Paradox of Character in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The fact that she gave a death sentence to an innocent man proves just how selfish people are in the world. People do anything to get by in the world without ever causing shame to them. Though in Angela’s case, the shame was already brought when she let the man who truly took her virginity sway her into bed. The readers can safely assume that she was not raped or pressured into having sex, because she would not have any reason in trying to protect the man who ruined her innocence’s image. Angela herself decided that in saying the name of a random man would result better for her than in telling the truth. Even after 23 years, Angela Vicario “was protecting someone who really loved her and she had chosen Santiago Nasar’s name because she thought her brothers would never dare go up against him” (90). Though she thought her brothers would not do anything drastic for their family name, like killing Nasar, she easily saw where it was all leading to, yet she claimed unawareness to the future fate of an innocent man.

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.

The women reassuringly reply to her saying, “‘The only thing they believe is what they see on the sheet’” (Marquez 42). Here the author develops Angela’s character as a very persuable young girl who believes that she can easily fool her future husband on her wedding night. Angela Vicario is gullible and naive. Not being a virgin before wedding is very shameful in the hispanic society, yet she tells the two women about not being a virgin a few days before her wedding. The women are older, have a lot of experience, and they have been married for a long time as well. Angela, In contrast, is very new to these tricks and so, can not make herself trick her husband into believing that she is a virgin. Angela tells her brothers that Santiago is her lover when they ask her for answers; Angela lies, as later on in the novella, the author states that Santiago is, in fact, innocent. Angela can also be considered a selfish person, because to save her lover, she blames everything on Santiago. Angela saves her true lover by saying Santiago Nasar’s name, but she does not confront to her true lover and ask him for help. It is safe to say that Angela loses her virginity to someone who does not love her, due to the fact that, her true lover does not make himself known to her family or the town. Seeing that Angela’s true lover does not come to rescue Angela when she is being beaten by her

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

“The black signifies ‘yes’ and the white ‘no’… always ask objective questions.” (Coelho 31) The King offers an extremely important, yet small aid to Santiago. After he influences Santiago into going after his personal legend not much of him is seen. He lets the natural process of social Darwinism take its tide. “social Darwinists argue that governments should not interfere with human competition..” (Social Darwinism 1) When he steps in, the King is essentially informing Santiago that if he (unknowingly) follows what he says (the principles of social Darwinism), then he will achieve greatness. The king sets Santiago on his way, and then quickly removes himself from the situation, emphasizing how it is all up to Santiago and that he has done his job. This is a prime example of the literary theory having an impact on Santiago and the

Angela is described as the prettiest of her four sisters and was considered well-named by Bayardo San Roman, who had admitted that it was the first impression of her name that had really caught his attention and was one of the main reasons he chose to marry her after taking just one look at her from afar. Her first name, Angela means “angel” (messenger of God) and her last name, Vicario is an actual last name in Spanish which means “a vicar” (a member of the church who exercises a range of pastoral responsibilities and is usually a representative of the Bishop). This is all quite ironic because Angela is not a virgin and thus, not pure. Her confession caused her brothers, Pedro and Pablo to seek revenge by terminating the man that had taken her virginity, which results in a violent tragedy which is not holy or righteous in any way. The death of Santiago Nasar had caused the brothers to face a lot of misery, only due to the order of their sister, Angela Vicario. By exhibiting this, Gabriel Garcia Marquez shows the hidden power of women that only Angela had in the Columbian society at that time.

Religion is a dominant force in culture, social standings, and human interaction. Though narrated in a religious society that is centered around Catholicism, the Chronicle of a Death Foretold is about an affluent young man named Santiago Nasar, who is murdered by twin brothers, Pablo and Pedro Vicario. As evident as the community prepares for the bishop’s arrival, religion is intertwined in their culture. So, with the potency of a religious head figure, civilians alter their daily lives to follow a religious protocol in the beginning of the book. Because religion is foundational in the book’s societal structure, it shapes aspects of gender, sexual engagements, and character interaction, it provides assistance to understanding the complexity of a character’s development and actions.

The novella, “chronicle of a Death Foretold”,raises the question of (whether fate controls our lives more than we think). Fate is an important theme in this novel because it can not be changed. Marquez believes that even if you know your fate, you can not change the outcome. Marquez shows that people cannot alter their fate through the plight of the characters Santiago Nasar, Angela Vicario and the twin brothers.

Indeed, a woman should soften but not weaken a man. This supposition exemplifies the character Casilda from “The Judge’s Wife” short story by Isabel Allende. Although not seen by all as the main character, Casilda is the strongest and most evolutionary personality of the short story. “The Judge’s Wife” is an exceptional tale that follows the progression of characters as they fight against their predetermined destinies and how they are viewed in others’ eyes. Casilda is a catalyst for the evolution of almost every character in the story. Not only does her character grow in “The Judge’s Wife,” but she is also a medium for the growth of the two other main characters in the story. Casilda molds the personality of a majority of the characters in the story, distinctly Judge Hidalgo and Nicolas Vida.

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.

Values are a vital part of any community. They shape the identity of a culture and help to form the identity of each individual in that society. Sometimes these embedded values have more power over a person than anyone would like to admit. Gabriel García Márquez shows the power of the value of honor in his book, Chronicle of a Death Foretold. In García Márquez’s writing, the theme of honor shows to have control over most of the characters. Through the many characters in García Márquez’s book, we can see that the heavy burden of one’s honor is portrayed as the reason for Santiago Nasar’s unfortunate homicide.

The novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Garcia Marquez recounts the story where Santiago Nasar was accused of taking the virginity of Angela Vicario and therefore killed. The society depicted in the novel is one where appearances are important to the townsmen regardless of the cost of it. Using symbolism, Garcia Marquez exposes the superficial nature of the town and their flaws.

Of the many literary devices used by writers to make their work more powerful and layered, symbolism is one of the most effective, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a text that relies heavily on its use to develop its narrative. The novella recounts, in the form of a pseudo-journalistic reconstruction, the murder of Santiago Nasar in a small Colombian town in the mid 1900’s. Through the course of the novel, Marquez employs various symbols to reinforce key ideas, themes and techniques. This helps the novella break the monotony of a linear storyline and unfolds the plot in a unique way that compounds both effect and meaning.

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.

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