In my opinion, Melquiades was one of the most important characters of the book. The fantastic components of the story often involved him and there were many things he seemed to know about that the other citizens didn’t. He was the one to introduce the inventions to Jose Arcadio Buendia and start his fascination with the sciences, launching the beginning threads of the book. He is responsible for changes and developments of Macando during the beginning of the story, as well. He is a supernatural being in the story that often helps the citizens of Macondo by bringing inventions to them.
One of the most interesting things about Melquiades was when he disappeared, assumed to be dead, then reappears after it was said he had died from a fever. He returns to Macando and lives with the family in a room especially for him to live in. He is considered the first death on Macondo, though he shows a couple of false deaths throughout the book and survives experiences that mortals wouldn’t survive as he does. After his first death, he becomes a ghost and begins frequenting the laboratory after Aureliano Buendia starts working in it.
“One hot noontime, while he was poring over the manuscripts, he sensed that he was not alone in the room. Against the light from the window, sitting with his hands on his knees, was Melquiades.”
He also seems to always have the right inventions, such as in chapter 3 when he returns from a journey with an antidote to the insomnia plague the village is suffering from. He brings the village many different inventions to improve their lives, though some people are skeptical at first, such as Ursula when Jose Arcadio Buendia begins his fascination with them. He also shows up with a daguerreotype, an invention the people of Macondo had never seen before.
Melquiades is most certainly a key figure in the novel, particularly for Jose Arcadio Buendia. He is the wise older figure, the mentor, the stereotypical figure often found in novels. He is full of mystery and we never quite get a clear picture of him. He’s been places, seen things, survived death, all of these fantastic things, and yet he still remains an arms distance from us. It can be argued that, with all the changes he brought to Macondo as you mention in your post, he is the reason for the development of the story.
Irrelevant sort of but I loved it when he took out his false teeth and scared everyone! I do agree that he was an important character because he helped shape Jose Arcadio Buendia.
Melquiades is certainly extremely important to the story, especially regarding the final pages of the novel, in which Aureliano learns the history and the future of his family in the parchments Melquiades wrote.
I agree that Melquiades takes the form of a “supernatural being” for most of the book. He a character who embodies wisdom and intelligence, which in turn, makes him the most influential figure for several others.
“Melquíades talked to him about the world, tried to infuse him with his old wisdom, but he refused to translate the manuscripts. “No one must know their meaning until he has reached one hundred years of age,” he explained.” (iBook 367)