Solitude

1627 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Isolation in "one hundred" years of solitude

"No man is an island." This famous quotation explains the nature of man as a social being. It is truly a fact that human beings cannot exist in isolation. They need to be interdependent with each other in order to survive. This interdependence is needed because a human being alone will not be able to fill his own social needs, and his material necessities came from other people as well. All acts of society such as sex, love, and dependence are essential for the survival of any species. Interaction and socialization is the only way to prevent people from isolation, from solitude.

The last words in One Hundred Years of Solitude are: races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth. These words are so powerful and striking that one cannot doubt its truth. The book also wants to show that men need to interact and socialize with others in order for their race to survive.

Solitude is a major theme in the book, as is evident from the title. Here, solitude doesn't necessarily mean loneliness; it is a fated seclusion by space or some neurotic obsession. It is the sense of being apart from others. Examples of solitude can be found in the one-hundred-year life of Macondo and the Buendia family. It is both emotional and physical solitude that is shown geographically, romantically, and individually. Each character has his or her own particular solitude. It seems that it is always the intent of the characters to be alone, and there are even those who deliberately cut themselves off from the society. These are the characters that are contrasted to others who combat solitude by doing strenuous effort to reach out to others. This is not the case, though, for the solitary characters in One Hundre...

... middle of paper ...

...om. Fernanda is like a widow during her marriage with Aureliano Segundo because her husband loves his mistres over her. And maybe those who have the most tragic fate are those who are captivated by Remedios the Beauty's beauty and loving her so much after, and die surprising deaths.

Solitude, whether it be any kind of solitude, the book One Hundred Years of Solitude reminds us that people needs interaction to survive. Even though the characters are unaware of the unfortunate fate that has befallen upon them, they displayed their solitude realistically and not as if by mere cause of fate. Because of this, Marquez is able to impart to the readers the consequences of secluding or isolating oneself from others without the idea that it is not possible. Here, Marquez is able to display even the most simple acts of solitude, and the unfortunate consequences of it.

Show More
Related

  • Loneliness in Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...in the people there. Some were able to combat their loneliness they had things to fill their voids such as their friends, spouses and even the parties. While others never found true contentment. In Cannery Row John Steinbeck has clearly emphasized the importance of friendship and community. He illustrated working together. And even the importance of needs such as physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem. In essence the people of Cannery Row truly care for each other. And though they are sometimes lonesome when they come together their loneliness instantly diminishes.

    Read More

  • Isolation in “Yellow Wallpaper”

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    People need interaction with other people because it is such a significant part of how they understand the reasons for living. Human beings are naturally curious. Therefore, by drastically reducing the amount of normal social interaction, exposure to the natural world, or experience of different relationships, isolation is emotionally, physically, and psychologically destructive. Works Cited Faulkner, William. The.

    Read More

  • Isolation In Minister's Black Veil And Not Waving But Drowning

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation can be a somber subject. Whether it be self-inflicted or from the hands of others, isolation can be the make or break for anyone. In simpler terms, isolation could range anywhere from not fitting into being a complete outcast due to personal, physical, or environmental factors. It is not only introverted personalities or depression that can bring upon isolation. Extroverts and active individuals can develop it, but they tend to hide it around crowds of other people. In “Richard Cory,” “Miniver Cheevy,” The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Not Waving but Drowning,” E.A. Robinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stevie Smith illustrate the diverse themes of isolation.

    Read More

  • Angels in America response

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the strongest episodes of loneliness is Harper’s first appearance when she is in a Valium induced state. Harper begins the scene literally talking about people being alone before plunging into thoughts on the ozone layer. She calls it a gift from God, like angels protecting us, “but everywhere, things are collapsing, lies surfacing, systems of defense giving way.” This analogy is that similar to the emotional psyche of a person. On the surface one may protect themself with tactics like a false mask of happiness or through blocking people out, while on the inside th...

    Read More

  • Pit The Pendulum Quotes Of Isolation

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?” (Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart). It seems that isolation, or loneliness, has always been a part of our society. Many people ask themselves that with 7 billion people in this world, why do people become secluded and distant? What could the effects of this global phenomenon be, and how has it changed as time progressed? This theme is seen in the literature styles from light romantic works to dark romantic works and even modern authors with novels ranging from a wide variety

    Read More

  • Different Interpretations of Loneliness

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Loneliness can be compared to a coin; it has a head and a tail. To someone who is overcome by the constant influx of people or situations, loneliness can be seen as a sort of utopia; to someone who feels that they are all alone in the world, loneliness can be seen as a sort of hell. In these two works, the reader is exposed to the positive and negative aspects of being alone. Yeats' character desires to be alone because he longs to feel all of the comfort that lonesomeness has to offer; within his soul, the persona feels an intense desire to leave the fast-paced city and become one with nature (Yeats, 2093). He longs to go to is an island called Innisfree (2092) because he became infatuated with the idea of this place as a child when his father read him Thoreau's Walden. On this island he could live in a cabin, where he could grow his own food and experience all of the beauty that nature had to offer. Yeats allows his character to rationally conclude that he would rather be alone because his life is constantly being overrun by aspects of the city. Loneliness can be either positive or negative; in the case of Yeats' character, solitude was something to be treasured, while Eliot's character felt that loneliness was something to be loathed.

    Read More

  • Progress and Innocence in One Hundred Year of Solitude

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    One Hundred Year of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez projects itself among the most famous and ambitious works in the history of literature. Epic in scope, Marquez weaves autobiography, allegory and historical allusion to create a surprisingly coherent story line about his forebears, his descendants and ours.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Isolation In Of Mice And Men

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Of Mice and Men, the author, Steinbeck, explores the theme of isolation. The whole book has a pessimistic and gloomy tone to it. Steinbeck has hinted at us the theme of isolation from full built evidence to subtle details (such as placing the city of the book in Soledad, California, a Spanish word for solitude). He argues that isolation forms when people become selfish and egocentric and worry about themselves all the time.

    Read More

  • Themes in A Small, Good Thing by Raymond Carver

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation and collectedness is an important theme throughout the whole story. These themes might seem contradictory, but the point of the story is to show how everyone is separate from each other and somehow attempt to connect in our aloneness. Isolation is easy to find in the story. For example, while Howard is driving home, he has thoughts of how he never really had to deal with negative forces in his life. This gives a sense that Howard never needed to connect with anyone but his wife and son. In addition, when Ann goes to order the cake for her son’s birthday she cannot understand why the baker seems so disrespectful and distant. Ann wonders why the baker wouldn’t treat her son’s birthday as a special day.

    Read More

  • Isolation In The Painted Door

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Isolation often creates dismay resulting in an individual facing internal conflicts with themselves. Ann experiences and endures unbearable loneliness to the point where she needs to do almost anything to

    Read More

  • Of Solitude, And William Deresiewicz's The End Of Solude

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Describing a course in history when isolation was highly adopted, Deresiewicz writes, “The mob, the human mass, presses in… The soul is forced back into itself—hence the development of a more austere and embattled form of self-validation…where the essential relationship is only with oneself” (par.8). Deresiewicz describes the time of urbanization, when country folks began flooding into cities. With so many people moving into the city, there was not any room to breathe because there was not any privacy or space—all the voices and thoughts were forced into one sector of society. This forced some people to advance past the crowd and focus on oneself, on the soul. When submerged by a sea of people, the best shelter is inside the body and mind, where one can reflect the internal self and external world in a serene environment. Extending on the importance of temporary isolation, Deresiewicz adds, “Solitude becomes, more than ever, the arena of heroic self-discovery, a voyage through interior realms” (par. 8). When engaged in the physical world, people don’t focus on themselves because there is too much stimulation occurring around them. But when alone in solitude, when there is no around except oneself—no noises, sounds, distractions—then a person is able to reflect on his or her character. It is important to immerse in introspection because mental health is as vital as bodily health. And by delving deeper into the psyche, individuals discover new information about themselves that wouldn’t have been uncovered with others because the only person that truly understands him or her is that

    Read More

  • Of Mice and Men, 3 Characters with Loneliness

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. John Steinbeck brought up the theme of loneliness in many characters in Of Mice and Men. Crooks, Curley?s wife, and Candy expressed the theme of loneliness in many different forms throughout the story. Early in the novella George said, life working as ranch hands is on the loneliness lives to live, for these people finding friendship seems to be impossible.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sickness Unto Death And Self-Reliance

    1728 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...rs solitude to be of great importance in achieving an individualistic understanding. He writes, “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” Here it can be seen that Emerson also recognizes solitude to be a beneficial thing to people, but he argues that to be able to remain an individual within society is a far greater achievement. To be able to think without the assistance of society while enduring the pressures of society is to be truly great.

    Read More

  • One Hundred Years of Solitude: Linear and Circular Time

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cien Anos de Soledad Style in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is closely linked to myth. Marquez chooses magic realism over the literal, thereby placing the novel's emphasis on the surreal. To complement this style, time in One Hundred Years of Solitude is also mythical, simultaneously incorporating circular and linear structure (McMurray 76).

    Read More

  • Solitude and Isolation in One Hundred Years of Solitude

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    "…Races condemned to 100 years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."  These powerful last words of the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude ring true.  The book demonstrates through many examples that human beings cannot exist in isolation.  People must be interdependent in order for the race to survive.

    Read More

More about Solitude

Open Document