At first José Arcadio Buendía had been a kind of youthful patriarch who would give instructions for planting and advice for the raising of children and animals, and who collaborated with everyone, even in the physical work, for the welfare of the community. Since his house from the very first had been the best in the village, the others had been built in its image and likeness. It had a small, well-lighted living roost, a dining room in the shape of a terrace with gaily colored flowers, two bedrooms, a courtyard with a gigantic chestnut tree, a well kept garden, and a corral where goats, pigs, and hens lived in peaceful communion. The only animals that were prohibited, not just in his house but in the entire settlement, were fighting cocks.

起初José Arcadio Buendía就像一個年輕的大家長，會在種植植物、撫養(yǎng)孩子或者飼養(yǎng)動物方面給出指導或者建議，也會為了整個社區(qū)的福祉而和所有人合作，甚至是在體力勞動方面。因為他的房子從最開始就是村子里最好的，其他人就按照它的模子和外觀來修建。它有一個狹小的采光好的起居室，有著臺階形狀的裝飾著五彩繽紛的鮮花的餐廳，兩個臥室，一個擁有巨大栗子樹的庭院，一個修葺完好的花園，一個畜欄——里面和諧生活著山羊，豬和母雞。好斗的公雞是唯一被禁止的動物，不僅僅在他的房子，更是在整個居民點。