Active Reading Journal #17

I. Elements of Magical Realism
- “ …it was so hot that noon that the birds in their confusion were running into walls like clay pigeons and breaking through screens to die in the bedroom. Pg. 342-343. This is magical realism because birds don’t intend to go into bedrooms to die.
II. “ Characters
1. Petra Cotes- Stuggles to live without the animals
2. Aureliano Segundo- Struggles a bit because there is no money coming in dies, helps get daughter to school in Europe.
2. Ursula- A fighter but weak mentally, able to get out of bed by herself.
3.. Jose Arcadio Segundo- traumatized, dies


III. Plot Summary
- Ursula finally gets out of bed with no help even though she is very old, and tries to restore the family after the storm. Ursula finds Jose Arcadio Segundo in the old room and forces him to get out of there and help restore the house. Aureliano Segundo and Petra have to struggle so much because the animals were dead. Aureliano is beginning to age a lot. Ursula finally dies at the age of 120 years old and so does Rebeca. Later on, heat have effected Macondo now and the people believe it is a plague. Birds start dying now. Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo are now also beginning to die. Aureliano Segundo gets money to send his daughter Amaranta Ursula to Europe to do school. Then he dies and so does Jose Arcadio Segundo. At the burial, the two were missed up in the coffins.

IV. Quotes
- “Lord save us” pg. 335 I like this quote because all the people In this earth should be saying this but we don’t. However Ursula said it because they do need to be saved.
- “ Don’t let it get away, because it only comes every hundred years.” Pg. 350 This quote has jumped out at me because to them, luck comes only every hundred years.

V. Themes
1. Death- Ursula, Aureliano Segundo, Jose Arcadio Segundo and Rebeca die.
2. Strength- Ursula is able to get out of bed by herself at the age of 120 years, and redecorate the house.
3. Confusion- Aureliano and Jose Segundo are mixed up in eachother’s grave because people could not differentiate between the two