“At twelve o’clock, when Aureli-ano, José had bled to death and Carmelita Montiel found that the cards showing her future were blank, more than four hundred men had filed past the theater and discharged their revolvers into the abandoned body of Captain Aquiles Ricardo. A patrol had to use a wheelbarrow to carry the body, which was heavy with lead and fell apart like a water-soaked loaf of bread.”
Quote Analysis
In this quote from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude," we witness a scene of violence and chaos as Captain Aquiles Ricardo's body is desecrated by over four hundred men firing their revolvers at it. The gruesome imagery of the body falling apart "like a water-soaked loaf of bread" highlights the brutality and senselessness of the act. This quote serves as a stark reminder of the brutal and lawless atmosphere that permeates the town of Macondo throughout the novel.
Modern Relevance
In this excerpt from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, we witness a scene where violence and senseless killing play a significant role in the story. This theme of violence and its consequences is still relevant in today's society, as we continue to see conflicts and issues that arise from acts of aggression and brutality. The brutal act described in the passage serves as a reflection of the dark side of human nature that unfortunately continues to manifest itself in various forms in modern times.
Example of Usage: Passage from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
In this passage, Garcia Marquez vividly describes the chaotic and violent scene in Macondo, highlighting the brutality and lawlessness that pervades the town.
“At twelve o’clock, when Aureli-ano, José had bled to death and Carmelita Montiel found that the cards showing her future were blank, more than four hundred men had filed past the theater and discharged their revolvers into the abandoned body of Captain Aquiles Ricardo. A patrol had to use a wheelbarrow to carry the body, which was heavy with lead and fell apart like a water-soaked loaf of bread.” - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Reflection Questions:
After reading this passage from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's work, take a moment to reflect on the following questions:
- How does the violent and chaotic scene described in the passage reflect the overall tone and themes of the novel?
- In what ways does the author use vivid imagery and descriptive language to convey the brutality of the situation?
- Consider the symbolism of the blank cards indicating Carmelita Montiel's future and the weight of lead in Captain Aquiles Ricardo's body. How do these elements contribute to the story's meaning?
- How does the use of multiple characters and overlapping narratives in this passage enhance the complexity and depth of the storytelling?
Similar quotes
“Carmelia Montiel, a twenty-year-old virgin, had just bathed in orange-blossom water and was strewing rosemary leaves on Pilar Ternera's bed when the shot rang out. Aureliano José had been destined to find with her the happiness that Amaranta had denied him, to have seven children, and to die in her arms of old age, but the bullet that entered his back and shattered his chest had been directed by a wrong interpretation of the cards.”
“The body lay outside an abandoned, boarded-up theater. The theater had started as a first-run movie house, many years back when the neighborhood had still been fashionable. As the neighborhood began rotting, the theater began showing second-run films, and then old movies, and finally foreign-language films.”
“I don't know when they first had feeds. Like maybe, fifty or a hundred years ago. Before that, they had to use their hands and their eyes. Computers were all outside the body. They carried them around outside of them, in their hands, like if you carried your lungs in a briefcase and opened it to breathe.”
“He remembered that right after that, he had stolen a loaf of bread from a delicatessen counter and had taken it home and devoured it, feeling that the world owed a loaf of bread to him, and more.”
“They had a year of joy, twelve months of the strange heaven which the salmon know on beds of river shingle, under the gin-clear water. For twenty-four years they were guilty, but this first year was the only one which seemed like happiness. Looking back on it, when they were old, they did not remember that in this year it had ever rained or frozen. The four seasons were coloured like the edge of a rose petal for them.”