Both novels share major overarching themes of social disintegration and change, but differ in how the two societies described deal with that change. Other points of contrast between the novels are how they deal with 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 Shouldn't 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 early learns the status of the Igbo people of Umuofia, Africa. "Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. It was powerful in warfare and magic, and its priests and sorcerers were feared throughout the surrounding country." The novel presents the idea of ​​a thriving people who have relied on customs and traditions forever. 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 supporter of "the way things are." A successful wrestler and husband of three wives, he always has an aura about him that suggests he is born a rank above the rest of society. However, as the title suggests, things go south. With the advent of the white man, Okonkwo's world slowly begins to collapse around him. For some people in his tribe, this may seem like an exceptional event. Some may think that this is the natural progression of civilization, and depending on different points of view, it may be. In Things Fall Apart, however, the gradual advent of the white man marks the end of a time. It refers to a changing world and the end of a way of life for the Igbo people, especially Okonkwo, the upholder of their customs. The reader of One Hundred Years of Solitude experiences similar ups and downs of civilization. In this novel, however, the path towards 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 numerous times. This suggests that civilization is a continuous story, but that it simply circulates again and 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 names reiterates the recycling of time. For example, Macondo's founding father, Jose Arcadio Buendia, has two sons: Aureliano Buendia and Jose Arcadio. In subsequent generations, another 21 Aurelianos and five more Jose Arcadios appear. Those who share a name also inherit similar personalities and physical traits, underscoring the sense that everything has happened before. As one very important female character states, “It's like time goes around in circles and we go back to the beginning.” The way the novel proceeds in this way, however, is ironic. Of course you would think that the Buendias should be making progress, but instead they keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Their civilization stagnates, unable to follow the normal path of a society. It is a contrasting method of decline to that of the Igbo in Things Fall Apart. The disintegration occurs gradually due to a definite stimulus, the advent 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 destined to die because they do not have what is needed to continue. Their loneliness, their commitment to retreat, fantasy and subjective desires has doomed them" (Johnston). The declineof both the Igbo people and the Buendia family is ultimately inevitable. Another important theme addressed in both Things Fall Apart and One Hundred Years of Solitude is that of the duel between the ideas of an introverted society and an extroverted society. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, the founding father, Jose Arcadio Buendia, and subsequent generations of Buendias, constantly and fervently seek to connect with the outside world. They connect to sources of knowledge and progress, but usually fail in their fanatical aspirations. The first line of the book summarizes the family's passion: "Many years later, facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia will remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover the ice." (Garcia Márquez 1). Discovering the ice: this is a metaphor for everything the Buendia represent. They want to progress, connect with the world, and gain knowledge through their extroverted explorations. Okonkwo and many others in the Igbo community are basically the opposite of the Buendia and Macondo people. They are very introverted and don't want to have anything to do with the outside world. All Okonkwo wanted was to return to the old ways, to return to being the leader of Umuofia. The reason for the difference is understandable. The only link the Igbo people had with the outside world was the white man, who brought no inventions or knowledge but only uncertainty, fear and, ultimately, the destruction of a reliable way of life, especially for Okonkwo. Another issue that the two novels address in different ways is how society treats men and women differently. In Things Fall Apart, women are in absolute subservience to men. Okonkwo, the great warrior, has three wives and all of them, in one way or another, fear him. This is typical of Igbo society. Men were considered superior and were responsible for hunting and acquiring food. Women took care of the children and took care of the "less important" things. An aura surrounds Igbo women that suggests they are more than their society labels them, but they fail to overcome that 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 quite 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 of modern democratic societies. Macondo's slight tendency towards patriarchy is almost canceled out by the important role played by women. The men of the Buendia family are, as mentioned before, very passionate in their thirst for knowledge and progress, and often end up withdrawing into themselves for long periods of time. When this happens, the women of the house, especially the maternal Ursula, have to fix it, and they always do. They also deal with extraordinary and supernatural events in a casual, almost boring way, in contrast to the extreme reactions of men. They put men in their place, bringing their fantastic ideas down to earth and controlling their megalomaniacal aspirations. The way Ursula and many other women in One Hundred Years of Solitude dampen the emergence of the fantastic in the story is different from how the Igbo treat the supernatural in Things Fall Apart. In this latest novel there is none of the "magical realism" that characterizes Garcia Márquez's tendency to mix fantasy and reality. Instead, the Igbo people have incorporated the seemingly supernatural into everyday life (Epstein). The egwugwu, a group of village masquerades, dressed in decorated robes, impersonate the ancestral spirits of Umuofia. The Igbo people fear the unknown and the egwugwu are their method of dampening that unknown, just as Ursula does. Likewise, the people., 1991. 144.