Reflective Reading for Chpt. 18-20

Well well, we have finally finished Gabriel Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Though this is not a book to read for pleasure and it is not one of my favorites I would have to say that it is a good book and i recommend it to many. It is not a book of pleasure but of learning. I may not totally understand the entire moral of this novel, but I do have a gist of it. If we as a society isolate ourselves from the world we will surely die and do not have a chance at survival. We need to educate our self of the world so that when the time comes we will be ready. We will be ready to defend ourselves the right way and win. Also, to not repeat the same mistakes of our ancestors like so many of the Buendias have. If we do not learn from our past and history it is likely to repeat it self again. From the beginning the book the Buendia house was rich, full, strong and full of life. By the end of the book, however, the house is decomposing, everything broken, paint chipping away, so weak that even the ants and termites were taking over. I believe that this signifies that all societies are great in the beginning, but you need to care for it last. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a lesson that we all must learn if we want to survive.

Active Reading for Chpt. 18-20

Chapter 18 Summery- After the twins had died Aureliano did not leave the old room of Melquiades. After Ursula died the house became much too hard to care after. All the weeds would crawl into the kitchen, termites and ants took over soon Santa Sofia de la Piedad left. She no longer could take all of the work. With Santa Sofia de la Piedad's leaving Fernanda began to lose her mind. She believed that elves were doing tricks on her by rearranging everything. The silverware would be on the alter, the shears on her bed, her ink blotter in her pillow. she began to lose the track of time as well. Fernanda died and four months later her son Jose Arcadio came back from Rome. Now the only ones living in the Buendia house is Jose Arcadio and Aureliano. Jose Arcadio took to inviting children over to play in the house while Aureliano kept to his [Melquiades] room. Out of all the children that played at the house, the four older children developed a close relationship with Jose Arcadio. One night they found the gold from the Saint Jhoseph statue. After partying with the four older children Jose Arcadio kicked all four of the children out. Later the four children came back, murdered Jose Arcadio and made off with the gold. Aureliano Amador, the only surviving son of Colonel Aureliano Buendia was killed.
Chapter 19 Summery- Amaranta Ursula came back home along with her husband Gaston and her many luggage's. With the same determination as Ursula, Amaranta Ursula cleaned and remolded the Buendia house in about three months. She set to work on Macondo itself by trying to reestablish birds, the community and happiness. Aureliano soon fell in love with Amaranta Ursula. With the deaths of Jose Arcadio and Fernanda Aureliano began to develop a curiosity of the world around him, of Macondo. Aureliano began to take part in eating dinner with Amaranta Ursula and Gaston. One day Aureliano declared his love for Amaranta Ursula, but she rejected him. Heartbroken, Aureliano visited Pilar Ternera, she then told him the fates of all the Buendias. She told him that Amaranta Ursula is waiting for him. Aureliano returned home and made love with Amaranta Ursula.
Chapter 20 Summery- Gaston left to Brussels due to a project gone wrong. Amaranta Ursula and Aureliano continued their relationship as secret lovers. It wasn't until they heard that Gaston would be returning did they come clean with their hidden relationship, Gaston sent them his best wishes and the two lovers remained in tact. Curios of Aureliano's heritage they searched in vain for records of his heritage because they feared that they were indeed related. Amaranta Ursula gave birth to a baby boy that resembled all the male Buendias. The new born soon was born with the tail of a pigs, Amaranta Ursula died a view hours after child birth. While Aureliano was grieving he lost his son. The next day the ants ate the baby and Aureliano finally discovered the meaning of Melquiades parchments. They are the history of the entire Buendia line, predicted many years before the first Buendia was born.