Maria Alejandrina Cervantes in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

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 foreshadowing in this novel prepares readers for decisions Santiago will make later on. This idea is evident when Santiago is explaining to the king why he is shepherd. "They wanted me to be a priest, but I decided to become a shepherd." "Because you really like to travel."" (Coelho 18). When the King completes Santiago's claim by saying that he loves to travel, an inference can be that he will make decisions that will keep him traveling. For example, he decides to keep going on his personal legend instead of staying with Fatima. Nonconformity is seen when Santiago tells the King that even though his parents want him to be a priest, he decides to become a shepherd. In using foreshadowing, Coelho also manages to implant symbolism in the same idea.

In Latin America, where this novel is based, the flowers represent the purity of women; therefore, Marquez utilizes the symbol of flowers or flower buds to represent virginity. The female figures are mainly associated with this notion of purity; however, it is paralleled by the machismo concept of honor. In Colombian culture, honor is perceived as the fundamental moral trait that plays an essential role in keeping society bound to a strict moral pathway. This is paralleled by women’s social constraint of preserving their virginity; being ‘pure’ plays a crucial role in protecting a woman’s sense of virtue and dignity before she is married.

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

Characters are made to present certain ideas that the author believes in. In Gabriel García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold there are many characters included that range from bold, boisterous characters to minuscule, quiet characters but one thing they all have in common is that they all represent ideas. Characters in the novel convey aspects of Marquez’s Colombian culture.

characters of Santiago Nasar and his death. Dreams are used to foreshadow Santiago’s death and add to the irony that everybody knew he was going to die but, no one told him. Together the two symbols work to create a theme that the decisions you make are important and have an effect on your life moving forward.

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.

Although prostitution may be one of the world’s oldest professions to this day it is seen as a degrading and disrespectful career especially when regarding female prostitutes. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the town is very critical and strict about chastity and premarital sex. Maria Alejandrina Cervantes is the town madam which by society’s standards makes her to most marginalized, but ironically she is not brought down by her society’s rules. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses characterization and irony to demonstrate Maria Alejandrina Cervantes’s contradictory role and to develop the theme of going against society in Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote is a masterpiece in many senses of the word: at the time of its conception, it was hailed as a revolutionary work of literature that defined a genre, in later centuries regarded as an acerbic social commentary, a slightly misshapen romantic tragedy, and even as a synthesis of existentialist and post-modernist features. At the centre of this Spanish satirical chronicle is the perplexing character Don Quixote. Don Quixote’s personality and perspective is rapidly established fromsince the beginning of the novel, revealing unabashedly to readers that he is mad. The source of his madness lies in the extent to which Don Quixote acts on his delusions and projections unto reality as he saunters through Cervantes’ Andalusia. Don Quixote’s delusions have two primary functions in the novel: demonstrating the reality and tragedy of Cervantes’ manifestation of idyllic themes of love and chivalry, and revealing certain characteristics about narration.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez Works Cited Not Included Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, is a story that brings one to question the code of honor that exists in the Columbian town. Marquez' paints a picture that shows how societal values, such as honor, have become more important than the inherent good of human life. The Vicario brothers' belief that their sister was done wrong was brought upon by this honor, along with racial and social tension. The dangerous path of both honor and religious faith caused Santiago's untimely death.

Maria is a translation of Mary, or Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is a prostitute who becomes the follower of Jesus. Legends also portray her as the secret lover of Jesus Christ. In the novella Santiago Nasar’s sexual relationship with Maria Alejandria Cervantes is well known. She had a higher affection and respect for him. The affair between Nasar and Maria Cervantes symbolise the bond between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.Her second name Alejandria is the feminine form of Alexander which symbolises strength. She is depicted as woman of great strength in the novella. This can be supported with the fact that even though she is the town whore she garners a high mutual respect in the community especially by men. This is a complete contradiction to the modern day society where prostitutes are not highly respected. This occurs due to the fact that the community respects her profession and values her role in the societal framework. Cervantes means servant which serves as the evidence for her assigned gender role in the society where she is considered as woman for masculine pleasure. She serves the men by fulfilling their sexual expectations. This is made clear when the narrator states “It was she who did away with my generation’s virginity”(Marquez 64). This provides a concrete example of her role in the community. Her name is quite justifiable to her fate since her name actually symbolises

The traditions in Chronicle of a Death Foretold are revealed to be very important in this Latin American society. From arranged marriages, to greeting the bishop, we see tradition affecting the lives of many of the people in the river village. However we can also see this through the roles of women in this society. Purisima del Carmen, Angela Vicario’s mother, has raised her four fine daughters to be good wives. The girls do not marry until later in their lives, and only seldom socialize beyond the confinements of their home. The women spend their

Throughout the novel Angela Vicario proves the unfair nature of women's roles through the loss of her virginity. It is shown when Angela Vicario is being criticized harshly for losing her virginity to Santiago Nassar when it's not even looked upon whether or not you are a virgin if you are a man. When Angela Vicario says, '" The only thing I prayed to god for was to give the courage to kill myself," Angela Vicario told me. "But he didn't give it to me."' (22) Marquez gives us insight on how the Latin American Society values a woman. In this case it is valued more than the woman's life. Which is why Angela Vicario was thinking about taking her own life instead of dealing with the criticism. Because she feels as if her life isn't worth living because of what others think of