The two novels share the main overarching themes of social disintegration and change, but differ in how the two societies described deal with this change. Other commonalities between the novels are how they treat the roles of men and women in society, isolationism versus internationalism, fate versus free will, and supernatural events. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In both novels, the reader experiences the progress and decline of a civilization. In Things Fall Apart, the reader learns early on the status of the Igbo people of Umuofia, Africa. "Umuofia was feared by all her neighbors. She was powerful in war and magic, and her priests and healers were feared throughout the surrounding country." The novel puts forward the idea of ​​a prosperous people who have relied on their customs and traditions for as long as anyone can remember. This time it is the highest point of civilization. Okonkwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart, is a proud and prominent member of the Igbo community, a defender of "the way things are." A successful wrestler and husband of three wives, he still has an aura about him that suggests he was born of a higher rank than the rest of society. However, as the title suggests, things fall apart. With the arrival of the white man, Okonkwo's world slowly begins to collapse around him. For some members of his tribe, this may seem like a great event. Some might think that this is the natural progress of civilization, and depending on differing views, this might be the case. In Things Fall Apart, however, the gradual arrival of the white man marks the end of an era. It heralds a changing world and the end of a way of life for the Igbo people, particularly for Okonkwo, the defender of their customs. The reader of One Hundred Years of Solitude experiences similar ups and downs of civilization. But in this novel, the path to social disintegration is different. One Hundred Years of Solitude spans several generations of the Buendia family in Macondo, and as the novel progresses, one can notice that time seems to flow in a circular fashion, repeating itself many times. This suggests that civilization is a continuous story, but that it simply circulates, over and over again. Each new member of the Buendia family born over the course of more than a century is given a name that belonged to the family in the past. The recycling of nouns reiterates the recycling of time. For example, the founding father of Macondo, José Arcadio Buendia, has two sons: Aureliano Buendia and José Arcadio. In subsequent generations, 21 additional Aurelianos and five additional José Arcadios appear. Those who share a name also inherit similar personalities and physical traits, emphasizing the feeling that everything has happened before. As a very important female character says, “It’s like time is going in circles and we’re going back to the beginning.” The way the novel progresses in this way is ironic. Naturally, you would think that the Buendias should improve, but they are simply making the same mistakes, over and over again. Their civilization stagnates, unable to follow the normal path of a society. This is a contrasting mode of decline to that of the Igbo people in Things Fall Apart. Disintegration occurs gradually due to a definite stimulus, the arrival of the white man, in Things Fall Apart. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, the reason for the decline is more abstract. Ultimately, “the city and the family are doomedto die because they don't have what it takes to continue. Their solitude, their commitment to withdrawal, their fantasies and their subjective desires condemned them” (Johnston). The decline of the Igbo people and the Buendia family is ultimately inevitable. Another major theme addressed in both Things Fall Apart and One Hundred.Years of Solitude is that of the dueling ideas of an introverted society and an extroverted society. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, the founding father, José Arcadio Buendia, and the generations of Buendias who followed constantly and fervently seek to connect with the outside world. They associate themselves with sources of knowledge and progress, but generally fail in their fanatical aspirations. The very first line of the book sums up the family's passion: "Many years later, while facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia will remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover the ice cream. (Garcia Marquez 1). Discovering ice cream – it’s a metaphor for everything the Buendias stand for. They want to progress, connect with the world, and gain knowledge through their extroverted explorations. Okonkwo and many other members of the Igbo community are fundamentally the opposite of the Buendias and the people of Macondo. They are very introverted and want nothing to do with the outside world. All Okonkwo wanted was to return to the old ways, to become the leader of Umuofia again. The reason for the difference is understandable. The only connection the Igbo had with the outside world was the white man, who brought neither inventions nor knowledge, but only uncertainty, fear and ultimately the destruction of a reliable way of life, especially for Okonkwo. The way society treats men and women differently is addressed in different ways. In Things Fall Apart, women are in absolute subordination to men. Okonkwo, the great warrior, has three wives, and they all fear him in one way or another. This is typical of Igbo society. Men were considered superior and were responsible for hunting and acquiring food. Women looked after the children and took care of the “less important” things. An aura surrounds Igbo women that suggests that they are more than what their society labels them to be, but they cannot overcome this barrier and ultimately play insignificant roles in society. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, on the other hand, the roles of men and women are very different. Macondo is a much more egalitarian society than that of the Igbo people. Men and women are treated in a manner quite similar to that in modern democratic societies. Macondo's slight tendency toward patriarchy is almost negated by the important role women play. The men of the Buendia family are, as previously stated, very passionate about their thirst for knowledge and progress and often end up locking themselves away for long periods of time. When this happens, the women of the house, especially the motherly Ursula, must take over, and they always do. They also treat extraordinary and supernatural events in a casual, almost boring way, contrasting with the extreme reactions of men. They put men in their place, bringing their fantastic ideas back to earth and repressing their megalomaniacal aspirations. The way in which Ursula and many other women in One Hundred Years of Solitude inhibit the emergence of the fantastic in the story is different from how the Igbo deal with the supernatural in Things Fall Apart. In this latest novel, there is none of the "magical realism" that characterizes Garcia Marquez's tendency to mix fantasy and reality. Instead of., 1991. 144.