Relationships Between Literature And History English Literature Essay

The novel which will be discussed in this essay is Cien Anos de Soledad, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One of most of import factors in this really successful book is the relationship between literature and history, as stated in the essay inquiry. This subject is so prevailing because it involves the author ‘s political concerns sing his state, and the state in which the book was foremost released ; Columbia. The book was published during the 1960s and it succeeded instantly. The two topics that will be analysed in the book are therefore literature and history. First of all, literature involves the author ‘s manners within the book, and besides the subjects he has chosen to include in his work. History, on the other manus, is the analysis of the history which takes topographic point in the existent narrative of the book, but besides the history and cultural alterations which take topographic point during the life of the author. These two sorts of history, existent and fictional, as we shall see below, are linked together in the book. In other words, the author has created a novel where fictional things happen, but they really represent existent events in existent life. We shall besides analyze why it is that the author has really decided to make this.

I have chosen to analyze this book, Cien Anos de Soledad, because I believe it is the 1 which best amounts up the subject which we will be analyzing today. Basically, Cien Anos de Soleded tells the existent history of Latin America and of Columbia in a fictional manner ; “ It was as if God had decided to set to the trial every capacity for surprise and was maintaining the dwellers of Macondo in a lasting alternation between exhilaration and letdown, uncertainty and disclosure, to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the bounds of world ballad. It was an intricate fret of truths and mirages that convulsed the shade of Jose Arcadio Buendia with restlessness and made him roll all through the house even in wide daytime. ” ( pg 212 )

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The issues that have been stated in this quotation mark, such as a deficiency of individuality, calamity, inability to obtain assurance and so on, are present in the book ; they are expressed by utilizing the narrative of the small town of Macondo, someplace in the South America. In the beginning of the novel, the town is created by a group of people, all of them under the age of 30. This shows that at the initial phases of the building of the town, everyone was immature and one can state besides inexperienced. The citizens who made up this new town were all rather prehistoric ; by this I mean that they were non technologically advanced as we are today, or as Marquez was at the clip of composing the book. This makes me believe that the clip in which the book was set is a wholly different era from our ain. However when reading the book, the characters all alteration, mentally and physically, psychologically and materialistically. In fact, the book shows really many different coevalss of one peculiar household, which is the Buendia household. Towards the terminal of the book, the constituents which made up the town of Macondo are really different from the 1s that built it, purportedly one hundred old ages earlier. The manner that clip base on ballss in Marquez ‘s novel is unlike existent clip passing. That which happens in one hundred old ages in the novel, would ne’er go on so all of a sudden in one hundred old ages in ‘real life ‘ .

This shows that the author is rushing up the topic of history, to include every bit much as he can into his ain novel. He uses his literature to speak about the history of his state, which is a really complicated subject to speak about in political and cultural ways.

An interesting point in the book is that the chief household, the Buendia ‘s, are shown through seven or eight different coevalss, and many of the characters have the same, or really similar, names. This makes it rather complicated to understand who really does what in the novel. In fact, when reading it one normally needs a household tree of the Buendia household in forepart of them to understand better.

Marquez uses different manners of literature to show the subject of history in his novel. One of the most of import 1s, as mentioned above, is the manner in which clip base on ballss in a speeded up mode. This enhances the fact that history is being told and retold throughout the narrative of the novel. He besides uses charming characteristics to do a relationship between what is existent and what is charming in the existent universe and in the fictional universe. It shows the ways in which thaumaturgy characteristics, such as the hog tail and the levitations, the shades and so on, are included in the novel non merely to do it a more interesting fictional narrative, but really to stand for of import existent life happenings or at least ways of thought. Conversely, truly normal things can look to be charming in the novel. An obvious illustration, which is even more of import because it is expressed in the first sentence of the book, is the fact that the citizens of Macondo were uninformed about ‘ice ‘ ; when they discovered this affair it was a charming minute in their lives, they did non cognize what to make with it, what it was needed for an so on. This is an even more obvious illustration of the fact that the characters in the novel, at the beginning of the book, are still really nescient and prehistoric, as we said before.

The interesting issue here arises when one stops to oppugn why it is that the author has chosen to picture the characters of the book in this manner. Is he giving a direct unfavorable judgment to the existent people of his ain state in the existent universe? Or better, is he knocking the societal development of Columbia? ?

In my position, the author is dissatisfied with the manner in which Columbia is bracing itself in the domain of society. By this I mean that Columbia during the 1900s changed drastically to suit the societal norms which were in some manner imposed on them by other more culturally developed states. And because of this, they lost individuality and independency from the remainder of the universe. The author, in my sentiment, is afraid that his state, and Latin America, will go all one insignificant land in which all the citizens have the same manners of life and the same ways of life.

Marquez shows this unfavorable judgment in his novel ; he does it in rather an obvious mode excessively. Throughout the whole of the book, there are forever conflicts and wars, people deceasing because of these wars. This is likely a method which the author uses to knock how there is ever war in existent life ; he is saying that he wants peace on Earth. Another obvious illustration is that the town of Macondo gets taken over by an industry, and the citizens get negatively affected by this. This is a unfavorable judgment on how Columbia, and Latin America in general, has everlastingly been colonised by other populations in the yesteryear. The history of Latin America is strongly affected by its settlements.

In the faculty, we have besides studied Pedro Paramo and La Ciudad y los Perros ; these two books were besides written during the center of the 20th century in the Latino states of South America. They are besides interesting books to analyze because they both hold really important subjects which were much talked about during those old ages in South America. La ciudad y los Perros is of import to the Latino literature because it speaks of the universe of some immature male childs inside a military school ; the relationships between these male childs is a complex statement and of import subjects such as category and race, the sum of money one has, are looked at within this novel. Pedro Paramo is a book which is different from the other two because it is much more phantasmagoric, in the sense that it does non truly associate to the outside existent universe every bit much as the other two do.

Some of the best illustrations which show the ways in which literature and history are related will be analysed below. First of wholly, there is an event which takes topographic point in the novel where many citizens of Macondo are treated severely, and eventually acquire murdered, by the proprietors of a banana plantation which has taken over the town of Macondo. “ the narrative makes mentions to American colonialism as expressed through the development of banana plantations. To this consequence, the narrative describes the banana work stoppage of 1928, one time once more blending fact and fiction… … .. From 1948 to 1964, Colombia underwent a figure of blackwashs that where referred to as La violencia… One Hundred Old ages of Solitude choices up on the events of La violencia but mixes Garcia Marquez ‘s experiences with the civil wars of the 19th century and the banana work stoppage of 1928… of import historical events harmonizing to critics and bookmans of One Hundred Old ages of Solitude ” ( pg105, GG Marquez, a critical comrade )

This quotation mark makes a mention to the strong relationship between the event inside of the novel, and one which took topographic point in the history of Columbia. Critics have stated that the author is knocking the ways in which his state has been ruled and how the period of violencia was such a lay waste toing one for the citizens of his state ( and besides for the 1s within his fictional narrative ) . “ One Hundred Old ages of Solitude portrays a period of clip that stretches from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. These old ages encompass Colombian civil wars, neo-colonialism, political force, corruptness, gender, decease, and purdah, in the thick of other dominant subjects. “ ( pg 103, GG Marquez, a critical comrade )

This analysis enhances the fact that history is so present in the author ‘s work. In fact, many different facets of history are present and it is interesting to see which the 1s that best involvement the author are. Solitude is likely one of the chief feelings which Marquez feels when depicting the manner Columbia ‘s yesteryear has affected him. In fact, he includes this of import word in the rubric of the novel to heighten his point.

The most revenant manner which is used in this novel is charming pragmatism ; “ Garcia Marquez is ever associated with charming pragmatism. In fact he is considered the cardinal figure of charming pragmatism… . In general footings, charming pragmatism is today used to depict fiction that juxtaposes the antic and the mythic with ordinary activities of day-to-day life. The fresh One Hundred Old ages of Solitude is particularly regarded as a work of charming pragmatism. ” ( pg 16, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a critical comrade )

This paper has attempted to give a short but significant analysis on the assorted ways in which Gabriel Garcia Marquez has expressed history in his literature. I think that he does this in a instead appealing manner ; he is able to make a strong relationship between the two factors and in the novel they are present in what one may name a modest manner. His manner of composing expresses how he can utilize fiction, the narrative of Macondo and its citizens, to stand for events which took topographic point in his state. Even events which did non really go on in existent life in his novel have got political substance, in other words hold a significance. It is non simple to make such a strong relationship between history and literature, but this author has done so successfully. This is likely the chief ground why Cien Anos de Soledad is such a well known piece of Latino literature, because is holds so many important to subjects which still relate to modern-day civilization.

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