Chronicle of a Death Foretold Chapter 1 Analysis

During the discussion, several new pieces of information were presented. In this presentation we learned much about Colombian culture in the 1950s. Looking at Latin America at the time we see that violence was at a high with the fact that organized gangs were being established. Because of this we can see how the society in the book so easily accepted the slaughter of Santiago. Also in Colombia we see that they have a strong religions background in the Catholic church. In all religions we see routines, which is why it is also easy for the people of the novel to follow the routines and orders brought on from higher officials.

The reader will also discern the scores of parallels able to be drawn between Santiago and Jesus Christ, making Santiago a literary ‘Christ-figure’. Both were somewhat outcast, in Santiago’s case because he was not a native Columbian. This makes it easier for the town to allow Santiago’s death, and make him the scapegoat. The town’s unwillingness to save Santiago is similar to the Jews choosing to have Jesus killed rather than a murderer. In both cases, those who had the chance to save the innocent man felt terrible afterwards. Jesus had foretold his own death, and although Santiago was blissfully unaware of his demise until it befell him, the narrator states ‘never was there a death more foretold.’ In dying for the sake of Angela Vicario’s honour, Santiago is sacrificed for the sins of others, which was also Jesus’ purpose in dying. In addition, the seven fatal wounds Santiago suffers probably represent the Seven Deadly sins.

In Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the concept of appearance versus reality is manifested in three of the major characters around whom the novel revolves. The surface impressions of Santiago Nasar, Angela Vicario, and Bayardo San Roman are deeply rooted in Latin culture; underneath the layer of tradition, however, lies a host of paradoxical traits which indicate the true complexity of human nature.

Santiago’s dream sequence mentioned at the beginning of the novella is one of the most significant symbols in the novella. He dreams that “he was going

Second, Foreshadowing is used in the passage to show that everyone knew Santiago was going to die, and none of the characters prevented it. Divina remembers Santiago’s hand as being “frozen and stony” and uses the metaphor “like a

The concept and belief of honor in the Columbian culture in Chronicle of a Death Foretold is one of the deciding aspects of the character's actions, motives, and beliefs. Nobody questions the actions taken to preserve ones honor because it is such an important moral trait that one must cherish. In this society a man or woman without honor is an outcast to the community and to the culture. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold two twin brothers are burdened with defending this tradition of honor. The brothers find out that their sister has lost her virginity before marriage and she claims that Santiago Nasar is to blame. To regain the honor of their sister, and their family the brothers believe it is their duty to kill Santiago Nasar. Could such

From the outset, García Márquez already establishes the themes of religion and violence with mentions of the bishop’s arrival and images of rifles chaotically bouncing against the walls, suggesting that these themes will play a key role in the novella’s development. The opening line is intentionally vague and non-descriptive, building suspense and encouraging the reader to take part in the speculation, wondering who will kill Santiago. This immediately makes the reader play an active role in the investigation and unwittingly participate in the murder about to unfold as they gain increasing knowledge of future events, just like the rest of the community. For this reason, the true nature of a community is already being explored as we see how easy it is to become implicit in the crimes of others without being truly conscious of what you are

The first significant person to direct Santiago to his personal legend was the King of Salem. The King of Salem is the character that introduces Santiago to his personal legend and what a personal legend is. Through this it adjusts Santiago’s path and desires to find out what the Old King was talking about. “None of what the old man was saying made much sense to the boy. But he wanted to know what the “mysterious force was;” (22). By this little spiel from the Old King Santiago takes a turn in his life. He suddenly is curious about this “hidden treasure” and is determined to find out more. If Santiago never met the King of Salem then he never would've known about his personal legend and continued to meet other important characters in his life. The Old King also encouraged the belief of omen to the boy through the use of white and

Omens were a guide for Santiago in his journey. The king assist Santiago in recognizing omens by giving his two stones for making decision. “They are called Urim and Thummim. The black signifies ‘yes’, and the white ‘no’. When you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so. Always ask an objective question” (Coelho 32). Afterwards, Santiago used two stones after he was robbed by the boy. “Am I going to find my treasure?” he asked (Coelho 44). “He had learned that there were certain things one shouldn’t ask about, so as not to flee from one’s personal legend. “I promised that I would make my own decisions,” he said no to himself (Coelho 44). Santiago is trying to ask the stones for an answer of his question. Santiago’s personal legend is to find treasures. But then the question he had asked is not objective and it’s not a yes or no question. If the stones have given the answer, then it’s end of the journey and it would give it away the ending.

Knowledge is the information in which we perceive to be the truth of the world around us. However, all knowledge is susceptible to change depending of the bias of the character. Gabriel García Márquez demonstrates this issue in the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by exploiting the understanding of knowledge through fabula and syuzhet.

Following the concept of magic realism, is the strong sense of honor in the novel. First and foremost, the Vicario brothers killed Santiago to the restore their sister’s honor. The brothers were then found innocent for the crime of murder because the two killed Santiago to restore their sister’s honor. Honor is incorporated throughout the entire novel in every character. “I knew what they were up to, and I didn’t only agree, I never would have married him if he hadn’t done what a man should do” (62). This was said by Prudencia Cotes, at this time she was the fiancé of Pablo. Although this woman is his fiancé, and clearly loves him she couldn’t marry a man who didn’t reclaim the honor of a relative. In the culture of the Vicario brother’s defending their family honor is not an option but a necessity of a man. This concept of necessity will be explored later on. Also the town accepted this murder of Santiago Nasar. When the peoples of the town learned of the situation that was happening. They avoided Santiago

Santiago plays a huge role in the theme is developed throughout the story. This is mostly due to how much the reader sees how Santiago changes as the novel progresses and as he gets closer to completing his Personal Legend. In the beginning of the story it is revealed that Santiago decided to abandon becoming a priest in favor of traveling, which can be interpreted as the earliest sign of change and transformation from the main character before his real journey begins. "I found these one day in the fields. I wanted them to be a part of your inheritance. But use them to buy your flock. Take to the fields, and someday you'll learn that our countryside is the best, and our women the most beautiful" (Coelho 18). Digging into the story more only leads to more examples of how Santiago changes. One major example that

Foremost, Marquez starts the first line of the book “on the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on”(Marquez 3) to illustrate our fate is decided before we are born. Marquez lets the reader know that Santiago Nasar was going to die but the

"My personal impression is that he died without understanding his death" (Marquez 101). The above statement is stated by the narrator in Marquez's text. The novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold tells the story of the narrator's return in a small Colombian town in the 1950's to resolve the details of the murder of his close friend, Santiago Nasar, who is a handsome and wealthy man, who is dead due to Anglea’s lies. Angela Viscario is a beautiful girl, who is not a virgin. She lies about Santiago taking her virginity, due to this false statement, her twin brothers Pedro and Pablo Viscario decide to kill him to restore the family's honor. In the book Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Santiago Nasar is a victim of murder

In Gabriel García Márquez’s novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Santiago Nasar is ruthlessly murdered by the Vicario brothers-Pedro and Pablo Vicario-in a remote Colombian town. Although the Vicario brothers are responsible for the murder, i.e. the actual killing of Santiago, the behind-the-scene culture, in particular the town’s beliefs, ideals and expectations, should be blamed for Santiago’s death. Aspects of the town’s culture, including the sanctity of pre-marital virginity and honor, drive the characters to perform the murder of Santiago.