Solitude also contributed to the overall vision of Macondo, from the author’s perspective which he used as a lens through which we could view human history and human nature. He portrays the town of Macondo from the time it was founded, right to the time it was destroyed. Through the novel, the author depicts prosperity and growth that gradually leads to war and strife and eventually the downfall and destruction of the town.

Jose Arcadio Buendia who was the founder of Macondo and patriarch of the Buendia family, was a natural explorer. In this story he is representative of the biblical Adam. As in the Bible, Adam lost his innocence so also did Jose and his family lose their innocence in pursuit of knowledge. He is representative