Colonialism and Collective Trauma: The Development and Deterioration of Macondo

Abstract

Best known for his magical realist literature, Gabriel García Márquez is a masterful storyteller who uses his work to explore the traumatic aftermath of colonialism and the unjust realities of living in a postcolonial world as a Latin American. Márquez's works Leaf Storm and One Hundred Years of Solitude embody Latin American culture as they reshape myths and history into a fantastical story of the rise and fall of the town of Macondo. However, to capture the experiences of his culture authentically, Márquez must deal with the damage inflicted on Latin America by colonialism. He accomplishes this by portraying the deterioration of Macondo as Western influences rapidly advanced the town's industrialisation. The presence of industrialisation in these texts can be understood as a symbol or an embodiment of the effects of colonialism and neo-colonialism, as Macondo's technological advancements wreck the communal identity of the townspeople. This damage to the community of Macondo is seen most evidently in these texts through the characters' rejection of cultural values such as community as they choose instead to live lives of solitude.