1. Explain possible answers for the Buendias’ limited capacity for love.

2. Contrast the concepts of solitude and solidarity through one generation of the Buendia family.

3. Comment on the stability of the Buendia women, when compared with the Buendia males.

4. What part does fantasy play within the novel?

5. Explain the Buendias’ inordinate fear of punishment because of incest.

6. Discuss the role of illegitimacy within the Buendia family and Garcia Marquez’ attitude towards South America.

7. How successfully is solitude used as a metaphor for the Buendias’ “curse,” and how successfully can it be applied to South America’s historically lesser role in the politics of the Western world?

8. Why is this novel more successful as a “myth” than it would have been if it had been told in chronological order with actual dates and names and places?