One Hundred Years of Solitude is very fast-paced because it covers a century of the Buendía family, and the movement in time distorts the line between fantasy and memory since years sometimes pass by without mention or notice from the narrator. The story opens by informing the reader that they will be going back in time to hear the story. “Many years later as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” (pg. 1) The patriarch of the family, José Arcadio Buendía, appears to have some mental instability (OCD?) in his obsessions with technology and his alienating himself from others. Another example of his mental state was when he could not correctly build his time machine. “Ten men were needed to get him down, fourteen to tie him up, twenty to drag him to the chestnut tree in the courtyard, where they left him tied up, barking in the strange language and giving off a green froth at the mouth.” (pgs.85-86) There is irony in that, although he is maniacal, José Arcadio Buendía is a wise man who has been a pillar to the community and essential in the building of the town.
There are many fantastic elements in the story. For example, the utopic town of Macondo that is oblivious of the world around them, the fact that the town has no cemetery because no one has died, that most everyone has insomnia and has forgotten the names of everything including simple items like tables and chairs and believing that Melquíades was immortal and that he knew the “formula of his resurrection.” (pg.79) Also fantastic is that in Macondo, “The world was so recent that many things lacked names…”, giving the story an Adam and Eve feeling; however, things like magnets and firing squads have names, which further complicates the timeline and pacing of the story.
I find your comparison of this story to the story of Adam and Eve especially interesting, and now that I think about it, there are other parallels to be found in the story–the inventions and knowledge of the gypsies (forbidden fruit) that Jose Arcadio Buendia continues to pursue despite numerous pleas from his wife; Macondo as an isolated paradise in which nobody dies (Eden); Jose Arcadio Buendia as the undying founder/protector (God) of Macondo.
I was really interested in how fast-paced this novel was, especially in relation to elements of the fantastic. One minute you’re reading about ghosts or levitating men, and a few pages later the story has taken a complete turn. You almost forget about certain plot points or elements until they are briefly mentioned again several pages later. It’s interesting that in a story with so many strange things happening, they usually aren’t the focus.
I didn’t even think this story could be to Adam and Eve so I like how you compared it. Also, I don’t think Jose was mentally unstable, I would say that he was incredibly driven to the point of obsession but I wouldn’t call it ODC.