ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE POST 7

"No one knew exactly when she had begun to lost her sight. Even in her later years, when she could no longer get out of bed, it seemed that she was simply defeated by decrepitude, but no one discovered that she was blind. She had noticed it before the birth of Jose Arcadio. at first she thought it was a matter of a passing debility and she secretly took marrow syrup and put honey on her eyes, but quite soon she began to realize that she was irrevocably singking into the darkness, to a point where she never had a clear notion of the invention of the electric light, for when they put in the first bulbs she was only able to perceive the glow. She did not tell anyone about it bcause it would have been a public recognition of her uselessness. She concentrated on a silent schooling in the distances of things and people's voices so that she would still be able to see with her memory what the shadows of her cataractsno longer allowed her to. Later on she was to discover the unforseen help of odors, which were defined in the shadows with a strength that was much more convincing than that of bulk and color, and which saved ehr finally from the shame of admitting defeat. In the darkness of the room she was able to thread a needle and sew a buttonhole and she knew when the milk was about to boil. She knew with so much certainty the location of everything that she herself forgot that she was blind at times. On one occasion Fernanda had the whole house upset because she had lost her wedding ring, and Ursula found it on a shelf in the children's bedroom"

This passage contains irony. Ursula is blind, and has been for many years; however, not a single person has been receptive enough to notice. Although she can no longer see, her senses are somehow sharp enough to make her more able than the average person- she can thread a needle effortlessly, utilize odors for direction and sense the readiness of boiling milk. While searching for a small, hard to find item with a number of seeing people, she is the one who finds it in an odd place. Although her sight is damaged, it is clear that she is otherwise not "blind" at all. Irony is also present when you further compare her next to the people around her. Not only is she apparently more capable, their lack of awareness for her very obvious and debilitating condition represents blindness in themselves. They are not able, after many years, to realize that someone very close to them cannot even see. They are so consumed with themselves they have not taken the time to realize the extreme state of their loyal caregiver, who although is impaired still realizes everything about them.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE POST 5

"The Street of the Turks, enriched by well-lit stoes with products from abroad, displacing the old bazaars with their bright colors, overflowed on Saturday nights with the crowds of adventurers who bumped into each other among gambling tables, shooting galleries, the alley where the future was guessed and dreams interpreted, and tables of fried food and drinks, and on Sunday mornings there were scattered on the ground bodies that were sometimes those of happy drunkards and more often those of onlookers felled by shots, fists, knives, and bottles during the brawls."

The author uses imagery and diction to create a visual of a festive night scene that results in a dark outcome when daylight breaks. "Well-lit", "bright colors" and "overflowed" set up the street as lively and bustling. The mentioning of "future" and "dreams" relay the thought process of the attendees as wanting to search for something more than what they already have, and food and drinks show good spirit. However, sprinkled throughout the elated scene, there are hints of wrong doings and guility pleasure-gambling, and shooting. The final result in the morning of "bodies" scattered all over as a result of "shots, fists, knives and bottles"--more negative and violent words-- contrast from the original image conveyed when there is still darkness to sequester the evil. Marquez uses all of this to further enforce the theme, found throughout the book, of loss of innocence and introduction of evils that can change the path of one's desires. Many of the attendee's "futures" and "dreams" are halted by violent brawls after the eventful nights, leaving many of them dead in the street. The evils like "gambling" and "shooting" act as sidetrackers composed of greed and the immediate satisfaction of urges, causing them to stray from original intent of a good time and positive self progression.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE POST 4

"On the days that followed he was seen with a net and a small basket, hunting butterflies on the outskirts of twon. On Wednesday a group of engineers, agronomists, hydrologists, topographers, and surveyors arrived who for several weeks explored the places where Mr. Herbert had hunted the butterflies. Later on Mr. Jack Brown arrived in an extra coach that had been coupled onto the yellow train and that was silver-plated all over, with seats of episcopal velvet and a roof of blue glass. Also arriving on the special car,fluttering around Mr. Brown, were the solemn lawyers dressed in black who in different times had followed Colonel Aureliano Buendia everywhere, an that led the people to think that the agronomists, hydrologists, topgraphers, and surveyors, like Mr. Herbert with this captive balloons and his colored butterflies and Mr. Brown with his mausoleum on wheels and his ferocious German shepherd dogs, had something to do with the war."

Marquez uses diction to set up a contradiction. His first sentence uses soft words like "basket" and "butterflies" which render in one's mind images of simple, picnic-like activites. In the next sentence more harsh and scientific words are used to build a contrasting image of science and technology (engineers, hydrologists etc.) overlapping the outdoorsy and natural scene that had initially been set up. To further abolish the established natural feel, the introduction of the "coach" with silver plates, velvet, and blue glass allow for feel of artificial, manufactured goods entering the scene. Innocence is reiterated when Marquez brings up balloons and butterflies, but is immediately given a militant and stern feel when he refers to the balloons as "captive" and goes on to describe a mausoleum and "ferocious German shepherd dogs" leading to war, all of which are reminiscent of violence, death and conflict.