The Buendías were a huge part of the foundation of their town, Macondo. They built a civilization out of nothing, a wondrous place indeed. But little did they know that the town, along with themselves, was destined for doom. As the Buendía family began to deteriorate, so did the society in which they lived. From generation to generation, the same things happened over and over again. Each new generation of the family seemed to repeat the same mistakes as their predecessors. This happened in accordance to Macondo’s deterioration until the town “…was already a fearful whirlwind of dust and rubble being spun about by the wrath of the biblical hurricane…” (Márquez, p.416). Marquez uses this metaphor of a whirlwind to demonstrate how things kept going round and round, enclosed within a powerful force that is impossible to escape. This comes off as peculiar because when Jose Arcadio Buendía died, nature showed its condolence with a shower of flowers. Nature was kind to Jose Arcadio Buendía, because he did not have detrimental intentions. By the end of the novel, the story is corrupt with jealousy, hate, and lust. Therefore Nature had no sympathy for them.
One such instance of the cyclical philosophy in the novel is Marquez’s usage of the Buendía family tree. The confusion that is created with the repetition of names and personalities is intentionally concocted by Márquez in order to illustrate the idea that identity is not important and not present in the novel. By using the same names through all six of the generations, he illustrates the Buendías’ desire to stay the same and resist change. Márquez’s stylistic choice makes it difficult to distinguish between characters with similar names, but this is merely to show that it simply does not matter. No matter what their name is, or which generation they are in, they’re destined for the same things. This is why most of the Jose Arcadias were tough and fighters, while most of the Aurelianos had an interest in science and art. Colonel Aureliano Buendía for instance, grew tired of the war and became highly interested in poetry. This is in fact a bigger metaphor to represent the actual people of society. Márquez conveys that people, and ultimately society, never learn from their mistakes. This is the sole cause of their downfall.
Because Márquez writes in magical realism time is essential to the story, but along with time, he also utilizes the motifs of amnesia and nostalgia. Part of the reason why things were always repeated, and people never questioned it, was because of the amnesia that swept over the people of every generation. After even the most memorable and life-changing experience of the Banana Plant Massacre, the people lost all memory that it ever even existed. Their willingness to believe what was told to them shows their lack of individuality and thought. In fact, they had to put up a sign reminding themselves that God even existed. If a person does not have any recollection of a past event, then ‘doing it again’ would seem to them, only the first time. This could explain the constant repetition that the town encounters. This would allow no margin for repent or a lesson to be learned.
