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.