García Márquez: Context, Themes, and Literary Stages
Arguments and Context
Historical-Cultural Context
Economic retardation and social inequalities have been sources of constant tensions. As a result, political instability is one of the main problems these nations suffer, which have alternated throughout the twentieth century with periods of democratic governments, repressive dictatorships, and revolutionary movements that generated waves of armed struggle and violence. The most prominent social and cultural trait of Hispanic America is mestizaje. In Central and South America, different Amerindian groups coexist. Miscegenation constitutes one of the motifs present in American literature.
Location of the Author in His Time
Gabriel García Márquez actively participated in cultural, social, and political activities in his country and other world hot spots. Besides, his family reality is often reflected in his works. Born in 1928, he remained in Aracataca in a middle-class family and was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather was a founder of Aracataca, and his grandmother was a storyteller. During his studies, he published his first story, “Ojos de perro azul.” In 1955, he published his first novel, Hojarasca. In 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude came out. The novel launched with 8,000 samples and quickly gained fame, selling out in a week. It was translated into most languages. He moved to Barcelona in 1975. Six years later, he established Chronicle of a Death Foretold in 1981. In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Stage That Fits the Work
His work occurs in 3 stages:
- The narrative realism of European origin dominated until 1945, with American traits, such as the very diverse nature, political issues, and social problems.
- From the 50s, new themes are found, and narrative techniques are renewed, with a “prevalence of the urban over rural areas.” Imagination and fantasy are introduced. Great care is taken in building narrative techniques like interior monologue or jumps in space and time.
- This renewal affects a number of young writers who are released in the 60s.
His Idea of the Novel
Gabriel García Márquez leads the American novel with innovations to their last consequences:
- Applications of topics: the rural environment coupled with the urban novel.
- Union of the real and the fantastic.
- Formal aspects: the structure of the story goes through a deep and continuous experimentation.
- Language enriches with overlap of styles, syntactic and lexical changes.
The Central Theme
The tragic destiny or fate, with death, are the central themes of the novel. Further themes include honor, violence, premonitions, etc. Death is, therefore, the lead character. It appears in the title and now in its beginning and its end. Violence linked to death is a recurring theme in the work of Gabriel, usually appearing as a synonym of political oppression, but here may be the social status of Santiago Nasar the background of the origin of the murder. The society reflected in the novel maintains a conservative stance. Honor is a standard of living and should be defended even to the point of killing. On the other hand, it is a society attached to customs and traditions typical of rural areas: long courtships, marriages of convenience, etc.