Garcia Marquez and Radiohead

As an avid Radiohead fan, I have long known that they have a rare song titled “Banana Co.” which is said to be influenced by Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. While reading One Hundred Years- I finally came upon the section in which a Mr. Herbert (a capitalist) arrives in Macondo and discovers its abundance of bananas. Garcia Marquez writes, “with the suspicious attention of a diamond merchant he examined the banana meticulously, dissecting it with a special scalpel, weighing the pieces on a pharmacist’s scale, and calculating its breadth with a gunsmith’s calipers.” I find that Garcia Marquez chose his words wisely in comparing Mr. Herbert to a diamond merchant. Mr. Herbert saw the bananas as instant wealth. This reminds me much of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the West Indies, in which he viewed the land and people as his own and planned to utilize these “possessions” for prosperity. Upon this discovery, Mr. Herbert develops a banana plantation and soon bring much attention and business to Macondo, but also despair and corruption.

The Radiohead lyrics go as such….

Oh, banana co.
We really love you and we need you
And oh, banana co.
We'd really love to believe you, but
Everything's underground
We gotta dig it up somehow
Yeah yeah

Oh, she said no go
She said she'd like to
She's seen you
But no, banana co.
She knows if you die then we all do
Everything's burning down
We gotta dig it up somehow
Yeah yeah

Everything's burning down
We gotta put it out somehow
Yeah yeah

Yorke begins the song by saying (about the banana plantation) that “we really love you and we need you,” as if Macondo wasn’t surviving just fine without the influx of capitalism. Later, Yorke captures the ruin of Macondo by saying, “everything’s burning down.” Throughout much of the novel I had a hard time pinpointing its deeper meaning. However, as I continue to read, things become more clear. I find Macondo’s plight to be that of the West: a money-hungry attitude based on wealth and prosperity which ultimately leads to greed.

One Hundred Years... - Ideas/Initial Thoughts

As I read on, One Hundred Years of Solitude only becomes more complex (and also confusing!). I notice the entire book has a dream-like quality. Not in the sense that magical realism is apparent and some particular scenes seem influenced by some kind of supernatural force, but overall, I find the entire book to feel as if someone is recounting a dream they experienced. Nothing seems concrete. Everything is jumbled. It is hard for me to pinpoint exactly what makes the novel evoke this dreamlike quality, but I think much of it is due to the non-linear plot. Also, the third person narrative reminds me that this is a story being told rather than an actual account.

I mentioned in my previous blog that there seems to be a desire for escape among almost all of the inhabitants of Macondo. Jose Arcadio quickly falls in love with the gypsy girl and on a whim decides to run off with her, only to return some years later. Colonel Aureliano Buendia leaves Macondo with the desire to fight victoriously for the Liberals and escapes the confines of Macondo. Upon his return, he is a changed man, most likely due to the horrors of war. Colonel Aureliano Buendia attempts to take his own life - an eternal escape from Macondo. Rebeca also seeks escape through solitude after Jose Arcadio’s (her husband’s) death.

This desire becomes more clear when I look at Macondo as a representation of Columbia’s society during this period of time. Garcia Marquez’s characters are developed beautifully, each representing a detachment from a definite cultural identity. I feel that the characters try to determine an authentic identity, yet never really actualize it.

Lastly, I’d like to mention a particular quote from today’s reading that struck me. Garcia Marquez writes: “Normality was precisely the most fearful part of that infinite war: nothing ever happened.” (181) This is a timeless, and also very relevant quote. When war becomes infinite, as in today’s society, and there is never a void of violence to allow for a time of peace, it becomes a normality. This desensitization process is horrific in itself.

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Garcia Marquez

Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude has long been on my list of books to read. I don't really know what to expect from the author or his novel, however, I do hope the experience is enjoyable and carries a message that resonates long after I complete the novel. Though not very far into the novel, I already find each character to be unique and solely wrapped up in their own world. It seems that there is an overwhelming sadness the can be seen throughout the characters and in the seemingly bleak world they live in. This sadness can be found in Aureliano and his choice to remain chaste in order to "hide the shame of his uselessness" (58). It can be found in Ursula and her trapped, almost claustrophobic feeling in Macondo, in which she claims "We'll never get anywhere...we're going to rot our lives away here without receiving the benefits of science" (13). Lastly, Jose Arcadio, who escapes with the gypsies in search of a zest for life, carries a sadness with him as well. I question why this could be? Life in Macondo seems simple, yet I get the feeling that it is also incredibly troublesome and bleak. The characters search for ways of distraction from the realities of their world. Magical realism blurs the dimensions of real and non-real in the novel. Young Aureliano predicts that the pot of steaming soup, though firmly placed in the center of the table is going to spill. It soon begins its migration to the edge and falls crashing to the floor. The explanation: a kind of natural phenomenon. Magical realism is used by the characters as a way of escape, a challenge to what can actually happen, and what can happen with the power of imagination.

An Unaware Transformation in the Comprehension of Texts

Before the start of this semester, I had already taken several literature classes. Each professor expects something different of their students. Many professors focus on the surface details of a text – the who, what, when, where and how’s. This is the lackluster material that one can gather from merely glancing at a text including the plot, the setting, the characters, and the climax. Not very interesting, much less thought-provoking. It is information that is easily and plainly accessible upon reading any text. However, the real fun in literature is being able to read a novel and make it your own by interpreting it as you wish. It is in this way that I have grown much more comfortable with deconstructing literature and developing my thoughts more fully.

Only six weeks into the semester, I have already seen a change in the development of my ideas. In one of my first blogs of the semester titled “Haroun and the Sea of Stories – Rushdie” I teetered on the edge of the Text-Other Texts category. I wrote first about my opinion of Haroun’s character from a very static perspective without delving too much into his significance. I also wrote of Rushdie’s past growing up in post-colonial India and how his life experiences shaped the author he became. This would most likely be reminiscent of the Text-Other Texts category, in that I utilized to information at hand to provide a kind of explanation for why this specific novel was written and what it may symbolize. Later in the blog, I wrote briefly about the political situation in post-colonial India and made the assumption that Haroun is symbolic of Rushdie as a boy and that Haroun’s experiences paralleled Rushdie’s. At the time this blog was written, I believe I was at the Text-Other Texts stage of reading development, yet moving towards the Text-World stage. Overall, the blog was not as insightful or impressive as it could or should have been.

In my post about Murakami’s work titled “A Wild Sheep Chase (part deux)” I wrote of Boku’s nature and his representation today as a kind of “generational touchstone.” I related Boku’s attitude and air to be a direct replica of the young, ineffective generation that plagues our society. With this blog, I confirm that I am to make the connection between a fictional work of literature to a real, tangible issue that is crucial in today’s society. This shows that I have begun the transformation in taking a piece of fictional literature and making a connection to its relevance in the real world. I feel that this blog, is again, an illustration of the Text-Other Texts category of reading development.

The following week I posted a blog titled, “Orientalism – Said” in which I wrote about the idea of Orientalism as it appears in other aspects of our culture and literature. I specifically expanded on Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan including a passage as explicit evidence of Orientalism. I deconstructed the stanza of Coleridge’s poem in order to prove why it demonstrates the theory of Orientalism. After discussing the negative impact of Orientalism, I talked about the “political biases and [the] horrifying opinion many Americans harbor that the East is subordinate to the West.” In doing so, I demonstrate the ability to relate a literary term (Orientalism) to the issue of politics. I explicate the effect of colonialism and Orientalism on our foreign policy tactics in the current world of politics. This blog characterizes a transition for me in which I develop my ideas more fully and move in limbo between the Text-Other Texts and Text-World category of reading comprehension and development.

My most recent blog, titled “Roy – The God of Small Things” furthers my conversion into a more sophisticated reader. I related the text to a more political standpoint facing the areas of the world. I wrote about the destruction of a culture, specifically due to the spread of the English language. By teaching English in newly westernized Eastern European nations, I would be contributing to the destructive forces of homogeny in language. It is scary to think that I may directly contribute to this. In this blog entry, I prove my ability to make the connection from words on a page, to find the deeper meaning in how it affects my personal real life experiences. I feel like this blog, above all others, illustrates a beginning to my transformation in becoming Text-World interpreter of texts.

I find that my transformation into become more comfortable with the Text-World stage of reading development has been unconscious. Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint just how to go about furthering my intellectual pursuits. The main thing I find to be helpful is actually having a blog in general. By writing my thoughts down, they become more concrete and less abstract. I can return to the blog for future reference in developing ideas. When I first began this paper, I didn’t feel I had progressed very much. Yet, after reviewing my blogs, the transformation is ever apparent. I can see a marked difference in the maturity of my ideas.

Since having a written blog of my thoughts is quite helpful, I plan to make a conscious effort in keeping a sort of journal for my own sake about everyday occurrences, news articles, pop-culture references, etc., that pertain to novels I read in this particular class and others. I find that keeping a journal filled with newspaper clippings or significant lines from a poem or book that I read would encourage me to make the connection between classroom activities to the world around me. I often discover myself reading a newspaper article and thinking of a certain work of literature I have read before. In this way, the Text-World category flip-flops creating an entirely new category: World-Text! For example, I recently read an article in The Shepherd Express regarding the upcoming election and the opposing parties varying views on foreign policy. The article talked extensively about the United States Army implementing a better school system for the Iraqi’s. I immediately thought of Roy’s novel The God of Small Things and the influence of the British in colonizing India. It is essentially colonization that is occurring now in Iraq. It is interesting that no longer do I only relate fiction to real life, but real life to fiction.

Roy - The God of Small Things

The English language is used as a means of control and as an indicator of America's supposed "superiority" over other countries. It is interesting that this movement only continues to grow. The fall of Communism in recent years has made the demand to spread and the desire to learn the English language even greater. After I graduate next May I plan to take a trip to Europe, and I am highly considering utilizing the opportunity to teach the English language in newly "westernized" Eastern European nations as a means to fund my travels. I have been corresponding with one such organization in particular based in Budapest, Hungary which seeks college graduates to teach English in Hungarian schools. No teaching experience is required due to such a high demand and need for teachers. All I would need is to pass a TEFL course here in the states, and I'm "certified". Thinking more about this, it's quite scary that I, along with other students, would be changing a culture and way of life. At the same time, I think the experience would be a change for me as well, in that I would be greatly influenced by my host country’s culture. I would hope that the positive impacts would way out the negative. However, Roy’s novel makes me focus more on the negative impact that the English language has had on many cultures of the world. Rahel and Estha were both resistant to learning the conventions of the English language. What some may view as opportunity, Roy views as a detriment to her culture.