Active Reading: Chapter Seventeen

ACTIVE READING: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Quotes
"Lord save us! So much trouble teaching you good manners and you end up living like a pig."
This is Ursula's reaction to finding Jose Arcadio Segundo living in solitary squalor.
"What did you expect? Time passes."
This is Jose Arcadio Segundo's response to his great-grandmother, and she replies, "That's how it goes, but no so much."

Magical Realism
The heat wave and mass death of several hundred birds. Also, the "Wandering Jew" who is discovered in the town. The deaths of Aureliano Segundo and Jose Arcadio Segundo happening at the exact same instant.

Themes
Death, decrepitness. Ursula, Rebeca, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo all die. Also, the town is now run down and without prospering. The former prosperity is now all just a faded memory remembered by very few.

Character Development
Ursula, Rebeca, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo all pass away. Also, Aureliano II is told about Macondo's past and is urged to live on in his family's legacy, not being afraid to evaluate prophecies and mysticism.

Summary
This chapter has much death in it, as the Segundo twins die, as do the 120-year-old matriarch Ursula, and Rebeca. They all strive to make their own personal rebirths, however, before they die, and are pretty sucessful. They are able to re-light old love flames, give their children guidance, and pass on memories and stories for the young ones. In a word, they prepare the younger family members for the road ahead of them. The town goes through a heat wave, and many people and animals die. Because of this, in addition to the crushed economy (compared to what once was), people believe Macondo is cursed.