100 Years of Solitude Chapters 6-10

1. A theme I see in this novel is family. It seems like the numbers of these members in the families have been expanding, and it’s sometimes hard to keep track of who is related to who. On page 187, in chapter 10 it said, “For almost two months he shared the woman with his brother. He would watch him, mix up his plans, and when he was sure that Jose Arcadio Segundo was not going to visit their common mistress that night, he would go and sleep with her. One morning he found that he was sick. Two days later he found his brother clinging to beam in a bathroom, soaked in sweat and with tears pouring down, and then he understood.” It seems that the author keeps writing about the family, their brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents. In this scene, he writes about twin brothers, who have some similarities and differences, and who love the same women, Petra Cotes. Usually the writer talks about the incest, but she doesn’t with these twins in this scene. In this scene, they both switch places to be with the same women. I can relate to this because I have a twin sister, and we have similarities and differences. On page 172, it said, “That night, at dinner, the supposed Aureliano Segundo broke his bread with his right and drank his soup with his left. His twin brother, the supposed Jose Arcadio Segundo, broke his bread with his left hand and drank his soup with his right. So precise was their coordination that they did not look like two brothers sitting opposite each other but like a trick with mirrors.” I can relate to this because when I was younger, my sister and I were doing the same motions at the same time, thinking that it was really a mirror, but it wasn’t.


2. Another reoccurring theme in this story is Death. The death of Jose Arcadio Buendia was symbolized with yellow flowers falling from the sky, which I thought was interesting. On page 140 chapter 7, “Then they went into Jose Arcadio Buendia’s room, shook him as hard as they could, shouted in his ear, put a mirror in front of his nostrils, but they could not awaken. A short time later, when the carpenter was taking measurements for the coffin, through the window they saw a light rain of tiny yellow flowers falling. They fell on the town and all through the night in a silent storm, and they covered the roof and blocked the doors and smothered the animals who slept outdoors. So many flowers fell from the sky that in the morning the streets were carpeted with a compact cushion and they had to clear them away with shovels and rakes so that the funeral procession could pass by.” It was interesting how the author wrote this part because he really wanted to emphasize on death, with the yellow flowers. I see these flowers as being a part of a funeral, as maybe some people put flowers on the graves, or give to families. These flowers fell all throughout the town, which could symbolize that the death affected the whole town, and to not forget Jose Arcadio Buendia. I also think this symbolizes that death will keep having an effect on the town, because people keep dying. It was surprising how he described these flowers filling the whole town, blocking the doors, smothering the animals. As I was reading this scene, I could imagine the yellow flowers falling from the sky, in every direction. It was also interesting that these flowers began to fall, when the carpenter was taking measurements for the coffin that was for Jose.