Gabriel Garcia-Marquez

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1967
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Gabriel Garcia-Marquez
1928--
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Colombia

• One of Latin Americas oldest democracies
• Rarely known peace and justice
• Two parties Liberals and Conservatives
  developed giving rise to a history of bloody
  conflicts, civil wars, coups detats

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Epic
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Early influences

• Grandfather was a colonel, a Liberal, serving in
  the War of a Thousand Days--Colombias most
  devastating civil war beginning in 1899 and
  ending with the defeat of the Liberals. (Colonel
  Aureliano may have been patterned after him.)

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Grandmother

• Told stories filled with superstitions and folk
  beliefs.
• Related the fantastical in a matter of fact way.
• Her deadpan style is echoed in One Hundred Years
  of Solitude.

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Historical influences

• Marquezs birthday (March 6, 1928) corresponds
  to the year of the Banana Strike Massacre.
• The United Fruit Company--an American company
  monopolized the industry and exploited its works.
  
• When 32, 000 native workers went on strike.

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Banana Massacre

• When demands were not met, a demonstration was
  held. The Colombian government sent in troops who
  fired on the unarmed workers, killing hundreds.
• Many others vanished over the next few months.
• Whole incident was officially denied , omitted in
  history books.

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Literary influences

• Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis
• William Faulkners Yoknapatawpha County
• Sophocles Oedipus trilogy and the idea of a
  family curse

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Career

• Began as an investigative reporter
• Wrote short fiction, screenplays
• Epiphany in 1965 while driving to Acapulco for a
  vacation
• Wrote for 18 months in the Cave.
• Emerged with One Hundred Years of Solitude.

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Instant Success

• Published in 1967, the novel was an instant
  popular and critical success, ultimately winning
  Marquez the Nobel Prize in 1982.
• The first international best-seller in Latin
  American publishing history

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Controversy

• Was friends with Castro
• Political activist-wrote exposing government
  corruption, drug trade
• Accused of financing a liberal guerrilla group
• Sought political asylum in Mexico
• Banned from US for political activity Clinton
  lifted ban

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Five Perspectives

• 1. Epic
• 2. Comedy/tragedy
• 3. Circular and linear time
• 4. Social and political realities
• 5. Psychological portrayals

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Epic

• History of the founding, development, and death
  of a human settlement Macondo (Colombia)and of
  the most important family in the town--the
  Buendias.

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Epic characteristics

• Takes its origin in the real or imagined history
  of a particular people

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Comedy magic realism

• Extraordinary people in intriguing incidents that
  surprise and delight unexpected, colorful,
  original events
• Showers of yellow flowers, levitating priest by
  chocolate, prolifically reproducing animals, drop
  dead gorgeous women, oversized males

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Magic Realism

• Coined by a German art critic Franz Roh in 1925
  a magic insight into reality
• Synonymous with post expressionist painting of
  the 1920-25
• Treats magical as ordinary and ordinary as magic

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Tragedy

• Ultimately, the novel is about failure--violence,
  cruelty, despair--all factors that lead each
  character to his/her solitude.

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Time

• Linear History --Traces 7 generations
• Founding of Macondo--Chapter 1-5
• Military struggle--Chapter 6-9
• Economic Prosperity and spiritual
  decline--Chapters 10-15
• Decadence and physical destruction--Chapters 16-20

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Circular Time

• Marked by repetition of names and characteristics
  of the namesake
• Resulted in a sense of doom, fate, a downward
  spiral out of control

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Social and political realities

• First part--the development of the Latin American
  country of Colombia since its independence from
  Spain in the early 19th century (1810-1825)
• Endless civil war of Colombia (1885-1902)
• United Fruit Companys takeover of Colombia
  (1900-1928)
• Labor trouble that culminated in the Banana
  Strike Massacre (1928)

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Civil War between the liberals and the
conservatives has plagued Columbia since its
establishment as a democracy
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1928 United Fruit Company Advertisement
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The Banana massacre forms the political climax of
the novel
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Psychological Aspects The novel presents various
ways individuals find solitude and the universal
temptation toward retreat and isolation and away
from connection and expansion.
Power Fear Sorrow Old age Disillusionment Obs
essions
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Sources

• Johnston, Ian. Lecture.
• www.mala.bc.ca/johnstoi/introser/marquez
• Marquez--a Biography
• www.themodernword.com/gabo/gabo_biography.html -