Chronicle of a Death Foretold

In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez reports the details revolving the murder of Santiago Nasar, an affluent member of the town. Nasar was murdered because he was accused of taking Angela Vicario’s purity, thus degrading the honor of her family. Angela, the bride of Bayardo San Ramon, told her brothers of her perpetrator's alleged affront, effectively creating a blood-debt that only could end in jail for the twins and the imminent death of Santiago. Throughout the novel, Marquez actively foreshadows Santiago’s murder in the non-linear plot by highlighting the recurring imagery of murder and brutality surrounding Nasar.

Marriages are still considered business contracts in the Latin American culture. A contract where both bride and groom’s family either earn profits or gain respect in society. In the eyes of society and family, a woman is valuable as long as she is a virgin. Latin American daughters are raised to good housewives whose main duties include taking care of the family and the children, and women who go against these traditions or rules pay a heavy price. In Gabriel García Márquez’s novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the character development of Angela Vicario demonstrates that she is guilty for Santiago Nasar’s death; however, the different aspects of the hispanic culture also share the

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is set in Columbia, where the extreme theocentricity means every character’s actions are intrinsically affected by religion. Whilst Marquez also explores much deeper religious issues, the action of the novel centres on the God-fearing townspeople allowing the murder of Santiago Nasar, which clearly contradicts the Christian commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’1 Since female virginity is so venerated in the Catholic faith, when Santiago is accused of taking Angela Vicario’s virginity, her life would be worthless without it, and Angela’s brothers are charged with redeeming her honour. The novel can boil down to the assertion that a

Angela takes “only the time necessary to say the name” (47) and arguably Santiago has been chosen simply by random fate; any male’s name would suffice, suggesting in a patriarchal society valuing a women strictly for virginity, all males share the blame. Angela’s appearance versus her reality is complex because while she has undeniably corrupt qualities, an admirable goodness shines through; the narrator acknowledges

Subsequently, the reader becomes aware of Santiago’s innocence and naivety. Nahir Miguel reveals to the narrator that Santiago “looked like a little wet bird,” (114). Because Marquez specifically chose a bird as the animal for this image, the birds must hold a certain importance to the

“Angela” means angel who are the messengers of god. Her last name Vicario means Vicar. A Vicar is person who exercises pastoral responsibilities and is a representative of the bishop. From the holiness of her name we can interpret what kind of person she is to be. The truth is quite ironical first of all she is not a virgin and she further violates the symbols of purity when she wears the orange bossoms that are worn by female virgins at their wedding. She is a messenger not of the gods but of death. She confesses that it was Nasar who took her virginity which turns out to be a catastrophe as Nasar is brutally murdered by her twin brothers.According to the article five of the fifth commandment intentional murder is a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. However Angela to a certain extent is pure and righteous as her name symbolises. Angela is virtuous that she did not fake her virginity but instead allowed her to be found guilty. On the night of her wedding she wholeheartedly accepted her husband’s decision of returning her back to her family, she never protested or tried to make any apologies. Also she didn’t demure her mother for beating

Bayardo uses his machismo in order to marry Angela, barely consulting her. Bayardo does not officially “court” Angela, but instead “bewitched the family with his charm,” (34). Bayardo’s manliness appealed to the family, so they forced Angela into the marriage despite her opposition. Bayardo uses his machismo to convince the family in order for Angela’s choice to be overlooked. Their engagement was shortened because Bayardo wanted to get married immediately, displaying his dominance to both Angela and the community. During the process of courting Angela, Bayardo completely neglects her opinion on the marriage. Bayardo and the town believe that because he is a man and Angela is a woman, Bayardo makes the decision of marriage. He is oppressing Angela because she is a woman and is seen as unfit to make the

The belief of one being fated to die traces back to biblical times with the fate of Jesus to die for the sins of the people. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the narrator interviews multiple people from a small town in Colombia to draw information about the death of Santiago Nasar. Throughout the novella, Márquez explains the death of Santiago Nasar by utilizing biblical parallels to comment on the irony of the town’s religious groundings, thus, condemning individuals who claim to be religious despite their hypocritical actions.

Márquez uses the character of Angela Vicario to show the power women can possess over the men in their lives. Angela Vicario is arguably the most powerful character in the novel, as she is the one who tells her brothers that it was Santiago who took her virginity, which consequently sets the entire plot of the story in motion. After Angela is returned by Bayardo San Román to her family due to the fact that she is not a virgin, when her brothers ask who it was who took her virginity, Angela “nailed [Santiago’s name] to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written” (Márquez 47). The way in which Angela searches for Santiago’s name shows that it may not have been Santiago who had taken

Chronicle of a Death Foretold revolves around the reporting of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the author; Gabriel García Márquez, who operates under the pretense of impartiality and journalistic integrity to create a subdued commentary through his minor characters. Márquez provides commentary on sociopolitical controversies frequent in his portrayed Columbian culture by juxtaposition and periphrasis using minor characters such as Victoria Guzmán, Father Amador, and Colonel Lazaro Aponte. In this effect, Márquez preserves his façade of journalistic style and narrative of a chronicle while making a

We learned that she does not love him nor did she wanted to marry him and the only way that would have happen is if she was not a virgin. She fake, she lost her virginity in society where virginity was highly valued. She was never alone. She go everywhere with her sisters or mother, work from home and she only talk to other women and had distrust of men and their intentions “No one would have thought, or did anyone say, Angela Vicario wasn't a virgin”. (37). Angale was destine to not have Bayardo as her husband until Santiago Nasar died because he was fated to be killed by the Victoire twins and the only that could have happened if something important was at stake and at this time virginty was very important to abtain honor in the society. The fact of the matter is she did not chose to be not a virgine but fate was planned which is beyond her control. In addition, when the twins demand the name of her lover or the man who took her virginity “She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many…” (47). This quote illustrate that she did not gave much thought to who took her virginty but said what came to her mind which fate is responsible. Basically Marquez wants the reader to make the connection that fate uses people or absurdity to achieve it’s purpose. Likewise, Angela had the option to fake her virginity but refuses to do it “They taught her old wives tricks to feign her

"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 the chronicle of a Death Foretold, Garcia uses point of view to navigate through the suspenseful terrors of the investigation of Santiago’s death. This certain type of point of view made the plot curve and not be in chronological order. The reader is confused throughout the story and is nothing is given away even though the ending is given away at the beginning. The point of view

Pedro and Pablo Vicario killed Santiago Nasar for one reason- it was up to them to restore their sister’s honor by killing the man who took it away. The night of Angela’s wedding, her new husband, Bayardo San Roman, finds out that she is not a virgin. Soon after he returns her to her home, and her mother beats her and makes her answer the question of who was the one who took her innocence. Angela, in a daze, says the name ‘Santiago Nasar’. Her brothers then set out to kill him, to, at least, restore some of their family’s now marred reputation. The whole town seems to automatically understand the reasoning behind their plans. Clotilde Armenta, a shopkeeper, even says, “the horrible duty that’s fallen on them” (Marquez 57). By describing the act as a duty, the author implies the murder of Santiago is necessary. The fact that

Since “the brothers were brought up to be men,” they needed to take action in order to regain their sister and family’s honor (30). Honor was idolized in the town to the point that the act of killing Santiago can be forgiven, or even rewarded. The town’s ideal of honor closely relates to heroic, masculine theme like going on an epic quest. For instance, Pablo Vicario’s wife Prudencia Cotes “’never would have married [Pablo] if he hadn’t done what a man should do’” (63). In other words, Pablo is the hero who goes on a grand journey to slay the monster Santiago. After slaying Santiago, he proves himself as a man, gains his honor, and is rewarded with a bride, who would not have married him otherwise. Prudencia’s decision to marry Pablo amplify the hidden cultural expectation for a man to uphold the honor of the family, even if upholding the honor means sacrificing someone else’s life.