Buendia Family
Number of generations of Buendias seen throughout the novel
What is: 7 generations of Buendias
The historical significance of Sir Francis Drake, the man who attacked Riohacha setting off a chain of events leading to the Buendia family ancestors meeting
What is: Sir Francis Drake was an English pirate notorious for raiding Spanish colonies and attacking Spanish shipping in the Caribbean, among his many other exploits, throughout the 1500s.
Define Magical Realism
What is: A literary technique whereby magical or supernatural events occur but are not reacted to in extraordinary ways, instead being treated as ordinary or mundane in the world of the novel.
Origin of Covid-19
What is: Covid-19 initially was a disease found in bats that first made the leap to humans in Wuhan China, it is suspected that this occurred due to live food markets and unsanitary conditions/handling of live bats
What event of magical realism in the book most closely resembles the Covid-19 epidemic
What is: The insomnia epidemic, in that it spread rapidly throughout the village and early warning signs were not heeded to prevent widespread infection
Reason why the first Buendias start their journey that leads them to found Macondo
What is: They were haunted by the specter of Prudencio Aguilar, a man who Jose Arcadio Buendia killed after he questioned Jose Arcadio's potency since he had not consummated his marriage to Ursula.
What historical events are subtlety referenced by Jose Arcadio Buendia's use of magnets?
What is: The Spanish conquest of Latin America by Conquistadors is referenced by Jose Arcadio Beundia's use of magnets to scour the land for gold. This is evidenced by the fact that he uncovers a 15th century suit of armor that could have only been worn by a conquistador. Similar to Jose Arcadio, the conquistadors searched obsessively throughout the land in Latin American for gold
Example of Magical Realism that could be seen as similar to the ascension of Christ in biblical writings
What is: The ascension of Remedios the Beauty up to heaven
Time it takes for Covid-19 to manifest itself with symptoms in an infected person
What is: 2-14 days, hence the 2 week recommended self isolation should you think you have been exposed to the virus
What similarities can be seen between Macondo's handling of the insomnia plague and the actual government response to Covid-19
What is: Real life social distancing measures are analogous to measures taken in Macondo such as the use of bells to determine who to stay away from to avoid spreading the infection, and the lengths visitors in the town had to take to avoid interaction with locals
Colonel Aureliano Buendia is well known throughout the land because...
What is: He is a well known revolutionary leader against the conservative party who fathered 17 sons while away on his various campaigns. He is dull to emotion and eventually loses faith in the purpose of the struggle. He later signs a treaty that causes the surrender of liberal forces. His military campaigns would one day cause his sons to be targeted and killed.
Actual historical event/s that may have inspired the struggle between liberal and conservative forces involving Colonel Aureliano Buendia
What is: Various revolutions, uprisings, and dictatorships have occurred in Latin America especially throughout the early to mid 1900s. Colombia itself experienced a series of three civil wars in this fashion. It is therefore an integral part of the story of Latin America to have cycles of revolutions and strict governments.
Element of magical realism best exemplifying the cyclical nature of history and how fate is out of our hands
What is: The prophecies of Melquiades as read by Aureliano (III) at the end of the novel foretelling the entire history of the Buendia family
Typical symptoms of Covid-19 include
What are: Fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, bluish lips/face, trouble breathing, persistent pain/pressure in the chest, dry sore throat, etc
(Any or all of these answers are acceptable)
How does the theme of history repeating itself apply to the current epidemic.
What is: Similar epidemics have occurred in the past, most notably the Spanish Flu which occurred about 100 years ago, which is also the timeline of the novel. One could see the sweeping away of Macondo at the end of the novel as an erasure, or as a reset, and in the real world the reset is that we are in the same situation we were in this time a century ago.
Fernanda del Carpio's reaction to Renata Remedios' affair with Mauricio Babilonia
What is: She stations a guard at the house to keep Mauricio away and Mauricio ends up getting shot and paralyzed. Renata is sent away to a convent. Their illegitimate child, Aureliano (II) is raised hidden away by Fernanda.
Historical Phenomenon represented by the emergence of the banana company in Macondo
What is: Banana Republics, or the historical economic exploitation of Latin American countries by American fruit companies such as the United Fruit Company which was common throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Example of magical realism similar to a biblical event that similarly swept away cities.
What is: The great deluge, where it rained for years on end. This event caused the destruction of prosperity in Macondo. This event is similar in nature to the biblical great flood however in the Bible there is a renewal of the Earth following its cleansing via the flood, as opposed to in the novel where the rain seems to wear the town down to its inevitable end.
Steps taken by the government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 include
What are: Closing non-essential businesses, instituting social distancing, providing economic stimulus, mandating face masks in public, etc.
(Any or all of these answers are acceptable)
In what ways are the realities of the Covid-19 epidemic seemingly magical realism in our own world
What is: The total stoppage of regular everyday life, the breakdown of interpersonal interaction to the point where it has become normal to avoid close proximity to others, how normal it feels to leave the house in a face mask after such a short period of time, adapting to quarantine life and accepting this as the new normal for the time being, etc
(Any or all of these answers are acceptable)
The last child to be born in the Beundia line
Who is: Aureliano (III), a child born with a pig's tail from his parent's incest. His mother died from bleeding as a result of his birth. His pig's tail fulfilled the Buendia Matriarch Ursula's life long fear of incest causing deformed children. He was neglected by his father after his mother died and was consumed by ants.
Actual historical massacre represented by the banana company's massacre in the book
What is: The Banana Massacre of 1928, a real historical massacre of United Fruit Company laborers in Colombia by the Colombian military to put down their strike for better working conditions.
The significance of Jose Arcadio failing to be understood when he begins speaking Latin in the context of a magical realistic world as portrayed in the novel
What is: That Latin is traditionally a language of Europe, which is traditionally a continent rooted in logical philosophy and science, as opposed to the Latin American setting where magical realism reigns supreme. In his quest to understand more, Jose Arcadio turns his back on old world magic and pursues the scientific. This mindset of explaining the unexplainable counters the acceptance of magical phenomenon as normal as is expected in magical realism, thus Jose Arcadio's new world view of science made him indecipherable to his family, and is represented by his sudden adoption of Latin.
The two major sides of the argument for reopening the country now or later
What is: Public Health and safety vs. long-term economic impact concerns. Although shutting down the country is the most effective way to reduce the spread of Covid-19, there are those who have begun to argue that the long term economic impact of remaining closed may at some point out weigh the risks of reopening. Reopening too early on the other hand could cause a second wave of the virus and cost many lives.
How does the the great deluge and its impact compare to quarantine?
What is: The great deluge caused people to stay indoors and mostly destroyed productivity and prosperity in the town, similar to how the quarantine is currently forcing us to stay indoors, refrain from engaging in normal business and devastating the economy and small businesses.