Outside Reading - Week 1, Post B

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

So far, the protagonist in this novel is Jose Arcadio Buendia, and he has a mind of his own. His stubbornness is shown many times, and it is always swayed by the gypsies. In one instance, Jose is convinced that he can multiply gold, and without considering the circumstances he takes his wife's gold and ruins it. He is also stubbornly unreasonable when he tries to make a potion to get the gold back contrary to every one's diminishing faith in him. His mind of his own is also apparent when he finds a new invention. He will always do whatever it takes to try an experiment, sacrificing his family's fortune and home. Jose does not realize that his trial might not work out, so he does whatever it takes to accomplish what he thinks is right. He is also stubborn when it comes to his children, he doesn't understand that they might not want to do what he does, and Jose has trouble accepting that. The final instance of his un-open-mindedness is shown early on with the ice. Jose paid a lot of money to just touch the ice, the greatest invention of mankind says he, and will fight for everything that he believes in no matter how unconventional it is. I suppose you could say he is a risk taker, but I see it more as not seeing clearly.