Active Reading Journal # 16

I. Elements of Magical Realism

“..and it did not rain again for ten years.”(p.330) I think it is a magical realism because it is impossible to not rain for ten years in my opinion.

II. Characters

1. Aureliano Segundo- takes care of children and desperate to find fortune.

2. Fernando del Carpio – has mysterious pain in her kidney and is sensitive

3. Colonel Gerineldo Marquez – died

4. Ursula – stays the same

III. Plot Summery

- Since it started to rain in Macondo, it has been raining for more than four years. Aureliano Segundo stayed in the house after the rain started to fall and has been taking care of his children. Fernanda had undiscovered uterine ailment, so she does not sleep with him. As Colonel Gerineldo Marquez’s funeral procession passes, the author lets us know he is dead. Aureliano Segundo starts to be interested in fortunes but Fernando is not. She preaches to him and he gets mad and destroys everything valuable. While it was raining in Macondo, everything was ruined and Aureliano loses everything.

IV. Quotes

1.”Aureliano Segundo hired a crew of diggers under the pretext..”(p.328) I thought his desire for the buried gold is very strong.

2.”…calling her Pharisee, calling her crafty…”(p.323) It jumped at me because those words made me think of her very not socialized and lovable person.

V. Themes

1. Sickness – It is played by Fernanda

2. Ruin – it is played in the chapter by raining for more that four years and it destroyed everything.

Active Reading Journal #15

I. Elements of Magical Realism

-“Nothing has happened in Macondo, nothing has ever happened, and nothing ever will happen. This is a happy town.”(p.310) It is a magical realism, because in the world, it is impossible not to happen anything.

II. Characters

1. Fernanda – becomes irresponsible
2. Meme – becomes a nun
3. Jose Arcadio Segundo – organize the banana plantation, but soon almost lead him to be killed

III. Plot Summery

- After the tragedy happened to Meme’s love, Mauricio Babilonia, Meme shot her mouth up for the rest of her life and becomes a nun. Fernanda took her son to where she was from and hide him in Colonel Aureliano Buendia’s workshop. Although she went far away from her lover, she always thinks about him. While those things were happening to Buendia’s family, Jose Arcadio Segundo was leading the banana plantation workers for the protest of the inhumane working conditions. However, government reacts by sending 3,000 workers for a meeting, which is a trick. The army from government surrounded the protesters and killed them all. With cruelty, the dead bodies were taken to see to be thrown. Fortunately, Jose Arcadio Segundo lived but was moved with the dead bodies. Luckily, he snicks out and goes back to Macondo, but there is no one who believes his true stories, because the army killed everyone who knows about the happenings.

IV. Quotes

1.”You must have been dreaming.”(p.310) It jumped out at me because if that happened to me, I would have wanted to think I was dreaming and what happened to him was really happened fast so, I would have felt it must be dream.

2. “I’m sure now that they were everybody who had been at the station.”(p.313) It jumped out at me because I felt really scary for that long years of solitude, he just realized that now and his life was totally destroyed.

V. Themes

1. Violence – it is played through the action of the government over the banana plantation workers.

2. Solitude – It is played by Meme becoming a nun and does not speak for the rest of her life and by Arcadio Buendia being alone in Melquiades’ room.

Act Reading Journal #9

I. Elements of Magical Realism

-“At dusk through her tears she saw the swift and luminous disks that crossed the sky like an exhalation and she thought it was a signal of death. (p.178) I think it is a magical realism since the sign of death does not exist and what she saw was exaggerated.

II. Characters

1. Colonel Aureliano Buendia – started to feel emptiness of the war.
2. Colonel Gerineldo Marquez – started to feel emptiness of the war. Fell in love with Amaranta.
3. Ursula – show little strange part but almost same.
4. Amaranta – keeps refusing Colonel Gerineldo Marquez’s love

III. Plot Summary

-       The story continues with Colonel Gerineldo Marquez and Aureliano Buendia’s feeling emptiness of the war. They see there are no differences for good between Liberal and Conservation parties. Although Colonel Gerineldo Marquez find comfort from not being in the war, Aureliano Buendia finds hardness from it. He starts to act weird and loose memories and bloc people from getting closer to him. While Aureliano Buendia having hard times, Gerineldo Marquez fell in love with Amaranta. However, Amaranta refuses Gerineldo. While he continued to be refused by Amaranta, he was convincing Liberal party to stop the war. It took about 2 years and he started to feel that he has betrayed his people and party, so he tries to kill himself. However he lives.

IV. Quotes

1. “that all we’re fighting for is power.”(p.168) I just thought it is right. People are fighting for their own good, which is always related to power.

2. “Let’s get out of here before the mosquitoes in here execute you.”(p.170) I found it just funny the way he exaggerated.

V. Themes

1. Emptiness in war – It is played by Colonel Gerineldo Marquez and Aureliano Buendia seeing no differences in both of parties.

2. Refusion – It is played by Colonel Gerineldo Marquez trying to refuse himself living in the world and Amaranta refusing Colonel Gerineldo’s love.

Act Reading Journal #6

ments of Magical Realism

- “When Amaranta went into the kitchen and put her hadn into the coals of the stove until it hurt her so much that she flet no more pain but instead smelled the pestilence of her own singed flesh.”(p.110) I think it is a magical realism because the story suddenly turned out very dramatic and violent and the way she thought what she would do was so unexpected and horrible.

II. Characters

1. Aureliano Buendia – goes to the war and leaves his son in Macondo.
2. Arcadio – is left in Macondo by his father and takes power in Macondo with cruelty.
3. Ursula – disagrees with what Arcadio is doing.
4. Pietro Crespi – asks Amaranta to marry him but is rejected and kills himself.
5. Amaranta – rejects Pietro’s proposal and is shock by his death and burns his hand.
6. Pilar Ternera – insulted by her son by his attempts to sleep with her, but sends him a girl.

III. Plot Summery

- After Aureliano becomes a leader of the Liberal army, he leaves his family to go to war. He leaves his son, Arcadio in the town and let the town to be a father for him. Later, Arcadio becomes a dictator in the town. He tries to handle everything in his own order and even tries to sleep with his mother, Pilar Ternera. However she sends him a girl, Santa Sofia de la Piedad and he gets married. They have three children after marriage, Remedios, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo. While some of them in Macondo were having happy time, the army loses the battle and the Conservatives conquer Macondo. Still with the cruelty, Arcadio rules Macondo. While those things were happening, Pietro Crespi asks Amaranta to marry him, but she rejects it. With a great sadness, Pietro suicides. Amaranta is shock with Pietro’s death and burns her hand.

IV. Quotes

1.”I am not a Buenda.”(p.111) I think it shows one man that blinded in power and it impressed me how much a person can change by his or her desire.

2.”There’s been enough madness.” (p.117) I totally agree with this. Even though it is not related to all of the situations, I just agree that this story has been went on with enough madness.

V. Theme

1. Power – It is played in this chapter by Arcaido’s becoming of dictator.

2. Violence in emotion and action – It is played by Pietro’s suicide and Amaranta burning her hand.

3. Breakdown of Family – it is played by each character’s different way of living and desires.

Act Reading Journal #3

I. Elements of Magical Realism

- “When Jose Arcadio Buendia realized that the plague had invaded the town, he gathered together the heads of families to explain to them what he knew about the sickness of insomnia..”(p.46) I think it is an element of Magical realism because the insomnia is not the disease that goes around to people like flu.

II. Characters

1. Jose Arcadia Buendia – helps people in Macondo, even though they thought him crazy.
2. Ursula – she adopts Rebeca as her family and takes care of Arcadia
3. Aureliano – starts to become a man and figures out the way to help people out of the plague.
4. Rebeca – no changes and developments
5. Arcadio – No changes and developments
6. Melquiades – brings a new invention and an antidote.
7. Don Apolinar Moscote – becomes an enemy to Jose Arcadia Buendia

III. Plot Summery

-       The story started with Pilar Ternera’s son being brought to Ursula’s house. At that time, by the found of way to outside of world, Macondo had changed a lot. As Macondo changes, Jose Arcadio Buendia’s house was also changed. Their grand child was brought and the one of his son, Aureliano started to spend time most of time in the laboratory as he turns into a man. The other change was that the new girl, named Rebeka, came to live with them. Although she was an orphan who was earth eating and carried a bag of her parents’ bones, the family adopted her. Unfortunately, the family recognized that she had insomnia later and the insomnia started to spread out. First to the family, then to the whole town. Worse than that, it brought loss of memory. Although there was a plague going around the town, Aureliano tried to help people out from the plague by rebelling things with his father. Later, Melquiades came to Macondo with a new invention, camera, and an antidote. After Macondo calm down with the plague, there was a new man came to the town. He was Don Apolinar Moscote and became enemies. However, he started to stay in the household.

IV. Quotes

1. “We are so peaceful that none of us has died even of a natural death.”(p.56) It was quite inspiration because it is not what people usually think of when there is none of them died in the town.

2. “If we don’t ever sleep again, so much the better.”(p.43) I think this is stupid because they do not realize how much people need to sleep and it makes people healthier.

V. Themes

1. Changes – it is played in the chapter as Ursula finds the way to go to outside of the town in the previous chapter.

2. Magical Realism – it is played through the insomnia that Rebeca had.

3. Science – the gypsies came again and show another inventions and again, they brings the peace into the town which related to the science.

Act Reading Journal #2

I. Elements of Magical Realism

- “On another night she saw him strolling clotted blood from his throat.” (p.22) I think it is a magical realism because it might be an illusion but it is what is happening to her.

II. Characters

1. Jose Arcadio Buendia – he was married to his relatives and moved to Macondo after he killed Prudencio Aguilar.
2. Ursula Iguaran – was afraid to marry her relatives.
3. Jose Arcadio – fell in love then gave up on her for a gypsy.
4. Aureliano – started to help his father studying for mirror.
5. Prudencio Aguilar – insulted Jose Arcadio and was killed. Then appeared to him as a ghost.
6. Pilar Ternera – tempts Jose Arcadie and gets pregnant.
7. Amaranta – no changes or developments.

III. Plot Summery

-       The chapter starts with the story of founding Macondo. Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula lived in a prosperous village. Although they were relatives, they got married. Ursula was afraid of having not normal kid, so she wore a chastity belt. While she was afraid to have kid with Jose Arcadio Buendia, Jose Arcadio Buendia was having cockfight with the man called Prudencio Aguilar. After the fight, he insulted Jose Arcadio Buendia and Jose warned him to be ready to be killed. With anger, he killed Prudencio, then Ursula started to see Prudencio ghost one night. They realize that Prudencio is haunting them. Later on, they decide to leave the village. Through that they find Macondo. Jose Arcadio falls in love with Pilar Ternera and gets her pregnant. Although Ursula tries to run after Jose Arcadio who went with a gypsy, she cannot catch him and comes back. On the way home, she finds the two routes to go to the outside world.

IV. Quotes

1. “may God preserve you just as you are.”(p.33) It jumped out at me although my reason does not match with the story. I liked it because sometimes I wanted to feel God protecting me just as I am. It was just what I wanted to hear from somebody. So I liked it.

2. “Just as many times as you come back, I’ll kill you again.”(p.22) It shock me with fear at the first time because it showed how the man can be when he thinks in danger.

V. Themes

1. Old memories – it is played in the chapter to give more information and bring it more interesting.

2. Complication – it is played in the chapter by Jose Arcadio Buendia’s murder and Jose Arcadio’s relationship with Pilar Ternera, which brought the result of newborn baby called Amaranta.

3. Fear – it worked for Ursula to find Macondo through the fear of the ghost, Pilar Ternera.

Act Reading Journal #1

I. Elements of Magical Realism

- “He was a fugitive from all the plagues and catastrophes that had ever lashed mankind.” (P.5) I thought it is a magical realism because in the context, all the plagues and catastrophes could have ever lashed mankind, but not to him.

II. Character.

1. Colonel Areliano Buendia – no changes or developments.
2. Melquiades – met Jose Arcadia Buendia and helped him for his desire.
3. Jose Arcadio Buendia – tried to become rich by Melquiades’ inventions, but after some failures, became interested in scientific knowledge.
4. Ursula Iguaran – wanted and tried to dissuade her husband but then she started to think he is crazy.
5. Jose Arcadio – No changes or developments.
6. Aureliano – No changes or developments.

III. Plot Summery

- This chapter starts with Colonel Areliano Buendia’s old memories. The leader of gypsies, Melquiades, comes to Maconda and started to show people their inventions. Among the Maconda citizens, Jose Arcadio Buendia thinks some ways to earn money by the inventions. As he tries to use the inventions, his wife, Ursula Iguaran, weeps in consternation. After the several failures, he soon becomes interested in scientific knowledge. Later on, he discovers the world is round and starts to be seen crazy.

Although he was seen as crazy, he thought people in Maconda have to contact with people outside of the world. Then, he tries to find the way to contact, which is finding sea. When he starts the journey, he finds some evidences that there might be sea. With that in mind, he comes back and tells people Macondo is surrounded by water on all sides. To get more benefits of science, he tries to move Macondo to a better place, but Ursula refuses. He, then, teaches his children how to read, write and do sum. Also, he takes them to a gypsy fair.

IV. Quotes

1. “Things have a life of their own.” (p.1-2) This quote jumped out at me because I thought it is so true. Also because we sometimes ignore the value of life and the value of some things in our lives and we waste things. This quote made me examine myself.

2. “Incredible things are happening in the world.”(p.8) This quote made me think about myself how much I was not thankful for what I have because what I have now is what I could not think of and dream of. Incredible things are happening in the world and I think I should not forget to thank.

V. Themes

1. Coldness – It was played in this chapter through Jose Arcadio Buendio. For example, he tries to move Macondo to a better place he thinks because of his desire and when he does not care about his family because of what he is interested in.

2. Science – It was played in this chapter through Jose Arcadio Buendio and Melquiades. Melquiades used science and invented things and after Jose Arcadio Buendio saw his inventions, he dedicated himself to study science.

3. Seen insane – It was played in this chapter through people in Macondo. People did not believe what Jose Arcadio Buendio discovered and saw him as insane.

The Bible

 When the day “Banned Books Week” had established in 1987, the Bible was the part of the banned books. I strongly disagreed and thought people who banned had made wrong decision. I have several reasons to support my opinion on this and my first reason is this book, Bible, is the best seller for several years. It might mean nothing to some people. However, it has a huge meaning in that. The reason why that some book becomes the best seller for so long time is because those books are making good influences to the readers and have the interesting stories in the books. Sometimes, some books are becoming best sellers even though it has wrong opinions or has too many of sexual or violent stories in it, because it just takes the readers’ attention. However, those books are taking the best seller place for a week or month, because there is no worth to keep reading it again and again and keep recommending the book that only has story for fun. Second of all, this book is the religious book. It means that it has good things for people and maybe some warnings for people. If this book is banned because of the warnings, what people had done, or the directions that were written for people, it is definitely not fair to ban this book, because there are a lot of books or scriptures that mentions about those things that caused to ban the Bible or worse than that. Also it would be not fair, if it is banned because of some violent stories that were written, because those are the facts that were really happened before. For the last of all, this book is to lead people to the better lives. Although this book talks about a lot of things that people must not do in the first part of the book, which might have scared some people, the whole point of the book is to make people’s lives better and have wisdom in their lives, also to make them to realize the right and wrong. To give examples in my opinion, there are Proverbs, Matthew, and Hebrews, which helped me so much to live better life. As the book touches those parts, it is basically helping people to live better lives.

 Like I have listed reasons that help to support my opinion above, there are more reasons out there. I thought that the book is the best seller for long time, is a religious book, and is giving people good influences are the good reasons to support my opinion. For those reasons that I have talked about, I disagree to ban the Bible.

relationship b/w DQ and SP

I think the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is changed. When Don Quixote tried to convince Sancho to be his squire, Don Quixote told him there are treasures to be won and told him to give him an island. So Sancho became his squire. As based on that, I think they had no relationship because it seems to me as a mutual relationship. However, from the volume 2, I could feel that their relationship has changed as they go through lots of things, even though I do not know what they have gone through together, because I skipped some chapters as I read the book. When Sancho came to visit Don Quixote’s house to tell him about the book he heard about and to ask him when they will go for the adventure again, I could see he is quite excited about having adventures with Don Quixote and the fact that he and his master’s story has been published by a book. As I read, I felt that Sancho is not thinking about Don Quixote as a mad guy anymore like the time when Sancho thought he is crazy because Don Quixote said windmills were giants and giants were disguised as windmills. The reason is because he liked to go have adventures with Don Quixote again. At first, their relationship looked like a mutual relationship, but now I think their relationship is like a relationship between two friends because now they are looking forwards the same thing, the adventures.

aspect of Roland

If I were the one of Roland’s closest friends and knew what was going on, I would think of him as a courageous and wise person like I felt while I was reading the passage. However, as a friend of his, I would feel pity toward him for the situation that his father tried to trap and kill him. If I were the one of people who just know his name, I would think of him as a fool. Calling him a fool might be too rough expression, but because he decided to go to the battle, even though he knew and felt the death is very near, I think he deserves the word ‘fool’ as a person who does not know about him and his situation. As I think of the views of people who do not know about his situation and people who are his closest friends, I think their look toward Roland might influence him to think of himself as a person who has a miserable life. The reason why I thought he might think of himself as a person who has miserable life is because he is taking compliments from his friends while he was a fool to many people because of the action of facing danger. I think if I were Roland had night before the battle, I would feel abandonment of his life and feel very nervous about tomorrow. I would also think that I want to just take the battle quickly and finish everything, even though I die at the end of the battle.

The Song Of Roland

I

 The definition of leader is a person who leads or commands a group. My opinion is a leader cannot exist without people who are to serve one person. I have seen lots of leaders and I have been under severe leaders. I had met a leader who can set an example through individual excellence and a leader who can make the whole team functions smoothly as a unit. Based on my experiences, I, now, prefer the leader who makes sure that the whole team functions smoothly as a unit. The reason is because I have seen that whole team cannot be functioning smoothly unless they already have examples through individual excellence. Another reason is because when people are focused on individual excellence, they easily forget to think about others and be humble. Therefore, they fail by useless pride they started to have past days.

II

 The needs that I think a leader needs are faith in God, wisdom, positive, integrity, humanity, grace, humbleness, honesty, courage, responsible, self-controlled, not self-conceited, careful, and always same.

III

 I think he is the good example of a leader. I could not see all of his characteristics and his action for intense situation, but I could see that he has faith in God and he is brave and wise. I could see he is brave, when he tried to fight for his country, even though he felt he would die. Also I could see he is wise when I read the last part of this story. He was seeking God for help and I think it is wise thing to do, because it shows he knows the power of God and he knows how God is great enough to do everything for him. Seeking God also shows that he is not self-conceited, because if he was self-conceited, he would not ask a help to anybody.