He Stopped Sleeping Quotes

In this passage, the narrator describes José Arcadio Buendía as a curious man who desires to gain more knowledge. In the beginning of Márquez’s novel, José Arcadio Buendía runs away from his hometown to create a new, utopic town called Macondo. His curiosity and obsession with technology only grow as he becomes more isolated from the outside world in his small town. After José Arcadio Buendía discovers how a music box works, “he stop[s] eating. He stop[s] sleeping. Only the vigilance and care of Rebeca [keeps] him from being dragged off by his imagination” (76). In comparison to the other characters in Márquez’s novel, José Arcadio Buendía is the only one who becomes completely enthralled with technology and desires to learn how inventions work. …show more content…
He stopped sleeping,” to emphasize José Arcadio Buendía’s complete obsession with technology. Márquez also personifies José Arcadio Buendía’s imagination, claiming that it could drag him away, to reinforce his immense and uncontrollable desire for information. The narrator also depicts José Arcadio Buendía as an isolated character, “He would spend the nights walking around the room thinking aloud” (76). As José Arcadio Buendía wanders around his home, he spends less and less time with his family. José Arcadio Buendía’s isolation from his family is another recurrence of Márquez’s theme of solitude, and José Arcadio Buendía’s solitude eventually leads to his mental deterioration as he becomes completely obsessed with his search for knowledge. Márquez states that José Arcadio Buendía would “[think] aloud,” which foreshadows his eventual mental breakdown. Through short declarative sentences, personification, and foreshadowing, Márquez creates José Arcadio Buendía’s curious, obsessive, and isolated