23rd Annual Student Research Conference
The Macondo Time Zone: A Postcolonial Interpretation of Time in Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude
Stephen C. Kainz
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
The works produced during the Latin American literature "boom" of the mid-twentieth century were characterized by a rejection of the realism and regionalism championed by Western society. Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) exhibits these postcolonial tendencies by creating a chronology that is familiar to Latin Americans. Rather than being straightforward and linear, time in Macondo is unpredictable: it can skip ahead several decades or rewind to a previous generation, it can circle back to repeat itself or even stand still. My paper will argue that this notion of fluid time is distinctly Latin American. Furthermore, the intrusive characters and events that Márquez deems Western suffer personal, economic, and political repercussions in this magical locale.
Keywords: Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Postcolonialism, Latin America
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 15-1
Location: VH 1232
Time: 8:00