CHPTS 11 - 15: Active Reading

Chapter 11


Summary

The chapter starts as and introduction to the life of Fernanda Del Carpio and the obsession that Aureliano Segundo has with her. He searches through her old town and eventually brings her home to marry him. Soon their personalities collide she is a prude while he is more free spirited. Aureliano Segundo still sleeps with Petra during his marriage. Later in life the not so happy couple has two children. They are Renata Remedios and José Arcadio the second. Úrsula, who is in her hundredth year, says that José the second will be pope.

The president of the Republic tries to honor Colonel Buendía with the Order of Merit around the time of the anniversary of the cease fire. All of seventeen illegitimate children arrive for the festival and Aureliano Segundo isn’t happy with them being there. Aureliano Triste discovers that Rebeca is still around living as a hermit. He and some of his other unwanted brothers decide to stay in the town and fulfill Jose Arcadio Buendia’s early vision of a city of ice. Aureliano Triste soon builds a railroad linking the city with the modern world.

Characters

Aureliano Segundo – Living like is relatives by dealing with incest

Aureliano Triste – Lives up to family drive by setting out and building the railroad

Quotes

”That’s the most obscene thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I married a sister of charity” – Aureliano Segundo p.209

“We are immensely rich and powerful. One day you will be queen.” Amaranta Ursula p.206

Themes

Repetition

One thing that stands out in this chapter is the repetition of similar events and the names of the characters in the family. The names are passed down from generation to generation as well as the personality. This is shown with the incest.

Magical Element

The thought that the sons of Colonel Buendia can build the city of ice is a little out of the ordinary. Also, the idea that the civilization is still not modern and being linked by the railroad is a little fishy and seems strange.

Chapter 12

Summary

The arrival in Macondo of foreign capitalists is troubling to the citizens. This is proven true when they set up a banana plantation in the village. Macondo is becoming more and more modern. The movies, technology, and inventions arrive in the town and make it more of a hustle and bustle place than that sleepy village. Remedios is the only one who seems not to be happy with the progression of Macondo. She is still unconcerned with love until the end of her days when she floats up to into the sky.

Colonel Aureliano Buendía begins to rethink his decision at the end of the war because the Conservatives are backing the rising of capitalism in this town. The foreigners set up their own police force, which beats citizens for almost any small offense. Colonel Buendía threatens to start another war and have his sons be his army. This idea comes to a tragic halt when someone tracks them all down and shoots then square in the ashes on their foreheads. Colonel Buendía visits Colonel Gerineldo Márquez to help him start another war against the capitalists and the conservatives, but Colonel Márquez tells him no.

Characters

Remedios– Seems to be the only that misses the “old days”

Colonel Aureliano Buendía – Rethinks his former position on the war and regresses into his old war days

Quotes

”Look at the mess we’ve got ourselves into, just because we invited a gringo to eat a banana” – Colonel Aureliano Buendia p.228

“We’re going to have to raffle you off.” Amaranta p.235

Themes

Imperialism

The Conservatives and plantation owners have basically taken over the city of Macondo. They have put in their own police and beat any citizen for the smallest offense. These sects help rise to other foreign imperialists


Magical Element

Remedios the beauty ascends into the heaven is divine and magical in itself, but also the fact that men are willing to die for her love seems farfetched.

Chapter 13

Summary

Úrsula, grown old and blind, but no one pays her any attention. Ursula’s youth like drive is based on the idea of José Arcadio II becoming the pope. Amaranta starts making her own blanket to prepare for her death. Fernanda continues to gain control in the household and tries again to dictate the residence once again. Aureliano Segundo moves out of the house and into that of Petra.

José Arcadio Segundo comes back around to speak with the Colonel. The Colonel does not answer like he wanted him to and eventually withdraws even more into solitude. Without anyway to get back to reality he starts to fall into death’s grasps.

Characters

Ursula– She is slipping more and more out of reality as the days go on

Colonel Aureliano Buendía – Goes into solitude and falls into the hands of death

Fernanda – Tries to will herself on the household. Show remnants of Arcadio when he took control during the war


Quotes”The years nowadays don’t pass the way the old ones used to” – Ursula p.243

“SHIT!” Amaranta p.251

Themes

Death

Death is not only seen but foretold in this chapter by different characters. Ursula is going blind and, at this point, seems ready to die. Amaranta makes her funeral blanket which shows she is ready to accept death. The Colonel also passes in this chapter after he accepts his solitude.


Magical ElementThe magical element is the ghost of Jose Arcadio Buendia reappearing to people.


Chapter 14


Summary

Fernanda del Carpio gives birth to her third child Amaranta Úrsula. Amaranta sees a vision of and she to begin to make her funeral blanket. After she is finished she tells the people she will die and she offers to take their letters to the deceased. She dies the dies a virgin. After Amaranta’s death, Úrsula goes to bed and won’t get up. Amaranta Úrsula visits her often and they develop a good loving relationship.

Meme begins a relationship with her father with mutual interests and a shared distaste for Fernanda. She makes some friends form America and even learns some English. Meme falls for Mauricio Babilonia. He is always followed by yellow butterflies. Fernanda finds them kissing at the movies. When she realizes that Mauricio Babilonia sneaks into the house every night to do the nasty with Meme. Fernanda puts a guard in the back. When Babilonia comes back, the guard shoots and paralyzes him for life.


Characters

Amaranta – Sees her death and she openly accepts it

Meme – Becomes more of a hormonal person with her creeping around

Fernanda – Shows herself, again, as an authoritative figure but with somewhat good intentions this time


Quotes

”Say good-bye to Fernanda, one minute of reconciliation is worth more than a whole life of friendship” – Ursula p.282

“What shocks me about you is that you always say exactly what you shouldn’t be saying” Meme p.288

Themes

Similar Women in Time

Women in this section are repeating traits from those before them. Amaranta sows her own funeral blanket. Meme shares a common distaste for Fernanda which runs deep with a lot of people.


Magical ElementThe birds that always seem to follow Mauricio Babilonia around. Amaranta willing to send the letters of the living to the dead. Ursula not being able to get out of bed.

Chapter 15

Summary

Mauricio Babilonia being paralyzed causes Meme to be mute. Meme goes to a convent, where she lives out the rest of her days. One of the nuns brings the unwanted child of Meme to the Buendía’s. Fernanda is ashamed of her actions and pretends that the child was found and gives him the name Aureliano the second.

José Arcadio Segundo is organizing the plantation workers to strike against the inhumane conditions that they work in. The government invites many of the workers for a meeting to settle their issues. The workers were double crossed, and the army surrounds them with guns and kills them all. The bodies are loaded aboard a train and thrown into the sea. José Arcadio Segundo, taken for dead, is thrown onto the train as well, but he manages to jump off the train and walk back to Macondo. There, he is horrified to discover that all memory of the massacre has been wiped out—none of the people of Macondo remember what happened, and they refuse to believe José Arcadio Segundo when he tells them. A heavy, unrelenting rain falls on the town and does not stop, destroying any physical traces of the massacre.

The dictators and their goonies continue to kill any surviving union workers and deny everything. José Arcadio Segundo is found in the Buendía household, hiding in Melquíades’ room. They do not see José Arcadio Segundo. José Arcadio Segundo becomes scared of the rest of the world, and takes siege to room. He begins to study the gypsy’s manuscripts. The more he learns the more his sanity he loses. He begins to live only for his studies and the memory of the fallen 3,000 who died in the slaughter.

Characters

Meme – Mauricio’s paralysis cause her to become a mute and move to a convent

José Arcadio Segundo – He organizes the union workers to strike this shows his maturity and similarities to other family members


Quotes

”We’ll tell them that we found him floating in the basket” – Fernanda p.299

“The dead, it must have been all the people who were at the station.” José Arcadio Segundo p.308

Themes

Power

Among other things power is seen throughout the chapter. The nun who controls the fate of Aureliano (II) and Fernanda who comes up with the lie for child all show the power they have over the weak. The government in their battle versus the workers who they annihilated after they set them up.


Magical Element

The rain the falls on the town that doesn’t stop is an example of magical elements in this section. The rain is acid like and destroys a lot of things.