“The sky crumbled into a set of destructive storms and out of the north came hurricanes that scattered roofs about and knocked down walls and uprooted every last plant of the banana groves. Just as during the insomnia plague, as Ursula came to remember during those days, the calamity itself inspired defenses against boredom. Aureliano Segundo was one of those who worked hardest not to be conquered by idleness.” (315)
In this passage, GGM explores Biblical references and repetition as the main motifs. The “insomnia plague” is like one of the ten plagues of Egypt in the Bible, and all the chaos being described in the first sentence of the passage acts as other plagues that the town is cursed with. The connection is that the Biblical plagues had an immediately bad effect on the people it harmed, but in the long run, it had a bigger, more productive effect on the Hebrews. Similarly, the plagues that are harming Macondo right now and the banana plantations being destroyed might seem like the worst thing that could happen, but in the future when they look back at the big picture, they will see the benefits of enduring the chaos. The Macondoans will realize that the banana plantations were harmful to them and the plantations only had one purpose: for the Americans to colonize and take control of the natives. Once again, we see Ursula being the productive one in the family even though she is blind and very old by this point. Aureliano Segundo takes over her role as the “go-getter” in the family and does the tasks that need to be done because he does not want to be “conquered by idleness.”
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3 comments:
yeah, i agree
i also think that the rains and the boredom that they inspire bring about a new macondo. the new macondo is innovative as it once was during the time of the insomnia plague. This new creativity allows the citizens to step back and reflect on their lives. People, especially Aureliano Segundo fixing the house, are productive in ways they had not been during the banana craze.
I agree with what you are saying. I think however, life in Macondo is in too grim a shape to improve itself, even with a seemingly new start after this great rain. While the rain might be able to destroy the physical problems of Macondo such as the plantations and the array of foreigners, Macondo still has too many internal conflicts that transcend their physical problems. The tendency of Macondoans to hide from the truth to save themselves from the reality of harsh pasts (such as making up new stories or busying themselves with unnesessary work too much to think) seems like it will only bode poorly in the future for the inhabitants of Macondo. Also the future looks grim with the imminent death of Ursula approaching, who was the only steady figure in the story.
i agree with Margaret, even thought Macondo will not recuperate completely from the storm and the horrible flood, in a way it will benefit and create a newer Macando. Even though Macondo will never again experience the the livelyness and success it did in the past, like lydia said, people will be able to relfect and live in peace without war and an over ruling government.
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