The impact of Gabriel Garcia Marquez′s background and influences

The impact of Gabriel Garcia Marquez′s background and influences

Authors of various pieces of literature influence the way society thinks because their works pioneer the magic realism of the literary genre. Whenever an author decides to do a piece of literature, various thoughts, which invoke the more in-depth insightful view of the context are developed at a viewpoint that reflects the ideas of the author. In the field of literature, there exist legendary authors from across the globe who have inspired great works of the art, and influenced societies in the way they think. Most readers comprehend the works of the authors, and the intended message by considering the background to attest to the previously held assertions. Gabriel Garcia is a Colombian writer mostly remembered for his good literary works, which made him a Nobel laureate. He did most of his literary works at the time Colombia was undergoing political turmoil. From the banana massacre to La Violencia. Garcia lived through the La Violencia and was not new to some of the political occurrences in Colombia. He was also a realist and journalists. Nevertheless, every writer is unique in his or her ways. What constitutes the true definition of a good writer is the in-depth understanding of his childhood past through a lifetime of experiences, and strong ideologies which stand for the good of the society which he represents.

The Impacts of Marquez’s Background and Influences

Marquez’s indulgence in the extraordinary Colombian misfortunes at the time of the civil war resulted in his poor childhood life. Marquez was a credible young man with a bright future but grew up in an environment with intense hostility. During this time, the civil wars in Colombia were intense and the reports from the New York Times documented that close to 300,000 deaths were recorded by the late ’50s (Ortega, 54). The calamities, which manifested themselves in Colombia up to the late ’50s informed some of the literary works of Marquez. Some of the works after the skirmishes such as the “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” speak volumes of what Marquez witnessed during his childhood. Marquez was intimately familiar with Colombia’s history because of his maternal grandfather Colonel Ricardo Marquez. Ricardo was a veteran in the Colombian army and participated in the war of a Thousand Days (Simons, 21). Colonel taught Marquez from his old dictionary of the historical injustices which had occurred in Colombia. Marquez was thus informed, and later did his work on the “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” The wife of the colonel filled the grandson with ghost stories and superstitions (Ortega, 65). The storytelling styles of the grandmother later influenced Marquez’s narrative styles, which he employed in his literary works in old age.

Marquez is a writer who held onto his beliefs and defended them at all cost in the radical and a democratically perforated Colombian society. Marquez had a strong proliferating stance on the topics of political importance to society (Martin, 35). Due to his stand, the writing styles he used reflected the beliefs, which existed in some parts of the radicalized Colombian society. His uniqueness in holding onto beliefs made Marquez a unique writer. He wanted to articulate the real political issues as they appeared in the early Colombian society. His bravery ensured the issues were well brought out in the manner that the readers could easily develop comprehensive prowess and analytical abilities. The political history of Marquez is so detailed. He supported some of the world’s best-known leaders such as Fidel Castro of Cuba. During the time of “The Violence,” Marquez was present. He witnessed powerful liberal orator Gaitan rose to power and was later elected before his untimely assassination in 1948. As the events unfolded before the eyes of Marquez, he decided to compose “The Evil Hour,” which captured the events of the assassination aftermath characterized by frequent strikes, and massive riots. Villages were tortured by the rival factions, which resulted in 150,000 deaths. So at the time, Marquez was doing some of his pieces such as “The Evil Hours,” he was well-grounded in the sociopolitical history of Colombia.

Marquez was known as the father of Magical Realism because his novels achieved high levels of coherency by blending various literary styles, and ideas (Kandell, 17). His works also brought unmatched stories of love, death, and loss in his native land of South America. Most of the earliest influences of Marquez were familial but not literary. The stories of his grandfather led him into writing stories, which he would later dismiss as too intellectual (Ortega, 39). In the later times of his familial work, Marquez was able to combine the intellectualism of James and Kafka, with the added spices of the American lost Generation to give an example of the real-life experience of short stories. However, Kafka inspired him to write even he hinted to him that the social turbulence and realities in Colombia would not adequately inform his literary efforts (Simons, 21). The authoring of the “One Hundred Years of Solitude” borrowed ideas from William Faulkner, who ensured marquee makes use of the high and modern stylistic elements in writing.

The courtship of parents and the overall family history has influenced the works of various authors. Marquez’s work on the “Love in the Time of Cholera” drew influence primarily from the other pieces, which later turned towards his own family. This is one of the works of Marquez, which truly defined him as one of the best literary orators in South America. He constructed the plot of the “Love in the Time of Cholera” loosely around the star courtship of his family backyard. As we read various pieces of literature from various authors, we note with great concern, the concepts of history and time. Those who have interacted with his work on the “One Hundred Years of Solitude” can attest to the mutability of time (Ortega, 52). The epic history of a family is narrated from both the present and past. The other works consisted of a fictionalized past but based on the true stories of historical and social events.

Good authors will always gather ideas from other affiliate authors on similar disciplines to build on the overall literature works based on the experiences. Marquez gained wisdom from multiple experiences, which later impacted on this work (Kandell, 17). The integration of his childhood experiences, political records and the troubled years in Colombia enabled him to create coherent ideas, which enables the readers to pull the various meanings of his cryptic works. The integrative approach chosen by Marquez was not only educative but also informative. Different pieces of styles employed by Marquez ensured there was an overarching meaning laying beyond the face value recognition of the readers (Ortega, 54). His affinity for combing different styles and fictions asserted on his overall usefulness and importance as a writer. He ensured he delivered pieces of literature of the ordinary in the extraordinary times in the society of Colombia.

To conclude, various authors use different stylistic approaches to adding spices to their pieces of literature. However, what stands is that a good author must be well-informed of both the past and the present circumstances. Marquez was present during some of the most turbulent times in the history of Colombia. The wars from the banana massacre to the La Violencia. He thus had actual contents of what he wanted to put down on paper, and he did so in a coherent manner. Such authors always have accurate information regarding the areas or ideas, which are to be communicated in a piece of literature. Therefore, a true definition of a good writer is who understands the in-depth of his childhood, and experiences. Such a writer must have strong ideologies which communicate the intended message in the piece of literature. Considering the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he was one author who was well grounded on the issues of both ancient, and modern Colombia. Reading this aspect, he was able to deliver some of the best quality articles, which later earned a noble peace prize. He was directly involved in some of the most violent times in the history of Colombia. Authors understand that their various pieces of literature are for consumption by millions of readers. This calls for a well-informed approach to integrating various literary styles during writing.