Irony, Symbolism, and Imagery Reveal the Emptiness of War in One Hundred Years of SolitudeWhile most scholars agree that war is a real and important part of human history, these same scholars have not yet reached a consensus on the characteristics of war. History books often tend to glorify war with stories of soldiers dying for their honor and their country; novels, on the other hand, tend to emphasize the emptiness of war with stories of soldiers losing their youth and their contact with the world. The chosen passage from the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez adds to the debate on the characteristics of war. Through the literary techniques of irony, symbolism, and imagery, this text reveals the major theme that, in reality, war is not glorious but empty. By asking Colonel Gerineldo Marquez to conclude his telegraph with the slogan "Long live the liberal party", the author succeeds in creating a feeling of irony in the reader at the end of the second paragraph. While the first two sentences of the passage present Colonel Marquez as Macondo's civil and military leader who realized the emptiness of war, this party slogan presents words that carry no weight when written by a man who believes his commander is a total stranger. Positioned high in the military chain of command, Colonel Marquez had the opportunity to witness the progression of the war from an isolated conflict of clear definition and predictable evolution to a widespread conflict of intensity and growing uncertainty. Therefore, his words "I understand, Aureliano,... Long live the liberal party" become ironic. Colonel Aureliano Buendia will consider these words a patriotic affirmation of the orders, when middle of paper ......magic and irony combine to create a successful introduction to one of the major themes of the novel. - the emptiness of war. By making Colonel Gerineldo Marquez aware of the true nature of the war, then by designating him as the first to become aware of this nature, the author puts the reader in the presence of a series of other witnesses whose testimonies should further reinforce the statement regarding the characteristic emptiness of war. valid. Later in the novel, Colonel Aureliano Buendia discovers the true nature of the war only after twenty years of fighting and sadly realizes that the conservative regime he has been trying to overthrow all this time is good and consistent with the wishes of the people. Colonel Buendia then acknowledges that the war is not a conflict of ideologies, but an ugly and empty struggle for power, concluding a thematic thread started by Colonel Gerineldo Marquez..