Gabriel Garcia Marquez Analiza

8/10/2019 Gabriel Garcia Marquez Analiza

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/gabriel-garcia-marquez-analiza 1/28

Șapte povestiri în care fantasticul transpare în manieră insolită într -o lume plină de contraste, în

satele de la marginea deşertului sau a mării, a timpului, a uitării, o lume măiestrescă în care îngerii

mai poposesc din când în când în curţile oamenilor, morţii îşi rememorează trecutul, purtați de

apele întunecate ale oceanului, iar moartea este una constantă dincolo de dragoste.

Un domn foarte bătrân cu niște aripi uriașe- un înger prăbușit ajunge să doarmă în poiată, semn

că până și divinul este supus decăderii și patinei timpului

Marea timpului pierdut - moartea îl recompensează pe bătrânul Iacob cu un miros prevestitor,

amețitor de trandafiri, morții cei mai frumoși plutesc nemişcaţi pe mare, având cu toţii expresia

făpturilor uitateiar soția bătrânului Iacob va duce după ea flora tuturor mărilor lumii

Înecatul cel mai frumos de pe lume- frumusețea unuia, a multora, a tuturor oamenilor nu este

dezvăluită decât în momentul în care nu mai există cale de întoarcere a timpului și a ființării

N-a fo st nevoie să se uite unii la alţii ca să- şi dea seama că nu mai erau cu toţii şi că nici n-aveau

să mai fie în veci. însă mai ştiau şi că totul va fi altfel începînd de atunci, că locuinţele lor vor

avea uşi mai mari, tavane mai înalte, podele mai solide, pentru ca amintirea lui Esteban sa se

poată strecura pretutindeni fără să se lovească de praguri şi pentru ca nimeni să nu se încumete

în viitor să mai murmure că a murit prostul cel mare, ce păcat că a murit prostul cel frumos,

fiindcă ei aveau să- şi zugrăvească faţadele în culori vesele spre a face să dăinuie memoria Iui

Esteban, şi aveau să se spetească săpînd după izvoare în stînci şi semănînd flori pe ţărmuri,

pentru ca în zorii anilor ce vor veni, călătorii de pe marile vapoare să se trezească sufocaţ i de

parfum de grădini în larg, iar căpitanul să fie nevoit să coboare de pe puntea de comandă în

uniforma-i de gală, cu astrolabul său, cu steaua sa polară şi cu şiragul de medalii de război, şi

arătînd promontoriul de trandafiri în zarea Mării Caraibelor să spună în paisprezece limbi,

priviţi într -acolo, unde vîntul e acum atît de blînd că se strecoară să doarmă pe sub paturi, acolo

unde soarele străluceşte atît de tare, că floarea- soarelui nu mai ştie încotro să se întoarcă, da,

acolo se află satul lui Esteban.

Moarte constantă dincolo de dragoste- senatorul hotărește nu ca moartea să aleagă pentru el, ci

ca frumuseţea de necrezut a Laurei Farina, mai imperioasă decît boala lui, să fie cea care îi va

decide repudierea și ultimul plâns de furia de a muri fără ea

Ultima călătorie a vasului fantomă- deriva și salvarea transatlanticului celui mai mare de pe

lumea asta; călăuzirea marelui palat pustiu spre uscat de către fiul de pescar pe care nimeni nu l-a

crezut că vasul fantomă devine un înspăimântător corp de oțel în timpul mareei; nouăzeci de mii

cinci sute de cupe de şampanie se vor sparge în timp ce apele străvechi şi stătute ale mărilor

morţii se vor scurge din cele două flancuri peste satul adormit peste care fiul de pescar îl va abate

Blancamăn cel bun, vânzător de miracole- dulcea răzbunarea este mai presus de moarte, de viață,

dar și, mai ales, de nemurire



Ori de cîte ori ajung pe melea gurile acelea îi duc un automobil înţesat de trandafiri şi mi se

frînge inima de durere pentru virtuţile lui, dar apoi îmi pun urechea pe placa de fier să-l aud

plîngînd, printre rămăşiţele cufărului năruit, şi dacă a murit, îl înviez din nou, căci tîlcul pedepsei

e să rămînă viu în mormînt cit timp voi trăi eu, adică în vecii vecilor.

Incredibila și trista poveste a candidei Erendira și a bunicii sale fără suflet- prostituarea corpului

nu semnifică că sufletul este și el pervertit; Erendira ispășește o pedeapsă: bunica fără suflet

hotărăște că are de plătit datoria pentru conacul mistuit de flăcări din vina ei în opt ani, şapte luni

şi unsprezece zile prin oferirea trupului său oricărui doritor; uciderea bunicii sale fără suflet de

către cel iubit și fuga ei până la capătul lumii o izbăvesc; în veci nu s-a mai aflat cea mai mică

veste despre ea, şi nici nu s-a găsit vreo urmă, cît de neînsemnată, despre nenorocirea ei.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez- Incredibila şi trista poveste a candidei Erendira

şi a bunicii sale fără suflet, ed. RAO, 2004

Ultima fictiune a scriitorului columbian Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Povestea tarfelor mele triste"

(traducere, prefata si note de Tudora Sandru Mehedinti, Editura RAO, Bucuresti, 2005), nu se dezice

decat aparent de intentia sa, anuntata inca din 1999, de a scrie doar texte autobiografice. Sub pretextul

unei fictiuni a senzualitatii si erotismului, inspirate de celebrul prozator japonez Yasunari Kawabata,

cartea construieste un eseu despre batranete si despre plenitudinea trairii in vecinatatea mortii.

Autenticitatea care razbate de la primele randuri este strans legata de biografia ultimilor ani, in care

Garcia Marquez a trait experienta bolii si bucuria de a-i supravietui.

Timpul scriiturii este inegal, cand prea alert, cand prea lent, are sincope sufocante pe alocuri, ca

respiratia unui batran pornit la o lunga calatorie. Totul incepe in dimineata in care eroul-confesor, critic

muzical si vechi colaborator la "El Diario de La Paz", implineste 90 de ani. Pe langa articolul sau

duminical, o pledoarie a senectutii, el isi propune sa-si daruiasca "o noapte nebuna cu o adolescenta

virgina", pasind iarasi pe urmele pierdutei sale tinereti, dulci locuri ale pierzaniei si ale muzei. Cautarea

frenetica, pierderea si regasirea tinerei in conditii misterioase, teama de inexorabil - spaima ca fata ar

putea chiar muri - sunt consumate intens si secondate de inregistrarea tuturor starilor osciland intre

fiziologie si filozofie. Frenezia si disperarea indragostitului se reflecta mereu in oglinda prin care

batranetea si moartea se privesc conciliant.

Alaturi de nostalgia copilariei si a fostelor iubiri, trairea ireala a acestei aventuri nocturne retrase in

imaginar, care-si tese pas cu pas propria poveste in mintea nonagenarului, aduce cu sine intreaga

recuzita a vietii traite de batran in singuratate: tabloul preferat, muzica pe care obisnuia s-o asculte,

http://www.9am.ro/tag/bucuresti.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/ani.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/muzica.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/muzica.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/ani.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/bucuresti.html



nenumarate obiecte de decor ajung sa populeze camera saracacioasa de bordel din Barranquilla, in

care revine doar pentru a vedea copila dormind.

In acelasi timp, chiar daca "Povestea tarfelor mele triste" e ancorata in real, universul lui Garcia

Marquez ramane consubstantial cu lumea fantasta a magiei si a vrajii. Fecioara adormita are legaturi

misterioase cu taramul mortilor, iar prezenta ei nocturna, de fiecare data surprinsa intr-un somn

profund, cu o biografie incerta si colorata de imaginatia si vocatia artistica a eroului, e materia unei

existente ireale. Pana la urma, totul se transforma in fantazare si vis.

Tot la Editura RAO, care il publica de cativa ani pe Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Romania, a aparut o noua

editie a "Incredibilei si tristei povesti a candidei Erendira si a bunicii sale fara suflet" (traducere de

Tudora Sandru Mehedinti, 2004).

Cu aceasta carte, datand din perioada cea mai prolifica a prozatorului, suntem chiar in miezul dur al

fictiunii marqueziene. Cele sapte povestiri au fost scrise intre 1961 si 1972, cartea fiind publicata in

1977. Dupa trei zile de ploi neintrerupte, Pelayo, personajul din "Un domn batran cu niste aripi uriase",

descopera in fundul curtii, in timp ce scoate crabii morti din casa, un inger batran. Cativa ani il culca cu

gainile si il hraneste cu resturi, timp in care copilul sau scuturat de friguri se insanatoseste miraculos si

iese in lume. Abia atunci, la fel de discret cum a aparut, ingerul isi ia zborul si se pierde in zare,

deasupra marii. Din acelasi amestec de ireal si concret se naste si povestea senatorului Onesimo

Sanchez din "Moarte constanta dincolo de dragoste". Personajul mai are "sase luni si unsprezece zile

pana sa moara, cand intalneste femeia vietii lui", intr-un "satuc iluzoriu" si desertic, dar se stinge singur

si repudiat, conturand cu trupul forma bratului feciorelnic care ii acoperise candva chipul ingrozit de

moarte. "Ultima calatorie a vasului fantoma" schiteaza biografia tragica a tanarului care urmareste cu

indarjire o himera: "transatlanticul urias, fara lumini si fara zgomot". De data aceasta, certitudinile

realului se intrupeaza din vis: vasul fabulos va fi scos la liman si impotmolit in dreptul bisericii de forta

neclintita a credintei personajului.

Magical Realism

"Magical realism expands the categorizes of the real so as to encompass myth,magic and other extraordinary phenomena in Nature or experience whichEuropean realism excluded" (Gabriel García Márquez, eds. Bernard McGuirkand Richard Cardwell, 45).

Gabriel García Márquez uses the technique of magical realism in his novels aswell as his short stories. Marquez uses magical realism to blend reality andfantasy so that the distinction between the two erases. An example of this

technique comes from the story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"where an angel falls to the Earth because of a violent rainstorm. When the angel

http://www.9am.ro/tag/romania.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/ploi.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/morti.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/lume.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/moarte.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/constanta.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/constanta.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/moarte.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/lume.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/morti.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/ploi.html

http://www.9am.ro/tag/romania.html



is found by Pelayo and Elisenda, they are shocked to see an angel, and yet theynever question its existence. The reality of the situation is never mistrusted;however, the angel itself is an astounding manifestation. Even the neighbor ladyis not shocked:

"He's an angel," she told them. "He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellowis so old that the rain knocked him down" (204).

"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" demonstrates Marquez's ability to tell a fairy tale orfolk tale in a realistic manner while incorporating the magic of the angel. The angel is thecatalyst for the family's recovery from destitution. Before the arrival of the angel, they are asimple, poor family with a dying son. Once the angel is captured, the son recovers and thefamily uses the angel for financial gain. Marquez shows us true human nature. An incredible

being falls to the Earth and the humans use it to make a fast buck. Eventually, the familygrows to resent the angel and they wish it would vanish. Instead of the simplistic, happy

ending of the ordinary fairy tale, the characters are allowed to exploit Nature until it flies offwithout a word. Consequently, the angel is never allowed to fulfill his destiny which was totake the soul of the dying child.

"She kept watching him even when she was through cutting the onions and she kept on

watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an

annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot of the horizon of the sea" (210).

Literary Devices

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is characterized for theliterary techniques he employs in his works. He isrecognized as one of the best Latin American writers forhis uniqueness in the use of magical realism. Thistechnique along with his ability hyperbolize and describeevents and places by utilizing visual, sensory, olfactory,

and auditory imagery makes him one of the mostinteresting authors.

Garcia Marquez employs the technique of magicalrealism in almost every single one of his works, speciallyhis short stories. For instance, in the short story A VeryOld Man with Enormous Wings magical realism can beobserved as the author tells the story about an old manwith enormous wings that landed in Pelayo's front yard.The old man symbolized an angel meaning it is somethingsupernatural, and the author gives him such human



characteristics that he makes him seem real to theaudience. He uses in this case imagery describing the manof having almost no hair, ugly teeth, and having bad odor.The irony of an angel possessing these characteristics is

what makes him real, becoming easy for the audience tovisualize and sympathize with.

Furthermore, the author tends to describe every singledetail in his stories so that they do not seem fictional. Forexample, in Chronicle of a death foretold, the authormakes a vivid description of the house that Ibraham Nasar

bought to make the story more credible, also to reveal theimportance of the front door of the house which was used

by anyone except for Santiago Nasar who exited throughit, the morning of his assassination.

Employing magical realism and imagery are the mostconsistent literary devices appearing in the works ofGabriel Garcia Marquez. He also utilizes alternativeliterary devices, but these two are the techniques thatcharacterize his works, and make them so unique. Hisability to create vivid images and to bring the unnatural tolife are some of the abilities that make this Gabriel Garcia

Marquez so special.

Home

Author Biography

Chronicle of a Death Foretold occupies a unique place

among Márquez's works because the narrative is both

journalistic and fictitious. García frequently uses

journalistic techniques in his fiction. For example, in

most of his novels he creates a high level of interest in the

very first line of the text, and employs many journalistic

details based on close observation throughout the entire

novel. Márquez himself said that he became a good

journalist by reading literature, and that journalism in turn

helped him maintain contact with reality, which he

considers essential to writing good literature.

http://sergiovelez.tripod.com/index.html


http://sergiovelez.tripod.com/id1.html





In the 1920s and 1930s, the Latin-American novel did

little besides realistically portray of regional or national

life and customs. In terms of narrative technique, this

fiction functioned within the realist tradition of the

nineteenth century. In the late 1940s, Latin-American

novels changed, as they had been influenced by the

modernist novels of Woolf, Joyce, and Faulkner. Such

modernist novelists were well-known among Latin

American intellectuals by the 1930s.

Along with contemporaries such as the Cuban Alejo

Carpentier, the Guatemalan Miguel Angel Asturias, the

Mexican Agustin Yanez, and the Argentine LeopoldoMarechal, Gabriel García Márquez contributed novels

that insisted on the right of invention. The books were

concerned with the construction of new realities, not the

reflection of existing themes. One technique that came

into being in this fiction is magic realism, which is the

incorporation of fantastic or mythical elements matter-of-

factly into otherwise realistic fiction. Alejo Carpentier

was the first to use the term when he recognized thetendency of his region's authors to illustrate the mundane

by means of the extraordinary.

Colombia prides itself on being a stronghold of Spanish

tradition. Gabriel García Márquez became part of a

coastal group that wanted to leave Bogota and the

conservative attitudes prevalent in much of Colombia.

Coastal towns like Barranquilla were more supportive of

innovative and imaginative literature. Márquez and his

contemporaries involved in this coastal movement were

called the "Group of Barranquilla." Márquez's first

novel, Leafstorm, strongly reflects Faulkner's influence in

its structure and narrative point of view. In the 1940s,

Márquez read and learned from Faulkner's novels.

Márquez, who was originally planning to study law after

graduating from university, said that when he first read



Faulkner, he knew he had to become a writer.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold showcases Márquez's

skills as a journalist rather than as a novelist. After the

publication of the novel, journalists poured into Sucre,

the town where the real murder that inspired the book

took place, in order to interview the surviving characters.

In a strange twist, real life replicated the novel — the novel

tells the story of a the narrator's return to the Colombian

town to resolve the details of a murder twenty years after

it had taken place.

P Gabriel Garcia Marquez‘s literary techniques differ between books of fiction and non-fiction: His works offiction incorporate ―magical realism‖ while his works ofnon-fiction are much more objective and seem toincorporate the skills used by journalists. The books I will

be analyzing are: ―News of a Kidnapping‖ and ―OneHundred Years of Solitude.‖ m

Themes Gabriel Marquez uses ―magical realism‖ in ―OneHundred Years of Solitude.‖ This figurative method ofwriting may include some realistic aspects, but thoseaspects are twisted into a supernatural outcome thatsometimes defy the laws of physics:

A trickle of blood came out under the door, crossed theliving room, went out into the street, continued on in a

straight line across the uneven terraces, went down stepsand climbed over curbs, passed along the Street of theTurks, turned a corner to the right and another to the left,made a right angle at the Buendia house, went in underthe closed door, crossed through the parlor, hugging thewalls so as not to stain the rugs, went on to the otherliving room, made a wide curve to avoid the dining-roomtable, went along the porch with the begonias, and passedwithout being seen under Amaranta's chair as she gave an

arithmetic lesson to Aureliano Jose, and went through the pantry and came out in the kitchen, where Ursula was
























getting ready to crack thirty-six eggs to make bread.

"Holy Mother of God!" Ursula shouted.

Though this narrative contains magical elements that defyconventional realism, it is realistic in its approach (it doesnot shy away from depictions of violence and sex; it isconcerned with, and directly addresses, complex politicaland social issues in a matter-of-fact kind of way). Thus,in the novel we have Remedios the Beauty floating up toheaven rather than dying and Buendia‘s death mourned

by a rain of yellow flowers from the sky.

The magic and the realism that together compose thenovel, however, are perfectly reconcilable: they are, infact, both necessary in order to convey Marquez's

particular conception of reality in fictitious novels.

I have analyzed these two novels and realize thatMarquez limits his usage of figurative language mostly tohis fictitious novels while he tends to apply his skills as a

journalist when writing non-fiction. In conclusion,Marquez‘s literary wizardry in his works of fiction arerelatively absent in his non-fiction narratives.

Theme Analysis

Imagery Analysis

Gabriel García Marquez – „Patriarhul‖ literaturii latino-americanein Personalitati 0 224 Vizualizari

Pe data de 6 martie 1927, asadar, in urma cu 87 de ani,la Aracataca, in Columbia, s-a nascut Gabriel García

Marquez - cel care avea sa devina unul dintre cei maiimportanti scriitori ai secolului al XX-lea. Opera sareprezinta un adevarat arhetip al „realismului magic‖, ununivers in care granita dintre existenta si proiectia ei in

opera , intre memoria individuala (mai ales cea afectiva)




http://destepti.ro/personalitati

http://destepti.ro/gabriel-garcia-marquez-patriarhul-literaturii-latino-americane#respond

http://destepti.ro/gabriel-garcia-marquez-patriarhul-literaturii-latino-americane#respond

http://destepti.ro/personalitati





si cea colectiva, intre timpul sacru si timpul trait, intreistorie si literatura, este intr-o continua miscare, cele douadimensiuni (realul si fictivul) reinventandu-se sireimprospatandu-se reciproc, purtand, fiecare, germenele

unei schimbari esentiale, pe masura ce sunt parcurse,rememorate, evocate. Intrebat, la un moment dat, de ceeuropenii par a aprecia dimensiunea „magica‖ a scrierilorsale, ignorand, in mare masura, realitatea pe care o evoca(aceea a lumii careia scriitorul ii apartine prin nastere),Marquez a raspuns ca, probabil, „rationalismul‖ lor (aleuropenilor) „ii impiedica sa vada ca realitatea nu selimiteaza la pretul rosiilor sau al oualor din piata‖. Capodoperele lui Garcia Marquez sunt: Un veac de

singuratate (saga familiei Buendia, in fascinantul tinutMacondo), Toamna Patriarhului (roman inspirat dedictatorul Marcos Perez Jimenez, in realitate un fel de

portret simbolic al tuturor dictatorilor latino-americani),Cronica unei morti anuntate (cu un subiect construit in

jurul asasinarii lui Santiago Nasar), Dragostea in vremea

holerei (relatand doua povesti de dragoste atipice),Generalul in labirintul sau (roman despre SimonBolivar, supranumit Libertador , Presedintele Boliviei sial Marii Columbii – o confederatie politica si militara atarilor latino-americane iesite de sub dominatia spaniola)etc. Universul imaginar al acestor romane este marcat,dupa cum insusi autorul a marturisit, in nenumarateranduri, de marile mituri ale spatiului latino-american,mituri pe care le-a auzit, inca din copilarie, de la buniciicare l-au crescut. „Povestile‖ copilariei si ale adolescenteisunt cele care i-au cladit personalitatea creatoare si aufost valorificate, spune scriitorul, cu spontaneitate,magicul si realul suprapunandu-se dupa o logica

intrinseca si nu neaparat dupa sofisticate tehnici narative.Bunicul, caruia i se spunea „Papa Lelo‖ (Colonelul), eraun veteran al Razboiului de o mie de zile (Guerra de losM il Días ), razboi civil dintre liberalii si conservatoriicolumbieni, Papa Lelo fiind el insusi liberal si consideratun adevarat erou, foarte respectat la vremea lui. Pe de alta

parte, bunica, Tranquilina Iguaran Cotes, a marcatcopilaria lui Gabriel Garcia Marquez, prin manierainconfundabila de a povesti lucruri iesite din comun,

terifiante – premonitii, istorii cu fantome, profetii – „in



modul cel mai natural‖. Ea pare a fi principala „sursa‖ pentru predilectia, de mai tarziu, a scriitorului, de asurprinde realitatea sub semnul magicului, al superstitiei,al supranaturalului, prin alunecarea subtila si continua de

la evenimentul credibil, la ceea ce se ascunde in planul deadancime al naratiunii, intr-un stil firesc, menit sa-icreeze si cititorului o atitudine similara. Peste toateacestea s-au suprapus lecturile din scriitorii sai preferati – Kafka, William Faulkner, James Joyce, Alvaro MutisJaramillo (scriitorul mexican care l-a si incitat peMarquez in scrierea si publicarea primului sau roman – Frunze uscate (titlul original, La Hojarasca), din 1955.Un rol major in devenirea, ca scriitor, a lui Marquez, l-a

avut si activitatea jurnalistica, cea care l-a ajutat sa fiemereu in contact cu realitatea imediata. Din acest punctde vedere, perioada cea mai interesanta pare a fi fost cea

petrecuta in Europa de Est, alaturi de Plinio Mendoza (totscriitor columbian), rastimp in care a scris o serie dearticole despre „cortina de fier‖ (granita clara dintrestatele aflate, la data respectiva, sub influenta sovietica, sicele din Europa Occidentala). In 1958, la Caracas,Marquez asista la fuga dictatorului venezuelean MarcosPerez Jimenez si scrie o serie de alte articole despre rolul

bisericii in inlaturarea lui Jimenez si a regimului sau. Alucrat, de asemenea, pentru mai multe agentii de

publicitate si a scris si cateva scenarii de film.Temele recurente ale scrierilor lui

Marquez sunt solitudinea, iubirea si moartea, pe caredestinul niciunui individ sau colectivitati nu le poateocoli, dar pe care fiecare le traieste si le exprima in felulsau.Macondo , spatiul imaginar in care se desfasoaraintreaga actiune din romanul Un veac de singur atate (in

care se nareaza intreaga poveste a locului, de laintemeiere, pana la sfarsitul tragic, dar care apare si inalte scrieri ale lui Marquez) nu este atat un spatiugeografic ( desi modelul este, clar, Aracataca) ci, maiales, spune scriitorul, „o stare de spirit‖, un universsimbolic, suport si generator perpetuu al vocatiei salecreatoare. Despre singuratate , Marquez marturisea caeste convins ca aceasta deriva, in primul rand, din faptulca oamenii sunt tentati sa interpreteze si sa isi traiasca

viata nu dupa cum ar dori, ci dupa niste „scheme de



gandire‖ (impuse de societate, traditie, conditionari personale), ceea ce ii face din ce in ce mai putin liberi,mai neintelesi, mai tristi, captivi in propria existenta.In 1982, Gabriel Garcia Marquez a primit Premiul Nobel

pentru literatura, fiind primul columbian caruia i s-adecernat o asemenea distinctie si al patrulea scriitorlatino-american, laureat Nobel, dupa Gabriela Mistral,Miguel Angel Asturias si Pablo Neruda. I-au succedatscriitorul mexican Octavio Paz (in 1990) si Mario VargasLlosa (in 2010). La ceremonia de decernare a Premiului

Nobel , Marquez a venit imbracat in liquiliqui(vesmantalb, traditional, din Columbia, cu incaltaminte neagra),ceea ce nu a fost pe placul tuturor. Discursul tinut cu

acest prilej s-a intitulat Singuratatea Ameri cii Latine .Gabriel Garcia Marquez locuieste, in prezent, in Mexic.In1999 a fost diagnosticat cu un cancer limfatic, fiindtratat, cu succes, intr-o clinica din Los Angeles. Aceastaimprejurare a vietii sale l-a determinat sa se apuce sa scrieo carte autobiografica, primul volum aparand in 2002, subtitlul A trai pentru a povesti (Vivir para Contarla). In2004 a mai publicat Memorias de mis putastristes ( Amintirile curvelor mele triste) – o poveste dedragoste intre un barbat in varsta de 90 de ani si o tanarade 14 ani, care a starnit vii controverse in Iran, carteafiind interzisa, in tara respectiva, dupa ce se vandusera in

jur de 5000 de exemplare, Del amor y otrosdemonios ( Despre dragoste si alti demoni), iar in 2010 – Yo no vengo a decir un discurso ( Nu vin sa tin undiscurs).In 2012, presedintele rus Dmitri Medvedev l-a decorat peGabriel Garcia Marquez cu „Ordinul de Onoare‖, pentru„contributia adusa la intarirea prieteniei intre Rusia si

America Latina‖, Marquez fiind cel mai popular scriitorlatino-american, in Rusia, gratie romanului Un veac de

singuratate. O exceptionala biografie a lui Gabriel Garcia Marquez,

pe buna dreptate considerat „Patriarhul‖ literaturii latino-americane, a fost scrisa de catre Gerald Martin, criticul siistoricul literar columbian adunand informatii timp desapte ani. Cartea, publicata in 2008, se numeste „GabrielGarcia Marquez. O viata‖ si a fost tradusa si in limba

romana, in 2009.



The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship is an interesting story written by Gabriel

Garcia Marquez. In the story, the writer describes the growth of an ordinary boy

(the narrator) to an assertive man. The writer here wants to prove that one cannot be great in life without courage and determination.

According to the story, a small boy saw a ghost ship in the sea at night in the

month of March. The ship was quite big and wonderful. It had no sound and

light. It was moving without any control. The surprising thing was that it would

disappear when there was light and would appear when there was no light. The

boy was surprised with the ship but he thought he might have seen it in the

dream.

The boy saw the same ship in the next March and told his mother about it. She

didn‘t believe him. She said that his mind was rotting. However, she had to send

a boatman to confirm whether it was the ship or not. The boatman saw nothing

except some fish playing in the water. She became sad and worried about her

son. One day, she bought a chair and began to see the sea sitting on it. She



remembered her dead husband. She became excited and died. Other four women

also died so it was a accursed chair. Finally, the chair was thrown into the sea.

The boy became orphan and he didn‘t want to live with anyone‘s mercy. As an

orphan he lived on stealing fish. He was all alone. Villagers did not help him.

In the next March again he saw the same ship and talked to the villagers about it.

The villagers also thought him to be mad and he was severely beaten. Then, he

decided not to talk anyone about it but he tried to show who he was. In the next

year, he saw the same ship and followed it rowing a boat. When the light of

lighthouse fell upon it, it disappeared and the boy fell in problem. He lit a

lantern and saw the ship again. He rowed his boat near to the ship and brought it

under control. He found nobody in the ship and brought it at the harbor near his

village. He called the villagers and the villager‘s were surprised at seeing the

ship larger than the village.

Thus, the boy proved himself to be an assertive Youngman. He showed the

villagers who he was. It means that if a person works hard to develop his career

without losing patience, he can certainly get success in his life.The story describes the growth of an ordinary boy to an assertive young man. It

presents the boy‘s inner journey from the innocence to experience and how he

gains manhood. The ships stand for the child‘s imagination and his encounter

with the ship many times indicates his growing vision which finally makes him

a strong man with strong voice and confidence. In fact, this story brings out the

child‘s inner consciousness. The whole story is a psychological study which

describes the boy‘s attainment of maturity. Thus, the story deals with the mental

growth of the child in proportion with his physical growth. Both the growth

combined makes him confident about what he says and does.



The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship Gabriel Garcia Marquez 18-08-2013

arnikoconfession / August 18, 2013

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Line-wise Summary

1-2: These lines are in the present. The boy is saying that now people will

believe him, but in the past they did not

2-94: These lines all describe past events.

2-28: Many years ago the boy saw the ship for the first time. He saw it in March

at night. The ship was very big. It didn‘t have any lights and it didn‘t make any

sound. It was moving towards the village. Something was broken on the ship, so

it couldn‘t find the correct path in the water. It hit rocks in the water, broke and

sank to the bottom of the sea. Nobody heard any noise from the ship hitting the

rocks and breaking.

28-36: The next day the boy didn‘t see anything unusual, so he thought maybe

he had only dreamed about the ship and that it wasn‘t real.

36-40: Exactly one year later during the night, the boy saw the same thing. This

time he was sure that he was not dreaming.

40-44: The boy told his mother about the s hip he had seen. She did not believe

her son. She thought that her son was becoming crazy.

44-54: The boy‘s father had died 11 years ago. Since then the mother spent all of

her time sitting in a chair and thinking about her dead husband. Now the

mother‘s chair has become old. She needs to buy a different chair. She takes a

http://arnikoconfession.wordpress.com/author/arnikoconfession/


http://arnikoconfession.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/the-last-voyage-of-the-ghost-ship-gabriel-garcia-marquez-18-08-2013/

http://arnikoconfession.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/the-last-voyage-of-the-ghost-ship-gabriel-garcia-marquez-18-08-2013/




small boat to go to a place where she can buy a new chair. The boy goes with a

boatman. While they are in the boat the man shows the boy that there is no

broken ship at the bottom of the sea.

55-56: The boy still believes that the ship is real and that it will come next year,

like it has come for the past two years. The mother promises to watch for the

ship with her son next year.

56-72: That night the mother dies sitting in her new chair. After that four other

women die while sitting in the same chair. The people in the village think that

the chair is bad and throw it into the sea.

72-72: Now the boy has no parents. He has to steal fish so that he can have

something to eat.

78-90: On the same night in March a few years later the boy is watching the sea

again. He sees the same ship. He makes a lot of noise to wake up the villagers to

see the ship. But when the people get up the ship has already broken and gone to

the bottom of the sea. The villagers don‘t see anything and do not believe that

there is a ship. They beat the boy for making a disturbance and scaring them.

90-94: The boy is angry at the villagers because they do not believe him. He

made a plan to show them the ship so that they would believe him.

94-193: Now events in the present are described. The boy is no longer

describing the past

94-171: One year later on the same night in March the boy steals a small boat so

that he can get near the big ship. He takes the boat to where he has seen the ship

in the past. When the ship arrives the boy lights a lamp in his boat. The big ship

sees the light on his boat and begins to follow him. The boy leads the shiptowards the village.



171- 180: When the ship gets close to the village it blows its loud whistle. All of

the people in the village wake up because of the loud noise and come out of their

houses.

180-193: The ship comes onto the ground by the village and stops moving in

front of the church. Now all of the people in the village see the ship and believe

the boy. He feels happy.

Stream of Consciousness Definition :

A narrative technique that gives the impression of a mind at work, jumping from

one observation, sensation, or reflection to the next is called stream of

consciousness. These varied elements are usually expressed in a flow of words

without conventional transitions.

Though stream of consciousness is commonly associated with the work of

novelists (including James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and William Faulkner), the

method has also been used effectively by writers of creative nonfiction. This

technique does not divide the story into sentences or paragraphs. There is no full

stop at the end of a sentence and no capital letter at the beginning of a new

sentence. It eschews dialogues as they are used in conventional stories. It also

has little or no plot and the plot flow is not chronological, but rather convoluted.There is shift between the present and the past and between the real and the

imaginary. You can see the overlap between character‘s thoughts and the main

narrative. Another recurring element of the technique is the repetitive nature of

the story. Certain ideas, words or lines have presence throughout the plot with or

without variation. The story is one long continuous sentence.



Because stream of consciousness is used to denote the flow of inner experiences,

it has now become an almost indispensable (absolutely necessary) term in

literary criticism as it refers to that technique which seeks to depict the

multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind. This

technique works best when dealing with abstract phenomena like memory (Look

at a Tea Cup), psychological maturity (Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship),

mysterious past or historical truths (The Royal Massacre of 2058 could be a

fascinating story), and other abstract matters like piety, loss, separation, death,

etc. Another phrase for it is ―interior monologue‖

This note should answer question no 1 of Style and Rhetori cs.

Etymology:

The metaphor of the stream of consciousness was coined by American

philosopher and psychologist William James (The Principles of Psychology,

1890).

Some Comprehension Questions

1. What time of the day does the boy see the ship?

2. In what month does the boy see the ship?

3. Describe the ship?

4. How many times does the boy see the ship?

5.

When the boy tells his mother about the ship does she believe him?6. What happens to the boy‘s mother while she is sitting in the chair?

7. Does the same thing happen to other people who sit in the chair? How

many people?

8. What do the villagers do to the chair? Why?

9. What do the villagers do when the boy wakes them up during the night?

10. Do the villagers in the village believe that there is a ship?

11.

How does the boy get the small boat?





The story is about a boy who finds himself become strong and mature after he

sees a ghost ship many times. The more he sees the ghost ship each March on

four occasions, the stronger, more mature, and more assertive he becomes.

When he first saw the ghost ship he didn‘t have a strong voice. He saw the ship

heading towards the land and sinking. He was not sure of the event; he himself

thought it was a dream. Upon seeing the ship the second time he relates the story

to his mother so much so that she tells him that he is going mad, but he

somehow convinces her to see the ship the following year. But she died before

she could keep the promise. Her death made him orphan but that didn‘t stop him

from being independent and self-assured. He would steal fish rather than depend

on charity. He has started to evolve into an assertive man – ‗ his voice was

becoming a roar‘. The villagers looked down upon him calling him the ‗son of a

widow‘ and that his mother had brought evil in the village. When he raises

people of his village after having seen the ghost for the third time he is soundly

beaten for creating unnecessary nuisance. But this event has put more courage

into him. He again promises to show them what kind of man he is. He is made

so courageous that he steals a boat and waits for the ship in the channel. Out of

sheer anger and bravery, he maneuvers the ship and finally manages to land the

ship in the village so that the unbelieving ‗coward‘ villagers could see the ship.

He has finally proved his manhood.

The ship is the product of the boy‘s imagination, so it is only he who sees the

ship. The imaginary ship is the subjective product of his assertive mind. It

followed the will inside the boy. At the end, the ghost ship could be seen even

when light fell on it. This proves that the boy has total control over his fear,

doubt and weakness.

Why does no else know of the ship‘s existence?



The phantom ship that makes no sound, and that disappears when lights fall on it

is the boy‘s private vision. The boy sees its four times with varied impressions

and sensations from boyhood into adulthood. No one knows of its existence as it

is the boy‘s imagination. It is the creation of the boy‘s mind. When he saw it for

the first time one March night he was not very sure of it, but when he saw it the

second time he was so sure that he went to tell it to his mother. But when the

boatman and he went to the shipwreck site, they saw mantra rays, corvinas, pink

snappers and wandering hairs but not any sign of the ship. The same thing

happened the third time – the people made no effort to see the unlikely

apparition of the ship which disappeared in its annual disaster. They didn‘t see itso they felt he was lying to them. And then, they beat him soundly.

What do you think is the meaning of the boy‘s newly discovered ability near the

end of the story to control the ship‘s movement?

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship provides a very unique depiction of the idea

of growth – mental and physical. It is the story of adolescent growth; a journey

every adolescent has to make through as (s)he leaves or comes out of their

parental shadow to find a passage to the world of experience – the world of the

adults. The vision of the colossal phantom ship is the extension of theconsciousness of the adolescent individual. This vision gradually gives leeway

for the boy to understand the weightage of the world, particularly to triumph

over a skeptical society, and thereby find his own identity and career growth.

Nothing in life is insurmountable, and the boy was relentless in its pursuit

throughout so, towards the end, he proved the impossible to the villagers – the

possibility of meeting one‘s goal or career objective as symbolized by the ship

that he showed to the shocked disbelievers. The boy‘s conscious control of the



ship is the metaphor for every young man‘s triumph over odd should they work

relentlessly, purposefully and with the ego to prove.

What is signified by the story‘s refusal related to the protagonist‘s outer

experience? How is this refusal related to the protagonist‘s journey toward a

grand triumph in which the private ―vision‖ of the ghost ship is forced upon the

attention of the ―disbelievers‖?

The boy‘s outer experience is absent. What we find significant throughout the

story is the mental toughness of a boy who has gone through a lot of hardships.

The story incrementally presents the maturing level of thoughts of the boy as he

encounters one episode after another of the ghost ship, a unique imagination

only he could see. This inner movement of inner consciousness of the boy

finally proves the unbelieving villagers the existence of the ghost ship at the end

when he guides the ghost ship right into the village. He finally triumphs over his

weaknesses and thus becomes a strong new fearless man. The ghost ship is a

private vision because it‘s only he who sees it and it is this ghost ship that he

shows to the incredulous villagers at the end. The ghost ship is metaphorically

the representation of his inner consciousness.

Ans. Question no 2 under Style and Rhetoric: The refrain “Now they are going

to see who I am” hints towards the rising courage and assertiveness that is

evolving in the boy, who in the beginning of his life was weak. The vision of the

ghost ship, on four occasions, somehow helps him to kill his weakness. No one

believed him, not even his mother in the beginning. But after his mother‘s death,

he continued to see the vision of the ghost ship, but the villagers beat him up and

left him twisted for his audacity. Interestingly, this strengthened his mental



resolve further until he shows the ghost ship to them in the end. Thus, the

private vision of the ghost ship has brought maturity in the boy, and this could

lead him to live a fulfilling life. The refrain binds the story together. Each

repetition tells us about the boy‘s mental, spiritual and physical growth. It

organizes the story together.

The tone in the recurring phrase is mostly that of extreme anger. He has a hostile

society that doesn‘t seem to believe the boy. The boy is certain of the vision but

the people of his village have misjudged or misunderstood him. That is why he

was roundly beaten for his extravagant boldness. Other moods this phrase

indicates are those of fortitude (Strength of mind that enables one to endure

adversity with courage), determination, challenge and unrelenting steadfastness

of purpose. This is the boy‘s mantra to steer himself to his goal.

What made the boy stronger and courageous?

When his mother died of heart attack the boy became orphan. He was called

‗son of a widow‘ by the people of his village (disbelievers), and was badly

beaten when he raised false alarm of the sighting of the ghost ship. Though he

was given bad treatment he was not disappointed. On the contrary, he drew

enough inspiration from this bad treatment. He became more determined and

focused in his motive. He sailed a stolen boat and waited for the ship in the

channel. Finally, he saw the ship. Therefore, his isolation, anger, indefatigable

will power and spirit for adventure gave his strength and courage to find a new

voice and position in the very society that looked down upon him.

How does the writer handle concrete, visual details?

The entire story is replete with mention to real historical figures, places and

people. There are mentions of historical personalities like Sir Francis Drake and

William Dampier who were illustrious English sea-faring heroes. The setting of



the story is the Caribbean, which are organized into 30 states. Mentions to the

Hindu gods and shops, Dutch Negroes and the woman-flesh eating Malayans are

other realistic components of the story. One of the best example of concrete,

visual details is the description of the Caribbean day after the boy saw the ghost

ship first time - he saw the radiant fishbowl of the bay, the disorder of colours

of the Negro shacks on the hills above the harbor …..‘ Another interesting

description is that of the things the boatmen saw at the purported wreck site – he

saw in the glass of the sea, the love making of the mantra rays in a springtime of

sponges, pink snappers and blue corvinas diving into the other wells of softer

waters ……..‘ These are realistic visual details that Garcia has employed to givea semblance of reality to the otherwise magical story of a ghost ship.

What is so strange about the ghost ship?

The ghost ship is seen intermittently once a year at the same night in May. It is

sighted four times. It gropes its way towards the channel and suddenly heads

towards the shoals and sinks without any sound. It is strange that the ship‘scompass needle doesn‘t work at the crucial time and hence it goes wayward.

Summary

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship is an interesting story written by GabrielGarcia Marquez. In the story, the writer describes the growth of an ordinary boy

(the narrator) to an assertive man. The writer here wants to prove that one

cannot be great in life without courage and determination.

According to the story, a small boy saw a ghost ship in the sea at night in the

month of March. The ship was quite big and wonderful. It had no sound and

light. It was moving without any control. The surprising thing was that it would



disappear when there was light and would appear when there was no light. The

boy was surprised with the ship but he thought he might have seen it in the

dream.

The boy saw the same ship in the next March and told his mother about it. She

didn‘t believe him. She said that his mind was rotting. However, she had to send

a boatman to confirm whether it was the ship or not. The boatman saw nothing

except some fish playing in the water. She became sad and worried about her

son. One day, she bought a chair and began to see the sea sitting on it. She

remembered her dead husband. She became excited and died. Other four women

also died so it was an accursed chair. Finally, the chair was thrown into the sea.

The boy became orphan and he didn‘t want to live with anyone‘s mercy. As an

orphan he lived by stealing fish. He was all alone. Villagers did not help him.

In the next March again he saw the same ship and talked to the villagers about it.

The villagers also thought him to be mad and he was severely beaten. Then, he

decided not to talk anyone about it but he tried to show who he was. In the next

year, he saw the same ship and followed it rowing a boat. When the light of

lighthouse fell upon it, it disappeared and the boy fell in problem. He lit a

lantern and saw the ship again. He rowed his boat near to the ship and brought it

under control. He found nobody in the ship and brought it at the harbor near his

village. He called the villagers and the villager‘s were surprised at seeing the

ship larger than the village.

Thus, the boy proved himself to be an assertive young man. He showed the

villagers who he was. It means that if a person works hard to develop his career

without losing patience, he can certainly get success in his life.

The story describes the growth of an ordinary boy to an assertive young man. It

presents the boy‘s inner journey from the innocence to experience and how he



gains manhood. The ships stand for the child‘s imagination and his encounter

with the ship many times indicates his growing vision which finally makes him

a strong man with strong voice and confidence. In fact, this story brings out the

child‘s inner consciousness. The whole story is a psychological study which

describes the boy‘s attainment of maturity. Thus, the story deals with the mental

growth of the child in proportion with his physical growth. Both the growth

combined makes him confident about what he says and does.

Further Reading and Understanding

Syntax

Gabriel Garcia Marquez managed to do the unthinkable. Write a six page short

story with only one sentence. At first, I was completely baffled as to why he

would want to write only one sentence for a short story. However, I noticed that

although the sentence is extremely long, the story still makes complete sense. Of

course I decided to read this story out loud, but having the one sentence made

the story flow. The short story is about a ghost ship that only one man can see.

The setting is near the sea, which could relate to the long sentence structure. Just

like the waves, the sentence continually flowed up and down, twisted and

turned, picked up speed and slowed down. The commas were put in place to

create pauses, which created a dramatic effect.

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship – Imagery/Figurative Language:

―lunar encampment of glowing houses and streets of volcanic deserts‖ (123)

―a crash of metal and the explosion of engines that would have frozen with

fright the soundest-sleeping dragons in the prehistoric jungle‖ (124)



―radiant fishbowl of the bay‖ (124)

―illusory liner, gloomy, intermittent‖ (124)

―the glass of the sea, the lovemaking of manta rays in a springtime of sponges,

pink snappers and blue corvinas diving‖ (124)

―until night came over him with all the weight of the stars and the jungle

exhaled sweet fragrance of gardenias and rotten salamanders‖ (126)

―one could hear the neat destruction of ninety thousand five hundred champagneglasses breaking‖ (128)

The imagery and figurative language in this short story help illustrate the action

and scenes. Marquez‘s use of imagery allows his story to come to life and leap

off of the page. The figurative language in the story also creates a sense of

magic and fantasy that does not seem impossible.

This should answer question no 3 under Style and Rhetorics.

Magic Realism

Definition:

It is a narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality.

It is characterized by an equal acceptance of the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Magic realism fuses lyrical and, at times, fantastic writing with an examination

of the character of human existence and an implicit criticism of social norms.

To expand this magical realism definition let‘s look at elements of magical

realism in fiction.

Elements of Magical Realism



Traditional magical realism literature has definable elements of magical realism

that all works in this genre share. Magical realism authors put explicit

techniques to very specialized use in order to explore viewpoint or worldview.

Though any specific examples of magical realism may differ, they will employ a

smattering of the elements listed here.

Fantastical elements – fabulous and fantastical events are included in a narrative

that otherwise maintains the ‗reliable‘ tone of objective realistic report. Fantastic

attributes are given to characters.

Authorial reticence – The narrator does not provide explanations about the

credibility of events described in the text. Further, the narrator is indifferent; the

story proceeds with ―logical precision‖ as if nothing extraordinary took place.

Sense of mystery – Magic realist literature tends to read at a much intensified

level.

Plenitude – an ―extraordinary‖ abundance of disorienting detail.

Hybridity – mixing multiple planes of reality or inharmonious arenas of such

opposites as urban and rural, and Western and indigenous.

Collective consciousness –

Political or social critique – magic realism‘s ‗alternative world‘ works to correct

the reality of established viewpoints.

Some Real Names

1. 1. William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651 – early 1715) was

the first man of English descent to explore sections of New Holland

(Australia) and also the first person to circumnavigate the world three

times. Dampier has been described as the first natural historian of

Australia and the greatest explorer-adventurer between Sir Walter Raleigh

and James Cook.

After impressing the Admiralty with his book A New Voyage Round the World ,

Dampier was given command of a 26-gun ship and made valuable discoveries inWestern New Holland, but was court-martialled for cruelty.



On a later voyage, he was able to rescue Alexander Selkirk, , who may have

inspired Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier

include James Cook, Lord Nelson and Charles Darwin.

1. 2. Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596) was an

English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver and politician of the

Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the

world, from 1577 to 1580. Elizabeth of England awarded Drake a

knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet

against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in January

1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. His exploits

were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the

Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque. King Philip II was said

to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4 million (US$6.5M)

by modern standards, for his life.

2. 3. The Caribbean: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles) is a region

that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the

Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North

Atlantic Ocean), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of

the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central

America, and north of South America. Geopolitically, the Caribbean

islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are

organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas

departments, and dependencies. From January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962,

there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies

composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were

then United Kingdom dependencies. The West Indies cricket team

continues to represent many of those nations.

Documents

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Analiza