There is much more behind a name than just the name itself, or so Gabriel Garcia Marquez has portrayed in "One Hundred Years of Solitude." The characters' first names identify both their physical characteristics as well as their personalities. This sets a tone for the repetition of time; mistakes and all. Marquez also displays a lot of confusion with the misidentification of a set of twins but the reader can easily distinguish who is their name-right predecessor. Each character mentioned, has a fate not chosen by their actions, but by their family names.

Once a person has been named then the major characteristics of his or her life have been determined, and the person is doomed to repeat the events of the lives of their ancestors. "While the Aurelianos were withdrawn but with lucid minds, the Jose Arcadios were impulsive and enterprising, but marked with a tragic sign...