Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Elyse Lamszus
For Communication to Presenters & Mentors
krtibbetts@olivet.edu, emlamszus@olivet.edu
Project Type
Departmental Honors project
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Discovery
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
Through his works Leaf Storm and One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez explores the development and deterioration of the fictional town of Macondo to illuminate how colonialism infiltrated Latin America, causing detrimental damage to the integrity of its community. Márquez accomplishes this by illustrating the industrialization of Macondo, which embodies colonialism’s detrimental influence. These effects are undeniably ongoing, as seen through the domination of neo-colonialism in Macondo. In both texts, this neo-colonialism is primarily depicted through the arrival of the American banana industry in Macondo. In this, Márquez mirrors Latin American history by alluding to the Boston-based United Fruit Company which exploited Colombia’s natural resources and ultimately led to the Banana Massacre of 1928.
In the post-colonial context of these texts, trauma is portrayed as collective and ongoing rather than individual and momentary. Márquez illustrates this collective trauma in these texts by depicting how Macondo as a whole is harmed by colonialism and industrialization. Furthermore, The characters’ solitude in these texts — interpreted as a rejection of the cultural value of community — reveals the lasting damage colonialism inflicts on one’s relationship with one’s community. Through both Leaf Storm and One Hundred Years of Solitude, Márquez depicts the deterioration of Macondo to reveal the ongoing impact of colonialism and neo-colonialism on communal identity.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Latin American Literature Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
Colonialism and Collective Trauma: The Development and Deterioration of Macondo
Fishbowl
Through his works Leaf Storm and One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez explores the development and deterioration of the fictional town of Macondo to illuminate how colonialism infiltrated Latin America, causing detrimental damage to the integrity of its community. Márquez accomplishes this by illustrating the industrialization of Macondo, which embodies colonialism’s detrimental influence. These effects are undeniably ongoing, as seen through the domination of neo-colonialism in Macondo. In both texts, this neo-colonialism is primarily depicted through the arrival of the American banana industry in Macondo. In this, Márquez mirrors Latin American history by alluding to the Boston-based United Fruit Company which exploited Colombia’s natural resources and ultimately led to the Banana Massacre of 1928.
In the post-colonial context of these texts, trauma is portrayed as collective and ongoing rather than individual and momentary. Márquez illustrates this collective trauma in these texts by depicting how Macondo as a whole is harmed by colonialism and industrialization. Furthermore, The characters’ solitude in these texts — interpreted as a rejection of the cultural value of community — reveals the lasting damage colonialism inflicts on one’s relationship with one’s community. Through both Leaf Storm and One Hundred Years of Solitude, Márquez depicts the deterioration of Macondo to reveal the ongoing impact of colonialism and neo-colonialism on communal identity.