He claimed to Macondo that their world was round
Ursala laughed and the whole town was dumbfound. 1
The wondering gypsy proved Jose Arcadio Buendia’s theory as fact
Praising Arcadio Buendia for discovering the theory that had already been intact.
He was by far the most intelligent yet was condemned to be insane
Tied to a tree as he watched the priest play his little game. 2
Similar to the recent troubles of Al Gore
And the environmental problem he tries to implore.
Facts and data support his already strong case
But some refuse to understand and throw it to waste.
Many choose to accept the facts they want to believe
A floating priest, yes! But a round world they are naïve.

The city was made for all the citizens to be as one
Everyone shared the water and received equal sun. 3
The town was hard working and was made up of only young.
Jose Arcadio Buendia was Macondo’s architect
The way the town was aligned you would think he was a Bolshevik.
The thought of a Utopia never can be realistic
Macondo showed that it never really existed. 4

The Town split, turned into civil war
But only no one knew what they were fighting for.
The titles “Liberal” and “Conservative” separate the sides
The only reason they continued to fight was for their prides. 2
Nations and fractions are only bound to fight
But only for a logical cause does it seem right.
History show some wars with no cause
Often you find these without any applause.

An example of magical realism of the idea of knowledge can be found in the “insanity” of Jose Arcadio Buendia but also the recent events of Al Gore. People in recent memory and characters in 100 Years of Solitude show a profound rejection towards new ideas and facts. In this case Jose Arcadio Buendia uses the instruments he purchased off the gypsies to come to the conclusion that the Earth had a round shape. The citizens did not believe the words of the founder of the Macondo until it then was considered fact by the gypsy Melquiades. What makes this a case of magical realism is after Jose Arcadio Buendia is considered insane and tied to a chestnut tree and Father Nicanor Reyna levitated with the consumption of chocolate. All of Macondo believed the act of God that allowed Father Nicanor levitate without question, yet questioned the facts of Jose Arcadio Buendia. This can be related to Al Gore and his theory of Global Warming. Many question the legitimacy of something very factual yet never question the idea of God.

Magic realism show itself in the aspects of early Macondo government but in also communistic governments in the past. The early construction of Macondo gave all citizens of it equal amounts of daylight sun and distance to water, while every person had “the spirit of social initiative.” (10) Early Macondo seemed to aspire to become a Utopia civilization which brings the relation to communism. The comparison of Jose Arcadio Buendia to a Bolshevik points out that these leaders tried to establish a government that made all citizens equal. Which did not work for Macondo and later for the Soviet Union. The idea of a perfect society seems to be magical, yet history has shown that many societies like early 20th century Russia tried to pursue and failed.

The third and final stanza of the poem compares the magical realism aspects of war in both 100 Years of Solitude to actual events in history. After Macondo split into liberals and conservatives and proceeded to fight, Colonel Aureliano Buendía did not know what he had fought for except pride after the fighting was over. Similar to wars like Vietnam where the reasoning for the war did not seem apartment. These instances show aspects of magic realism because the act of killing in war is very real yet the reasoning for it does not seem real once looked further into it.