Active Reading Journal

Chapter 1
I. Elements of Magical Realism

-“He survived pellagra in Persia, scurvy in the Malayan archipelago, leprosy in Alexandria, beriberi in Japan, bubonic plague in Madagascar, an earthquake in Sicily, and a disastrous shipwreck in the Strait of Magellan.” This is an element of Magical Realism because it would be crazy for someone to survive all these things but on the other hand it is very possible because anything is possible.
II. Characters

1. Colonel Aureliano Buendia- Son of Jose Arcadia Buendia, adventurous
2. Melquiades-The gypsy leader who brings amazing inventions to the village. He soon becomes Jose Arcadia’s friend and inspires him with his inventions.
3. Jose Arcadia Buendia- Was always thinking outside the box. Soon he becomes inspired to dig deeper into scientific study and knowledge.
4. Ursula Iguaran- Wife to Jose Arcadia Buendia, thinks husband is insane, speaks her mind, devoted mother
5. Jose Arcadio-Son to Ursula and Jose Arcadia Buendia, same physical strength and same impulse for growth as his father, but not the imagination. Eldest son.
6. Aureliano- silent and withdrawn, more adventurous than Arcadio.



III. Plot Summary

- The first starts out with gypsies would get together and show their inventions, such as magnets, magnifying glasses, and telescopes. One of the main gypsies is called Melquiades. Jose Arcadia Buendia decides to do scientific study and discovers something big. He discovers that the world is round like an orange which causes his wife Ursula and the village to think he is insane. Jose Arcadia Buendia thinks that Macondo should come to contact with the outside world, so then he decides to look for a path to the sea. Not really able to find anything, he goes back home and says that Macondo is surrounded by water. So then Jose Arcadia Buendia wants to move the village to a less isolated place but the wife refuses and convinces the rest of the woman that it is a bad idea also. Jose Arcadia then teaches his the children Jose Arcadio and Aurliano how to read and write. One day, Jose Arcadia Buendia takes his sons to a gypsy fair and all of them saw ice for the first time. All of them were just amazed.


IV. Quotes

- “The main thing is not to lose our bearings.” Pg. 11 What jumped out at me about this quote is that a lot of us today ‘lose our bearings’ when we get confused or if we are discriminated in any way and so, it is important not to lose our bearings, in such cases.
- “Things have a life of their own.” Pg. 1-2 I liked this quote because I also believe things have a life of their own. Everyone and a lot of things are different and unique in its own way. But I also think the quote should have been “people have a life of their own.”

V. Themes

1. Past generation names- This is played out in chapter one because of how the names are passed down to people. For example, Jose Arcadia Buendia and his son Jose Arcadio have the same names.
2. Inventions- Gypsies have come in in chapter one to show their inventions to the village. There were such inventions like magnets, telescopes, and magnifying glasses. This inspired Jose Arcadia Buendia to invent things of his own and study more about the world.
3. Insanity- Jose Arcadia Buendia from the beginning of chapter 1 was thought to be insane because of his theory of the world being round like an orange.