The book “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” was written by 1982 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Gabriel Garca Mrquez, and was translated from Spanish by Gregory Rabassa. Editorial La Oveja Negra Ltda, Bogot, originally published Chronicle of a Death Foretold in Columbia as Crnica de una muerte anunciada in December 1981. Jonathan Cape Ltd. , London, also originally published the book in English in Great Britain in 1982. Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc. , published the book in the United States of America, New York, and simultaneously in Canada by
Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. The book was released on February 12, 1984. The style on how the author did the work gives the readers different views from different people what happened before the Vicario brothers killed Santiago Nasar. The accounts that the narrator gathered from the people involved in the drama have their different views. The people of the town that the narrator talked to gave their own experiences with the killers and with the victim. The historical details that are relevant to understanding the text is the history of Columbia, the country where the author came from.
There are two parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, form the political framework for much of Gabriel Garca Mrquez’s works. The violence that happened in the history of Columbia became the backdrop to several of Garca Mrquez’s novellas and stories. Integrating the historical materials helps us readers to understand the story better before making a critique. Through having an insight on the history of the book and the history itself, we are able to relate what happened during the past to what happened in the story.
After which, one can already give their comments and reactions to the story. B. Biographical Context Gabriel Garca Mrquez’s great love of literature and his cartoons and stories helped him acquire his reputation of a writer. Later, he entered a law school to grant the wish of his parents. Time came when he loses his interest in studying law and instead, he reads poetry. Gabriel Garca Mrquez read a book by Kafka’s entitled “The Metamorphosis. ” The book had a profound affect on Garca Mrquez; making him aware that literature did not have to follow a straight narrative and unfold along a traditional plot.
With Mrquez’s knowledge on journalism and literature, his style of writing f Chronicle of a Death Foretold became a combination of journalism and literature. In the Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Mrquez puts himself into a reporter and writes every little piece of information to solve the case of Nasar’s murder. The work of Garca Mrquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” is a short story that describes the magical realism of an angel falling in someones back yard. The story then becomes about what the family does with the angel as their back yard gets flooded with visitor.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is similar in the way that it captures the magical realism urrounding the murder. “Did they actually kill him after telling so many people? ” Chronicles of a Death Foretold is a short novel that will keep you guessing. As you noticed, the ending part of the book still keeps you hanging. Also, as in other Garcia Marquez works, there is also an element of the supernatural: dreams and other mystical signs ominously portend the murder. The elements of ethnicity, class, and gender are important to consider in relation to Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
In this way, through people from a different ethnicity, class, or gender has different views from nother ethnicity, class, or gender. Columbia, where the author grew up, was settled mostly by Spanish and Portuguese immigrants, Latin American culture is derived from both its European newcomers and its native inhabitants’ traditions. Marquez blends elements from both cultures in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. C. Form and Structure The chronological order is the way on how the work was organized.
The events were arranged according to the people whom the killers and the victim met before the incident. In using this way, this gives the story a flow and organization. The tension was built when the readers do not know yet if they will really kill Santiago Nasar and if it is really Santiago Nasar the one who devirginized Angela Vicario. The readers will be reading for a long time before they will be able to know that Pablo and Pedro Vicario will really kill Nasar. This is because, they already told everyone in the town that they will be killing Nasar.
Some of the villagers also thought that Nasar might escape it, or some thought that it is ridiculous. However, because of many quirks of fate, it did happen. Also, the readers will become curious f Angela Vicario is saying the truth that Santiago Nasar is her perpetrator. But there was this part on the latter part of the book that says that Angela Vicario only invented the matter so that Bayardo San Romn will leave her. The styles of writing that are distinctly the author’s are irony, satire, and suspense. Using irony, satire, and suspense makes the story more interesting.
Also, he wants to keep the readers think of what will happen next. One irony in the story is that everybody in the town knows that Pablo and Pedro Vicario will kill Santiago Nasar but Santiago Nasar imself do not know it. Why did the people who know the plan did not do something in order to prevent it? Another, the bishop should be well mannered to the people but when he visited the town, he does not even step his foot on the land. The towns people even prepared themselves and their houses for the coming of the bishop.
Another irony, the sister of the narrator, Margot, who is a nun, should give her respect to the bishop but she was the one who does not want to meet with the bishop. The elements of literary form this work illustrate in particular are etting, character, theme, plot, conflict, point of view, irony, tone, atmosphere, and style. The setting of the story is in a town near a river in Columbia. The main characters of the story are Santiago Nasar, Pablo and Pedro Vicario, Angela Vicario, Clotilde Armenda, Bayardo San Romn, and Colonel Armenta.
The analysis of the characters will be discussed on the character analysis. The theme of the story is honor, respect, and pride. Honor because the brothers of Angela Vicario want to defend their sister’s honor. The plot is simple: two brothers have a responsibility, by radition, to kill a man accused by their sister as her perpetrator. The conflict in the story is what Santiago Nasar “did” to Angela Vicario. The point of view is an objective narrator. The tone of the story is suspense.
The atmosphere is noisy because everybody is talking about the plan of the Vicario brothers. D. Themes and Ideas The main ideas of the Chronicle of a Death Foretold are honor, respect, and pride. As to what I’ve said, honor is one of the themes because Pablo and Pedro Vicario want to defend their sister’s honor. They want to take revenge on what Santiago Nasar did to her. Respect because it shows the respect of the people to the bishop even though the bishop did not went down the boat to meet with the people.
Many people, as in the book, are killed over pride. Maybe because of the fact that you did something to one of their family members or maybe even the smallest of situations f. e. stepping on someone’s shoe. The belief of some people is even though it may have been an accident you invaded their space and you should be punished for it. Of course you should have pride and honor, but once you get to big headedness- you run into problems and that is one of he big problems our society runs into now. Is it really that important.
Do you have to show how big and bad you are because of the fact that you got disrespected. Religion is also the main idea of the novel. Everyone in the town are Catholic, and the Bishop will pass by their town, also everyone wanting to try to give the Bishop a kiss on the hand bringing gifts and food for him, “he does not set foot on land” Santiago felt cheated because he felt like he was used since he really brought allot. E. Critical History Many people who wrote their reviews of the book praised the author.
The book is a ‘perfect’ situation develops because of many ironies. The story puts the reader in a perspective where the cause and effect of each irony can be observed, and the intricacy of life can be examined. Most of the reviews stated that they like the book because it has a simple plot. The book is well written, and it flows nicely from beginning to end. The main issues that the critics have discussed about the work are the simple plot of the book. Also, the critics gained their interest on the book because of the way the book was written.
The book also shows the society as a whole. No, the work did not have a negative review. CHARACTER ANALYSIS Santiago Nasar Santiago Nasar is a person who has a high social class in their town. The part of the story that makes me feel this way about him is when Angela Vicario told the narrator that she told her brothers that Santiago Nasar is her perpetrator because she thought that his brothers would never dare go up against him. If a person is included in a social class just like where Nasar is, they have the power to punish whoever goes against them.
The society or the environment create the character by giving him a respect that is not the same as ne give to a normal villager. The society looks high on Santiago Nasar. The society in which Nasar lived is different from the one in which I am living now is by being conscious of his safety when he go out of the house. He usually brings a gun that is loaded whenever he go out. According to Plcida Linero, Nasar’s mother, Santiago Nasar was always dreaming about trees. He always slept the way his father had slept, with the weapon hidden in the pillowcase.
She also said that he seemed happy with his father. Santiago learned from his father at a very early age the manipulatin of firearms, his love for horses, nd the mastery of high-flying birds of prey, and he learned the good arts of valor and prudence. As a mother, she said that Santiago Nasar is the man in her life. According to Victoria Guzmn, said that Santiago Nasar always got up with the face of a bad night. Victoria Guzmn also said that Santiago Nasar is like his father, a shit. According to Margot, Santiago Nasar is a man of his word, handsome, and with a fortune of his own at the age of twenty-one.
According to Clotilde Armenta, Santiago Nasar already looked like a ghost when he went to the establishment of her. I think Santiago Nasar is not that aware of how he appears to others. If so, he should change his image to the one that others will accept. The character knows himself in the level that his knows himself from his childhood days. The traits of him that his mother and father tell him. The character views his own world in the way that a typical high class people sees themselves. Yes, this view is realistic. No, a real person would not behave in real life as the character does in the story.
In the story, Santiago Nasar did not pay attention to what others are telling him that there re people who want to kill him. In the real life, a person should hide himself from his killers and not wait for the time when these people will already kill you. I think giving this kind of description to Santiago Nasar stands him out of the others characters. The character of Santiago Nasar if a flat one because it does not change throughout the story even though others are already warning him that he will be killed.
Pablo and Pedro Vicario Pablo and Pedro Vicario are the brothers of Angela Vicario who wants to defend their sister’s honor when she lost her virginity to Nasar. They are the who are planning to kill Santiago Nasar after Bayardo San Romn returned Angela Vicario back to their mother’s house. The parts of the story that make me feel this way about Pablo and Pedro Vicario when they planned to kill Santiago Nasar for what he did to their sister. They really waited Nasar to come home to kill him.
They even spoke out to everybody that they are planning to kill Santiago Nasar on that day. The environment created the character by what Nasar did to Angela. The society in which both Pablo and Pedro lived different from the one in which I am living now is by they are roclaiming to the public of their mischievous plan unlike here, one will keep to himself about his plan like this. According to a character in the story, the brothers are hard-looking but of a good sort. According to the priest, the surrender of the twins is “an act of great dignity. According to Clotilde Armenta, the Vicario brothers were stunned and they couldn’t have got their blood pressure up even with lamp oil. She also said that Pedro Vicario looked like a killer in the movies when he already shaved. Don Rogelio de la Flor said that the twins aren’t abut to kill anybody, much less someone rich. Yes, the characters are aware of how they appear to others. With their news of killing Nasar, they already knew the impression of others to them. The self-awareness of the characters is in the point that they cannot do something to their character for the sake of their sister.
The characters view their own world by thinking that nobody will prevent them from doing their plan. No, this view is not realistic. A real person will not behave in real life as the character does in the story. If I am planning to kill someone, I will not announce to the world even to my family that I have such plan. In a way, a real person can also behave like the Vicario twins when this kind of incident happened. A person wants to preserve the honor and dignity of their loved ones through making revenge to the rival.
I think the author write this about Pablo and Pedro Vicario to make the story exciting and interesting. The character of Pablo and Pedro Vicario is a round one even though it is not written on the book what their character before they know what Santiago Nasar did to Angela Vicario. Their character changed when they learned that Santiago Nasar is the erpetrator of their sister. Bayardo San Romn Bayardo San Romn is the man who had given back his wife after learning that his wife is not a virgin anymore. He is a person that gets what he wants easily.
The part of the story that makes me feel this way about him is when he told the landlady to remind him that he will be marrying Angela Vicario when he wakes up. Without any engagement ceremony and wedding preparations, he will marry her. Another personality of Bayardo San Romn is to do anything to impress a girl that he wants. This is evident on the situation when he nsisted to buy a music box inlaid with mother-of-pearl even if it is not for sale. The society created Bayardo San Romn through telling that he is an enchanting man and so on.
According to Magdalena Oliver, Bayardo San Romn looked like a fairy and shed could have buttered him and eaten him alive. According to the letters that Luisa Santiaga wrote to the narrator, Bayardo San Romn is a very strange man and everybody says he is enchanting, but she have not seen him. She also said that it seems that he is swimming in gold. The narrator’s mother also told him that people like him a lot because he’s honest and has a ood heart. According to Angela Vicario, Bayardo San Romn reminds her of the devil.
Angela Vicario didn’t want to marry him because he seemed too much of a man for her. Yes, the character is aware of how he appears to others. Bayardo San Romn views his own world by getting what he wants through money. This view of him is not realistic. No, a real person would not behave in real life as the character does in the story. A typical person would do anything for him to get what he wants not by money. He will not use his wealth, riches, and power to acquire his needs. The character of Bayardo San Romn is flat. His mission of going from town to town is to look for someone for him to marry.
When he found Angela Vicario, he already set in his mind that that girl is the girl he will be marrying. Angela Vicario Angela Vicario is the woman who grew up to suffer that Bayardo San Romn brought back to her mother after he learned that she is not a virgin anymore. She is a person that does not look after the wealth and riches of someone that she wants to be married. The part of the story that makes me feel this way about Angela Vicario was when she made a story that Santiago Nasar is her perpetrator. She faked verything so that it will look like that her virginity is lost.
The society in which Angela Vicario lived is different from the one in which I am living now is that there are some who ran after the wealth and riches of a person that’s why she/he marries him/her. According to Bayardo San Romn, Angela Vicario is a well-named girl. According to the mother of Angela Vicario, Pursima del Carmen, any man will be happy with anyone of them because they’ve been raised to suffer. According to Lucia Santiaga, Angela Vicario had been born like the great queens of history. She also said that she had a helpless air and poverty of spirit that augured an uncertain future for her.
The character is aware of how she appears to others. The character of Angela Vicario is round because at start she does not want Bayardo San Romn but when they were separated, she realized that she loves him. DIALOGUE ANALYSIS Placida Linero The dialogue that gives clue to Placida Linero’s occupation is “Any dream about birds means good health. ” Placida Linero had a well- earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people’s dreams. The dialogue that gives clue that she is a mother is “He was the man in my life.
Since her husband is already dead, Santiago Nasar is the only man that she cherish before Santiago Nasar was killed. The dialogue that gives clues to the social position of Placida Linero is “He was dressed in white linen that had been washed in plain water because his skin was so delicate that it couldn’t stand the noise of starch. ” A person that belongs to a low position in the society will be used to the feeling of the starch and the noise of it. The dialogue that advances the action by relating to the main conflict is “He never went out at the back door when he was dressed up. ” Victoria Guzmn
The dialogue that gives clues to the character’s occupation is “.. coffee will be ready soon. ” It shows that she is a cook in the house of Santiago Nasar who prepares the food and that her master will eat and drink. The dialogue that advances the action by relating to the main conflict is “I didn’t warn him because I thought it was drunkards’ talk. ” If Victoria Guzmn believed the woman, the killing of Santiago Nasar would have been prevented. The dialogue that reveals something about the character and personality of the speaker is “Let go of her, white man. You won’t have a drink of that water as long as
I’m alive. ” Bayardo San Romn The dialogue that gives clues to the character’s occupation is “I’ve been going from town to town looking for someone to marry. ” This dialogue shows his motive of traveling from one town to another. The dialogue that gives clues to the social position of Bayardo San Romn is “I’ll buy it along with everything inside. ” This is my choice because buying everything along with the house, the fixtures and furnitures, shows that the buyer is rich and capable enough of acquiring the house even the owner of the house does not have an intention of selling it.