Márquez sets up his own imagery by creating characters with literal meaning. Florentino, for example, pertains to flowers. From this name, the reader can safely assume that the character is a romantic and is associated with flower imagery. Another example would be Dr. Juvenal Urbino, meaning “young urban” which is a contrast to Florentino’s character because he is associated with realism. The reader can recognize the main focus of a passage by simply observing the type of imagery being used. Márquez’s style of making self references to his characters sets him apart from many writers because he reconstructs a new definition for his imagery associations.
In addition to the associated character imagery, there is a superfluous amount of bird imagery and flower imagery. Márquez excessively uses these two types of imagery to portray Florentino Ariza and the character’s development through events. The bird imagery relates to the promiscuity that takes place in Florentino’s life. He has many affairs from which he learns an aspect of love and relationships from each woman. This helps the character get ready for his relationship with Fermina Daza which occurs in the very end of the story. The flower imagery, as mentioned before, is related to the romantic love that Márquez portrays through the character of Florentino. Both types of imagery is used frequently in the novel because Márquez wanted to foreshadow the story by giving large amounts of hints that Fermina and Florentino are going to end up together and that romantic love overthrows practical love.
The foreshadowing styles of Márquez are used to tell the ending of the story. Márquez has no problem with giving away his ending. However, he slowly reveals how things got the way they are which makes the reader guessing on the situation. Márquez wants his readers to know the basic plot and to question how the events fit into that plot. It is interesting to study the styles of Márquez because he was able to captivate the audience even though he gave away the story.
Another aspect to Márquez’s writing is referring to the instances of irony in the novel. The title itself is ironic because to have love in the time of cholera is rather odd. In addition, the plot has many ironic parts. The relationship of Florentino and Fermina, for example, is very ironic because it took fifty years for the love relationship to happen. Although it’s unlikely to happen, the thought of having a huge gap of life trying to rekindle a youth love is quite impossible but as Márquez conveyed in his novel, it can happen. Other examples of irony are incorporated with realism. The description of Florentino is an oxymoron because he is a romantic who can sweep many ladies but has “chronic diarrhea” and “hair follicle problems.” Another example includes the romantic scene between Florentino and Fermina: Florentino hands a letter to Fermina and then a bird poops on the letter. This irony serves as comedy to Márquez’s readers and keeps them from being bored with the novel.
Márquez also creates definitions for the different types of love. He accomplishes this by categorizing the relationships between the characters. The relationship between Fermina and Uribino, for instance, is what Márquez portrayed as practical love. As husband and wife, they have adapted to each other’s lifestyles and have lived cooperatively together. However, they didn’t love each other romantically because they married for the sole purpose of marital status in the society. The relationship between Fermina and Florentino, on the other hand, was romantic love. Márquez believed that to know that you truly love someone, you have to be close to death because then you realize what you truly want in life. It took the couple fifty years to finally be together. This romantic love between these two characters fulfills Márquez’s viewpoint of love.
One last characteristic of Márquez’s writing style is the shifting of verb tenses. The primary cause of the shifts is the in medias res structure of the novel. The first section of the novel is in the present which makes the verb tense present. The second and third sections, however, shifts from past, present, and future, which is caused by the chronological events taking place before and after the present. Márquez has a tendency to refer back to previous events, which is part of his “flash” method, recalling a memory then coming back to the present. The advantage of this style is to visually go through the characters’ thoughts as they recall the memory.
All of the writing styles connect to one large genre, which is magic realism. Márquez is reputed for this underlying theme because he carries out the ideals for the genre so ingeniously. The main ideas in magical realism include the focus of love, the implication of fate controlling lives, and the role of women in the society. Latin American writers often include magic realism in their works because it pertains so much to their culture. The ideals of romantic love are obviously portrayed through the relationship of Florentino and Fermina, which is also juxtaposed to Márquez’s beliefs on love. The mentions of fate and destiny play important roles in the novel as they tie the whole story together.
Furthermore, the women’s role in a chauvinist society is also depicted in Márquez’s novel. These themes of magic realism weave not only the plot and the Latin American culture, but also Márquez’s ideals. The bird imagery, for example, is related to the many women that had become involved with Florentino Ariza. The notion of women in prostitution plays into the magical realism. Another example includes the taking of the husband’s name after the husband has died. In the novel, Fermina Daza becomes Widow Urbino after Juvenal Urbino past away. Also, the title of being a widow was considered insignificant to the society. These customs play a major part in the Latin American society.
The writing styles of Márquez manifest the ideals of the Latin American culture. The choices made such as imagery associations, compare and contrast love relationships, and foreshadow, contribute to the magical realism and Márquez’s beliefs. With the writing techniques such as irony, Márquez’s accomplishes the humor of the plot line which keeps the reader attentive throughout the novel. The structure of the plot also contributes to the appeal of the novel because it keeps the reader predicting the events leading to the outcome. The writing styles and methods included in the novel have been a great contribution to the Latin American society as well as the world of literature.