Use irony and magical realism in One Hundred Years of SolitudeIn Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, the realistic depiction of impossible events is a example of irony and magic. realism. Irony is the use of words, images, etc., to convey the opposite of their intended meaning. Garcia Marquez uses irony on several levels. Sometimes a single word, like a character's name, suggests something contrary to the character's personality: for example, Prudencio Aguilar, who is not at all "cautious." Sometimes a character's speech style is ironic. For example, in the chapter on the banana workers' strike, the court uses very rigid and pompous language to assert something ridiculous: that banana workers do not exist, because they are technically not of the company's "employees" - an evasion of government accountability that has tragic consequences. Another example is Fernanda's long proclamations about her religious devotion. These are obviously expressions, not of Christian love, but of extreme self-centeredness and rigidity. The seemingly patriotic statements of both liberals and conservatives also have nothing to do with loyalty to the country, but are actually about the narrow ambitions of politicians. More subtly, what the narrator or the characters say can sometimes contradict what the reader knows them to be. TRUE. There are many examples in José Arcadio Buendia's solemn declarations, including his conclusion that ice "is the great invention of our time." Much later, the apparent progress brought by the banana company to Macondo turns out to be not progress at all, but a prelude to devastation. Even more subtly, Garcia Marquez reserved a...... middle of paper.... ..specific numbers for things. Thus, the heavy rains that fall in Macondo - a completely normal but impressive event in northeastern Colombia - would last precisely four years, eleven months and two days. To a child watching the rain, it may seem like it lasts that long. Three thousand workers are massacred by troops during the banana strike. Colonel Aureliano Buendia fought and lost precisely thirty-two wars, and so on. When we read such astonishing events told in such an objective and naive voice, we realize that it is up to us, the readers, to interpret their meaning. The teller is just too literal and simple to have trustworthy opinions. Works Cited Drabble, Margaret The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press 1995 Marquez, Gabriel Garcia One Hundred Years of Solitude, HarperCollins