Discussion of 100 Years of Solitude-Chapter 10

In Chapter 10, there are quite a few repetitious events and characters. For example, the twins, Jose Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo are a repeat of Jose Arcadio who mysteriously committed suicide and Colonel Aureliano Buendia. The twins are similar to the first generation. Aureliano Segundo was a solitary character, just like the Colonel in his youth. I think also that Aureliano was interested in Melquiades' old manuscripts and the lab in which J.A.B. did his experiments, just like the Colonel had been in his youth. However, I think that the twins are more different from Jose Arcadio and Colonel Aureliano Buendia. Jose Arcadio Segundo was the one who showed initial interest in war, while it was Colonel Aureliano Buendia was the one who had the passion for war. Jose Arcadio Segundo's interest dissipated when he saw that the victims being shot were buried alive. Obviously, Jose Arcadio Segundo did not have the same fate that Jose Arcadio. Although Colonel Aureliano's first woman was his wife Remedios, Aureliano Segundo's first woman was Petra Cotes who he stayed with for the rest of his life. Another repeat seems to be Petra Cotes/Remedios. Before Remedios died, she was a healthy influence in the Buendia household. I think that Remedios made the house happier and more cheery. Petra Cotes is described as someone who "had a generous heart and a magnificent vocation for love" (188). Remedios the Beauty reminds me of Remedios because both have this weird sense of calm and control; Remedios takes her marriage with Colonel Aureliano Buendia with a calm grace and Remedios the Beauty rejects her suitor calmly. These similarities and differences tells us that the novel as a whole revolves in circles. With the repetition of characters and events with slight differences tells the readers that the entire novel is in circles. Time is unclear and runs in circles; Melquiades' manuscripts are called encyclicals; Aureliano's poetry has no beginning and no end; the characters and events repeat themselves.