Community In 'One Of Them Days': A Review

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Post on Jan 20, 2025

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Community in 'One of These Days': A Review

Gabriel García Márquez's "One of These Days" is a deceptively short story, packing a powerful punch within its concise narrative. While seemingly a simple tale of a dentist's encounter with a tyrannical colonel, the story's exploration of community, or rather the lack thereof, in a small, unnamed town forms its chilling core. This essay will delve into the chilling portrayal of community dynamics, highlighting the pervasive fear, complicity, and ultimately, the breakdown of social bonds under the weight of authoritarianism.

The Crushing Weight of Fear: A Community Silenced

The story's setting, an unnamed town, is itself a character, contributing significantly to the overall atmosphere of dread. This anonymity underscores the universality of the oppressive system at play; it could be any town, anywhere, where power trumps justice and fear silences dissent. The community members aren't individuals with distinct personalities; they're faceless, defined primarily by their relationship to the colonel. Their lives are dictated by his whims, their actions guided by a chilling self-preservation instinct. Fear, therefore, becomes the invisible glue holding this "community" together—a perverse social bond forged in terror.

This pervasive fear manifests in several ways. The dentist's hesitant actions, his initial attempts at reasoning with the colonel and subsequent submissive compliance, highlight the suffocating nature of the regime. He doesn't openly defy the colonel, not out of loyalty, but out of a profound and deeply ingrained understanding of the potential consequences. This fear is not just personal; it permeates the entire town. The narrator subtly reveals this through the absence of any overt resistance or even whispered dissent. The townspeople are complicit through their silence, their inaction a powerful testament to the colonel's absolute power. They are spectators to the dentist's suffering, silently witnessing an act of blatant injustice without intervention. This silence, this collective acceptance of tyranny, is perhaps the most damning indictment of this "community."

The Absence of Solidarity: Individualism Triumphs Over Collective Action

The community in "One of These Days" demonstrates a profound lack of solidarity. Instead of uniting against the oppressive forces, individuals prioritize their own survival, leading to a fragmented and dysfunctional social structure. The dentist's plight remains isolated; there is no collective outcry, no organized resistance. Even his wife, whose presence is largely implied, offers no overt support or defiance.

This absence of collective action underscores the chilling effectiveness of the colonel's authoritarian rule. The town's inhabitants are not bound by any shared sense of justice or compassion; their individual fears outweigh any potential collective benefits of resistance. This lack of solidarity contributes directly to the overall atmosphere of suspense and the inevitability of the dentist's fate. The narrative masterfully underscores the dangers of unchecked power, showing how even seemingly ordinary individuals can become passive participants in oppressive systems when self-preservation is prioritized over shared values.

Complicity and Silence: The Erosion of Moral Responsibility

The story doesn't explicitly portray active collaboration with the colonel, but the pervasive silence and inaction constitute a form of complicity. The townspeople are passive observers, allowing the colonel's reign of terror to continue unchecked. Their silence, their unwillingness to challenge the status quo, becomes an active participant in the maintenance of the oppressive system. They are not just bystanders; their inaction fuels the colonel's power.

This complicity stems not necessarily from outright agreement with the colonel's actions, but from a deep-seated fear of retaliation. The potential consequences of dissent are too great to risk. This fear, however, erodes the moral responsibility of the community members. Their silence becomes a betrayal of their own sense of justice, a resignation to the power of fear over moral principles.

The chilling effectiveness of this complicity lies in its subtlety. It's not an overt act of collaboration, but a tacit acceptance of injustice, a collective shrug in the face of oppression. This tacit agreement underscores the insidious nature of authoritarian rule, highlighting how fear can corrode the very foundations of a just and equitable society. This underscores the importance of active participation and the dangers of apathy in the face of oppression.

The Colonel: A Symbol of Unchecked Power and the Erosion of Community

The colonel himself is a powerful symbol of unchecked power and the devastating impact it can have on a community. His actions, while brutal and seemingly arbitrary, reveal a systematic undermining of social structures and the erosion of trust. He represents the complete antithesis of community spirit, replacing it with fear and intimidation. He doesn't require overt acts of violence; the mere threat of his power is sufficient to maintain control.

The colonel's behavior is carefully depicted, showing a man acutely aware of the power he wields and the terror it inspires. His casual cruelty, his deliberate infliction of pain, is not merely sadistic; it is a calculated assertion of dominance, a demonstration to the community that he is above the law, above accountability.

The contrast between the colonel's cold, calculated demeanor and the dentist's quiet desperation further highlights the power imbalance and the breakdown of any semblance of community. The dentist, representing the common citizen, is powerless against the might of the colonel, highlighting the vulnerability of individuals within a system devoid of justice and fairness.

The Breakdown of Social Bonds: A Community Fractured

Ultimately, "One of These Days" depicts a community not united by shared values or mutual support, but fractured by fear and silenced by oppression. The lack of solidarity, the pervasive complicity, and the absolute power of the colonel combine to create a chilling portrait of a society devoid of genuine community spirit. The story isn't just about a dentist and a colonel; it's about the dangers of unchecked power, the erosion of moral responsibility, and the devastating consequences of a community silenced by fear.

The story's power lies in its ambiguity. We never learn the names of the characters, nor the precise location of the town. This anonymity allows the reader to confront the universality of the themes explored—the susceptibility of communities to authoritarian rule, the seductive nature of complicity, and the importance of active resistance in the face of oppression. The absence of a resolution, the chilling finality of the dentist's fate, underlines the enduring impact of fear and the slow, insidious destruction of community bonds under tyrannical rule.

The short story serves as a potent reminder of the fragility of social structures and the vital role that individual courage and collective action play in maintaining a just and equitable society. "One of These Days" is not simply a narrative; it is a stark warning about the pervasive dangers of unchecked power and the silent complicity that allows it to flourish. It's a potent study of the subtle yet devastating ways in which fear can fracture a community and erode the very foundations of human connection.