Jose Arcadio Buendia, the protagonist mentioned in the previous post, is driven mad by his fascination with alchemy. He is encouraged by Melquiades, the gypsy that gave him the alchemy set. Eventually his fascination with technology drives him to seek a route through the jungle to connect Macondo, the town that he founded and now currently resides in, to the civilized world. Until the arrival of the gypsies Macondo has existed in isolation, in solitude. He travels north, determining this direction as the only route that would lead anywhere. To the east lay an impenetrable mountain chain, to the south and west were vast swamplands. He set off with a team of men to find 'civilization.' their efforts were futile and Buendia returns convinced that Macondo was surrounded by water on all sides. He decides to move the town. His wife didn't go for it and made him stay.
What I like about this part of the book is the free-spirited, enterprising characteristic of Jose Arcadio Buendia. It reinforces the Magical Realism of the novel and provides for an entertaining plot.
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