Biblical Allusions

In Chapter 18 there were not as many biblical allusions as the handout had shown, unless I do not know my bible that well. It was actually hard to find biblical allusions in this chapter than in the other chapters. However, I was able to find some allusions of my own and some similar to the handout. Some biblical allusions mentioned in Chapter 18 are when Petra Cotes helps the Buendia with food because they were suffering. Jesus provided for the Israelites when they had no food. Another parallel example is Aureliano II wanting to know more about the prophecies, wanting to know excessive knowledge. There is also an incident where Melquiades comes back to help Aureliano just like how Jesus came back after his death. I believe another Biblical allusion shown in the book is Melquiades being a helper to those who want to know more just as Jesus showed those who wanted to know him. Another example is when Jose Arcadio was betrayed by the 4 children and they stole from him for gold though they ate and drank together. This example is shown in the bible when Judas betrays Jesus though they also feasted together. These are the ones I have discovered from reading chapter 18.

1. What comes to mind to why Marquez used such connections is quite confusing and I am not sure if it makes sense. I think the Author used connections in the bible to show the reader that the events in the Bible are a bit unusual but real at the same time and can occur in a fantastical way. I also think he made connections so that he can let the reader know that Magical Realism is seen everywhere. Also maybe because he wanted us to know that there are events that can seem unusual but can be possible. Or maybe he could have also done this because he wanted to show the reader that his book is not the only thing that has allusions as such. Lastly maybe because since there are very limited of people who read the bible, he used it in this book. These are my reasons for why the author made connections to the novel.
2. I honestly do believe there is a reason for everything. So I do believe there is an underlying message because why else would he use connections with the Bible? I believe the underlying message could be that Marquez wanted people to notice such events that occurred in the book happened similarly in the Bible. For those who do not read the bible can read this and have an idea of what the bible has. Or because the bible has interesting and uniqueness in it. However, Marquez put his uniqueness in a way that would amuse the reader and add some more unusual creative spin to it because the events in the bible were real but the ones in the book were not. Those are my ideas of what I thought the underlying message was or is.