In chapter one of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Marquez juxtaposes rooster and bird diction with the individuals in the novel who are aware the death of Santiago Nasar will take place. While discussing the events prior to his murder Marquez writes, “Divina Flor went ahead of him to open the door, trying not to have him get ahead of her among the cages of the sleeping birds in the dining room” (14). Marquez includes that the birds are “sleeping” to symbolize the unawareness individuals had connecting to the death of Santiago. By implying that Divina quickly went ahead of him implies that she, unlike the other “sleeping birds” was aware with what would soon take place. The narrator later mentions that, “ the boat stopped tooting and the cocks began to crow… it was such a great uproar that I couldn't believe there were so many roosters in town, and i thought they were crowing on the bishops boat” (14). Once the roosters got off the boat they began crowing, similar to how a group may gossip and spread information about certain subjects. I connected the rooster activity to the reactions of the individuals involved in the Kitty Genovese case articles. In the “Kitty Genovese” case, 38 individuals kept their mouth shuts about the murder. Eventually a few individuals stepped forward and reported the case although many were hesitant about consulting police about the suspicious activity. I connected these articles a lot to the actions and sounds of the roosters in chapter 1. Just as the roosters all began crowing together, more people began to speak out about the case and what they had remembered happening. In Santiago Nasar's murder case no one spoke much about it since they didn't recognize the seriousness of the affair he had been involved in. Through the use rooster diction, Gabriel Marquez is able to better convey the effects of secrecy and hiding the truth from one another.
While reading Chapter 1, I thought about the meaning of "magical realism" and the Kitty Genovese case. Magical realism is often referred to as a story that juxtaposes two things in which typically does not go together. This creates a new understanding of the cultural meanings behind the characters. In Chapter 1, we see that Santiago's father is described as Arabic, while his mother is Spanish. He learns skills from both sides of the family, including his interest in guns, which he soon learns to keep his gun unloaded, because it accidentally shot when it was loaded. Back to the Magical Realism discussion; so far the novel portrays Magical realism, because it compares two cultures in one body, to show an understanding on the effect and nature of one who holds both cultures.
Commenting on the relationship between the Kitty Genovese case and the novel, in Chapter 1 everyone on the dock (or what seems to be evryone), knows about Santiago's soon death, however they all assume that he knows, or he isn't in much danger anymore. This relates to the Kitty Genovese case, because there were bystanders who knew the situation, but failed to proceed to stop the situation from happening. In the article, someone says that they '...didn't want to get involved' (Gansberg). I am beginning to realize the cultural differences and similarities in the articles, and the book, as well as human nature. Hopefully, this will prove to show and explain the occurrences in the plot of the book.
“Victoria Guzman, for her part, had been categorical with her answer that neither she nor her daughter knew that the men were waiting for Santiago Nasar to kill him. But in the course of her years she admitted that both knew it when he came into the kitchen to have his coffee. They had been told it by a woman who had passed by after five o'clock to beg a bit of milk, and who in addition had revealed the motives and the place where they were waiting. ‘I didn't warn him because I thought it was drunkards' talk,’ she told me. Nevertheless, Divina Flor confessed to me on a later visit, after her mother had died, that the latter hadn't said anything to Santiago Nasar because in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill him” (1.13). In the Chronicle of the Death Foretold, Marquez uses the theme of lie and deceit to show the untruthfulness in society. In the story, Victoria Guzman is the maid to Santiago, who, on the outside, would probably tell him if he was to be assassinated. However, she was told and did not say anything, using the excuse that it was “drunkards’ talk.” However, the reader learns that Santiago’s father slept with Victoria, which could show her anger and her potential wanting of Santiago’s eventual death. Other characters that were interviewed by the narrator also said they wouldn’t tell him with some ridiculous excuses. I believe that most of the characters wanted him to be assassinated, because he was involved in something bad with their relationship, either indirectly or directly. This situation puts an indirectly bad reputation on Santiago, as even his maid is untrustworthy. This theme of lie and deceit help show that a person’s reputation could have an influence on someone’s actions towards another person.
Maya's blog (computer problems) In chapter 1 of, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes the weather on the day Santiago Nasar was killed, relating to the mystery of his death. Marquez writes, “Many people coincided in recalling that it was a radiant morning” (4). These people remembered the weather as nice, just like Santiago said the day of his death when he referred to the day as beautiful. Contrasting this, Marquez writes “Most agreed that the weather was funeral, with a cloudy, low sky” (4). The majority of the people say the weather was bad, with clouds and rain. Marquez includes these two contrasting opinions to reveal how foggy the mystery of Santiago Nasar’s death. So far, this chapter makes Santiago’s death seem like a mystery. The narrator is describing Santiago’s day, including lots of details that have no significance. The weather’s contrasting description shows how difficult it is to solve a mystery, and find out exactly what happened on a specific day. No matter what, you will find people who have different memories, and different opinions. It is almost impossible to really know who is telling the truth, and what is really right. Having contrasting memories is very common when trying to figure out the true story, and in this book, it shows how inaccurate the telling of Santiago’s death may be. Along with this, I think the weather may have some significance, and relation to Santiago’s death. Whether it was raining or sunny, there may be some symbolism behind the weather. I’m not exactly sure what either could symbolize, but as we continue to read the book, I will be curious to see if the weather continues to be brought up, and debated.
The opening chapter of Chronicle of a Death Foretold introduces irony and the theme of human nature into the story. The first instance of irony presents itself when Santiago's mom interprets him dreams. Subsequently to the opening of the book beginning with "On the day they were going to kill him..." (Marquez 1), the quote expresses Santiago's mom as having telepathic powers, yet she incorrectly 'predicts' the coming of the day for Santiago, interpreting his dreams. While they talk about the negative omen of the trees, yet never mention what it means, the positive omen of the birds is mentioned: "Any dream about birds means good health" (6). This is ironic, seeing as the reputation held by Placida Linero is that of a good fortuneteller, and the fact that she did not correctly predict her son's fate on the day of his death could be detrimental to the wellbeing of Placida Linero, due to her being wracked with guilt. This guilt is one that transfers into the general theme of human nature and culpability, for it seems that the whole town is at fault for the death of a seemingly innocent man. Everyone originally claimed to not know about the announced death, and all signs of it are ignored, even by the would-be corpse himself. Although these claims are shown not to withstand, such as Victoria Guzman knowing of his murder, and not saying anything because "in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill [Santiago]" (13). This shameless guilt is carried by all characters, each making excuses for their actions or continuing the claim of being clueless to the impending crime. Although this is what the characters say, it is their actions and recollections that speak about their knowledge of the nature of the proceeding day. Such known 'in real life' foreshadowing is shown with quotes from Divina Flor for example: "...he grabbed her by the wrist with a hand that felt frozen and stony, like the hand of a dead man" (13). A shop owner also made a similar statement, stating that in his Sunday Church clothes, worn for the ceremony of the bishop, "[h]e already looked like a ghost" (15). The narrator's sister, conversing with Santiago about his future wedding plans, with him proclaiming that "life will be too short for people to tell about it", feels "the angel pass by" (18). This could be an allusion to the angel of death, which would be referencing the, once again, announced murder of the clueless main character. With no one making an effort to tell him of the events he will face, and everyone having subconscious or conscious knowledge of it, it shous the true human nature of uninvolvement in order to bolster self-preservation.
I like you insight on human nature, I didn't think about "self-preservation", as you put it, but I certainly agree, as many of the characters show signs of fear, such as later in the when "everyone knew that Santiago Nasar was about to die and they didn't dare touch him" (). Your ideas also sparked some of own, such as the fact that Santiago's white clothing could represent his purity in not knowing about his impending death, or also his potential innocence as the reader doesn't know for sure if he actually took Angela's virginity. Earlier in your analysis, you discussed the birds and tree symbols in dreams, which could be evidence of Marquez's focus on insignificant details to add to the confusion. Furthermore, Placid Linero's unusual failure to predict the future reflects the theme of fate, and that his death was destined to occur.
Out of all the books we pre-read over the summer, Chronicle of Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez most most definitely my favorite. Marquez’s writing style is what attracted me the most. The non-linear storytelling coupled with how The novel resembles a mystery. The reader immediately learns that Santiago Nasar is going to die and is lured to continue reading to find out how and why this fateful event will occur. In a sort of irony, Chronicle of a Death Foretold is in fact not a chronicle, because the story is not told chronologically. The reader is told the events leading up to Santiago Nasar’s death by many points of view, including his killers, the Vicario brothers, but the question of his guilt is left up to the reader. That is my favorite part about the book, the fact the you have to make inferences and decide and form your own opinions about the situation. There is no page number you can reference to completely answer the question of his guilt, you have to choose a side and make a decision for yourself. I believe that your point of view on Santiago’s guilt will change your opinion of the story as a whole. I think that if you think the Vicario brothers are right to kill Santiago, if you let him fill the role of the typical antagonist, you will enjoy the story less. But if the reader chooses to believe that Angela Vicario just says Santiago’s name to save herself, and begins to questions the circumstances surrounding Santiago’s death and why no one stopped the Vicario brothers, one will enjoy the experience more.
I agree, Chronicle was my favorite novel we read this summer break as well, I also agree that the writing style of this novel had an extremely influential presence in the themes and tones of darkness and mystery. I also noticed how this "chronicle" is anything but a chronicle. With the plot lines mixed and the story lines at different times, Santiago displays a classic mystery story, similar to films like "Pulp Fiction". I agree with you that the reader's point of view on Santiago's guilt greatly influences the readers experience, that was a very smart way to articulate it. I struggled with how to say that, but thats true. However I believe that leaning on one side towards his Santiago's guilt doesn't make one experience better, but just different. Either the reader see's his death as in vain its a tragedy, or if he is innocent, either way the story is still a mystery because the novel never depicts the truth.
In novel the novel,“Chronicle of a Death Foretold”Gabriel García Márquez uses magical realism to make it appear as though due to human nature, Santiago Nasar’s death was fated. Much is told of Santiago Nasar, but one thing that sticks out is his inheritance from his mother, “he seemed happy with his father until the latter died suddenly, three years before, and he continued seeming to be so with his solitary mother until the Monday of his death. From her he had inherited a sixth sense.” (Marquez,). It is a well known fact that humans possess five senses, with the metaphorical sixth sense referring to knowing things one shouldn’t, be it from clairvoyance or telepathy. There is no outright mention of Santiago Nasar making use of his sixth sense, unless one takes into account the way he reportedly dies, “But she couldn't avoid a wave of fright as she remembered Santiago Nasar's horror when she pulled out the insides of a rabbit by the roots and threw the steaming guts to the dogs. "Don't be a savage," he told her. "Make believe it was a human being." Victoria Guzman needed almost twenty years to understand that a man accustomed to killing defenceless animals could suddenly express such horror. "Good heavens," she explained with surprise. "All that was such a revelation." Nevertheless, she had so much repressed rage the morning of the crime that she went on feeding the dogs with the insides of the other rabbits, just to embitter Santiago Nasar's breakfast.” (Marquez). Santiago Nasar is said to have had his guts fall out of his stomach before his death, and if he did indeed possess a sixth sense, his uncharacteristic revulsion towards the rabbit’s guts would point towards him being clairvoyant. Even with this clairvoyance however, Santiago Nasar still dies, as no one takes it upon themselves to intervene before it happened, not even the victim himself. With clairvoyance interwoven in with the plot, it becomes obvious that the Genovese syndrome humans are regrettably plagued with, is what doomed Santiago Nasar to a fate appearing set in stone.
"The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements… my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. 'They're perfect,' she was frequently heard to say. 'Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer'" (2.34). In chapter two of the story, Gabriel Marquez touches on the theme of the roles of women and men in a stereotypical Colombian society. I believe he does this to indirectly juxtapose Western culture to Spanish culture. Women were expected to do everything in the house, under her command of the man of the house or her husband. Her worthiness is the measure of how well she can perform these “chores”. Also, most women who are married are arranged marriages by the father, disregarding the idea of true love and freedom. In the quote, the first two sentences are structured the same way, but show the obvious differences between men and women. Girls aren’t brought up to be women, but to be “married”. Its interesting how this divide between roles was very accepted by society, as women couldn’t even be independent or do legitimate jobs. The most interesting part of the quote is the ending, as the narrator says that any man would be happy because they were raised to suffer. This is no understatement, as the women in these marriages would tend to “suffer”, as they were under complete control of their husbands. This is like the play “The Doll’s House”, and how even in Western culture many years ago the same gender roles existed. Obviously, Marquez placed this theme in here to show how wrong and ridiculous the divide is, and that every person, regardless of gender or race, should be equal.
"We'd been together at Maria Alejandrina Cervantes' house until after three, when she herself sent the musicians away and turned out the lights in the dancing courtyard so that her pleasurable mulatto girls could get some rest…Maria Alejandrina Cervantes was the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known, and the most serviceable in bed, but she was also the strictest. She'd been born and reared here, and here she lived, in a house with open doors, with several rooms for rent and an enormous courtyard for dancing lit by lantern gourds bought in the Chinese bazaars of Paramaribo" (3.74). In chapter three, Gabriel Marquez also addresses social roles and how taboo the idea of “sex” is in Spanish culture. In this society, there were many “prostitutes” who made money from taking men into their beds. However, Maria Alejandrina Cervantes is no ordinary girl, as she does not think that her job and her girls’ jobs are necessarily bad. There is always this stereotype that people who get paid for sex are bad people and shouldn’t be trusted, but Marquez is trying to prove this otherwise. The narrator says that she was the most “elegant” and “tender” woman he has ever met, even going as far as saying that she is the “strictest”. This is a form of magical realism, as typically “whores” and prostitutes are seen as the dirt of society. But Marquez uses a happy setting where her house in to show that their lives aren’t as bad as they are perceived to be. It seems like in this society there is a void between disregarding social roles and completely agreeing to them. A person like Angela Vicario is the stereotype of what girls during this time were supposed to turn out as. Interesting enough, the narrator mentions her “reared” upbringing, or that she was probably born into a home where this stereotype of the “perfect woman” existed. However, Maria decided to break this and go out on her own, thus showing how there is no in-between when coming to the topic of social roles in society.
In the capitulo dos, there is an obvious change in focus. Marquez shows that women in this period were somewhat powerless and under the dominance of men. When Angela does not wish to marry Bayardo, she says that she is not in love with him. This seems like it would be a good enough reason, as nowadays one does not have to marry when they are not in love or do not at least believe they are in love. The response her mother gave her made me think about the situation from two different perspectives, mainly dealing with various cultures I have experienced in my life. She told her, “Love can be learned too"(35). At first, this quote evokes anger in the reader at her mother because she was not letting her daughter have a choice in the situation. However, this makes one think about arranged marriages and notice that more often than not, those marriages work out better than meeting someone, falling in love, then proceeding to get married. This is because they learned to love each other. Her mother may know that this is best decision for her daughter. Marquez seems to emphasize this dilemma to show what life was like for women back then, but was the forced marriage necessarily a bad thing as it is still seen today?
In chapter two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Marquez uses the motif of gold to convey the theme of materialism. Attaining materialistic values tends to gain the attention of the characters introduced in the novel. The color gold is viewed as a symbol for power, wealth, wisdom, and strength often related to success and achievement. While characterizing Bayardo Marquez writes, “It also seems that he’s swimming in gold. That was in reply to the premature legend that Bayardo San Roman not only was capable of doing everything, and doing it quite well, but also had the access to endless resources” (29). Many of the men throughout the first few chapters are mainly focused on their wealth and what their personal gain out of occasions such as marriage will be. Gaining materialistic goods remains the prime goal of characters such as Bayardo. The use of the word “gold” while describing Bayardo characterizes him as a rich, stubborn, man who gets everything handed to him. Unlike his father who worked to become successful, Bayardo inherited many of his riches. Individuals with more money tend to be viewed at as higher up and better than people with less money thus creating a strong gap between the rich and the poor. This motif is repeated when the narrator discusses the life of Bayardo San Romans’ father General Roman, they state, “…everyone recognized him because of the fame of his pictures. He was wearing a wheat-colored linen suit, high-laced cordovan shoes, and gold rimmed glasses held by a clasp on the bridge of his nose…” (37). Not only was General Roman a civil war hero, but he had plenty of his own riches. Due to his past success “gold rimmed” glasses, individuals viewed him as an ideal leader to follow. Through the use of the motif of gold, Marquez is further able to display the importance of the materialistic world in different characters lives.
"We'd been together at Maria Alejandrina Cervantes' house until after three, when she herself sent the musicians away and turned out the lights in the dancing courtyard so that her pleasurable mulatto girls could get some rest…Maria Alejandrina Cervantes was the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known, and the most serviceable in bed, but she was also the strictest. She'd been born and reared here, and here she lived, in a house with open doors, with several rooms for rent and an enormous courtyard for dancing lit by lantern gourds bought in the Chinese bazaars of Paramaribo." (74) This excerpt shows yet another way that magic realism works Márquez's novel. Maria is a prostitute, but the her description and her home does not seem to condemn her for the profession. This is very surprising in a culture that would “return” a wedded wife because she was not a virgin. In the novel, Maria is shown as a beautiful woman who taught all the men of the community about sex. The incorporation of the visual and other sensual imagery, such as the musicians, the courtyard, and the chinese gourd lanterns all make the abode seem like some sort of paradise very different from normal innercity whore houses. This bright understanding of the commonplace by means of fantastical and magical imagery is notable in this passage because it gives accolades to something that is usually degraded. Márquez's use of magical realism allows him to avoid soliciting accustomed cultural perceptions when desired and offer authenticity in a new way.
In Chapter three of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez further characterizes twins Pedro and Pablo Vicario as individuals. When the brothers are introduced they are referred to as “the twins” rather than by their own individual names. Chapter three is the first time the twins are individualized and characterized separately. To some extent I viewed the murder of Nasar as a way of Pedro and Pablo proving their individual masculinity and power. Unlike many of the other characters introduced in the novel, the reader is able to get an inside look on who the brothers Pedro and Pablo truly are. In a sense Pablo has more power and control over his brother Pedro. Marquez writes, “Pablo Vicario was six minutes older than his brother, and he was the more imaginative and resolute until adolescence. Pedro Vicario always seemed more sentimental…” (68) Although Pablo is the older of the two brothers, he also is portrayed as the weaker and more indecisive. Stating these differences allows the reader to understand the specific personalities and motives of the brothers as individuals rather than one. The brothers are further characterized when details pertaining to the murder are discussed. Marquez writes, “Pedro Vicario, according to his own declaration, was the one who made the decision to kill Santiago Nasar, and at first his brother only followed along, But he was also the one who considered his duty fulfilled when the mayor disarmed them, and then it was Pablo Vicario who assumed command” (69). Again, this demonstrates the power Pedro holds above Pablo. However, Pablo does not want to be viewed as the weaker and less of a man compared to his brother.
Apart from characterizing the brothers as two individuals with different personalities, I noticed the gender roles pertaining to this story’s plot were somewhat different than previous literature that has been read. Although both brothers are striving to be viewed as strong, controlling, tough men, it’s their love for their sister that truly results in the murder of Santiago Nasar. After Angela Vicario tells her brothers the name of the man who took her virginity they immediately murder him. I found this interesting because for once men are viewing women (in this case their sister) as equally as important as them. They murdered Nasar to protect Angela while also proving themselves to all who know them.
While reading and observing Chapter 2 in Chronicles of a Death Foretold, I have noticed what each character symbolizes. Based on textual evidence, Bayardo San Roman carries this theme of corruption. Corruption in his love that is, along with monetary corruption. Simply to impress Angela, Bayardo has bought "...all the tickets in the raffle" (30). This action includes a sense of corruption. However one can disagree and say he did this for love. Moreover, I believe that Bayardo is also a huge foreshadow for Santiago's death. Specifically talking about Bayardo's wealth, Marquez argues that "....Xius died..." (37) in light of the huge amount of wealth Bayardo holds. He also says that Xius dies because he has no clue how or why Bayardo hold so much wealth. I also observed that Bayardo goes to the very last inch to get his way. Thus further proving that he uses his wealth to gain his wishes. In this case it is the marriage of Angela. This does, however, fall back on him because Angela admits to not being a virgin after their marriage. This is because Angela is intimidated by the wealth of Bayardo, which is understandable because I would probably be intimidated too. Lastly, I payed attention to Bayardo's character development in the chapter, but I believe that other characters will develop in the plot in the future.
Something that really stood out to me while reading chapter 3 is the Kitty Genovese Case. Oh how some people can be so afraid to stop an incident from happening! This does bother me because even if the characters thought that they were just joking, they should keep into account that something seriously wrong can be going on. In the chapter, the Vicario brothers seem a little out of place which is a signal that Santiago's death is coming soon. Basing the situation back to the Kitty Genovese case, I see that may people thought the brothers were just drunk, because no one makes those types of comments when they're sober right? In addition to observing this chapter, I have found an immense example of irony. Santiago's death lands on the day in which the Bishop is visiting. In fact, a character mentions that "...the bishop was coming on that unfortunate day" (70). This shows a sense of irony and a sense of Magical realism, because the novel is comparing two things that contradicts each other to create a new understanding of the subject. I find that the non-linear format of the novel shows a better understanding of the events and details in the case of the death of Santiago Nasar.
In chapter 3 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez reveals the theme of honor, which is present throughout the book. After Angela Vicario is returned home by her husband after finding out she is not a virgin, her two brothers, Pablo and Pedro Vicario, decide they will murder the man who took their sister’s virginity. They do this with the motive being their sister’s honor. Marquez writes, “‘We killed him openly,’ Pedro Vicario said, ‘but we're innocent.’ ‘Perhaps before God,’ said Father Amador. ‘Before God and before men,’ Pablo Vicario said. ‘It was a matter of honor’ (48). Pablo Vicario defends his decision to kill Santiago Nasar by saying it was a matter of honor. This shows how important your reputation was during this time period. It was extremely wrong for a woman to have lost her virginity to someone who was not her husband. Premarital sex was frowned upon in this culture. Angela Vicario’s honor is at risk now that her secret of losing her virginity has been found out. Her husband returning her to her home is embarrassing for her, along with her family. Angela’s brothers think that if they kill Santiago, they will prove a point, and save their sister’s honor. This theme of honor makes me think about “A Doll’s House.” In both of these pieces of literature, the characters go to great lengths to preserve their image, and reputation. In “A Doll’s House,” Torvald says that Nora and him will still have to live together, and pretend nothing is wrong when they are in public, after he finds out about Nora’s secret. He overreacts, and blows up on Nora. This is because he feels like his honor and reputation are at stake. This situation is similar to what is happening in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.” Here the Vicario brothers are saving their sister’s image by killing the man who took her virginity. If honor and reputation were not so important to them, the brother’s would not have gone to this extreme.
Chapter 3 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold introduces the theme of honour, especially as justification for the murder that the twins committed. In Latin America, the certain kind of honour that they present, that' manifested in their character, is known as Machismo. This was an exaggerated masculinity, marked by pride. These men were expected to protect their family at all costs, which resulted in a widely known effect of aggression that came with this kind of personality. The counterpart to this was Marianismo, focusing on extreme femininity and purity of women. Women were supposed to be virtuous, saintly, modest, and sexually abstinent until marriage. When Angela Vicario failed to fulfill her role in the societal expectations of 1950s Colombia, it was both shameful to Bayardo San Roman and to the Vicario twins when it was discovered that Angela was not the virgin she claimed and acted as. Starting with the judge accepting their justification of murder by honour, them telling the priest that they were innocent in the eyes of God because their motive was honour, this theme of shame and redemption is one presented. It is revealed that during the wedding, Santiago Nasar and the Narrator go to the newlyweds' house to sing, but they later realize that “Bayardo San Roman had taken [Angela] to her parents’ house on foot so that the noise of the motor wouldn’t betray his misfortune in advance” (67). This shame was the one that was also involved in the family of the Vicario's, which was why they had to avenge the lost innocence of their sister. The societal view of Marianismo was so accepted and widespread, that it was almost universally agreed in that town that what the twins attempted, was not only right, but the only acceptable thing to do: “I knew what they were up to,” she told me, “and I didn’t only agree, I never would have married him if he hadn’t done what a man should do” (62). Men were thought to protect the honour of the women they were related to, and therefore, keep the women's honour intact and keep them pure.
n chapter 2 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez introduces the gender inequality of this time. In the time and place this book takes place, women were seen as unequal to men. Men were superior to women in this culture. Marquez writes, “The brothers were brought up as men. The girls had been reared to get married” (31). He goes on to write about how the girls of the family as skillful at embroidery, and sewing, but nothing more. By saying that the brothers are brought up as men, Marquez characterizes the boys as more important, and powerful. The brothers’ duty in life is to be men. Men who have jobs, who work, and who are in charge. In contrast, the women do not work, but stay at home, and are good for sewing. The second sentence of this quote emphasizes that women are raised to satisfy their husbands, and obey them. The ultimate goal for women was to get married. Since they did not work, they needed husbands who would support them while they took care of the household. If they did not get married, they would be stuck living at home, which is something the families did not normally want. It is very condescending towards women to say that their only duty in life is to be a wife. This makes the woman seem very inferior to her husband. Another example of the gender inequality in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is when Marquez writes, “It was Angela Vicario who didn’t want to marry him” (34). Here Angela is shown to be very powerless, and has no say in her marriage. She must marry Bayardo because her family approved. This shows how unimportant women were during the time period, and how the gap between men and women’s rights was huge.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold's second chapter talks about the pride exhibited by the man who is to become the husband to Angela Vicario. Although Angela Vicario does not want him as a husband, he is able to marry her due to his riches and influence over the town; "...Bayardo San Roman was going to marry whomever he chose. It was Angela Vicario who didn't want to marry him" (34). Although he makes it seem like he is a nice, charming, helpful person with everyone in town, the manner in which Bayardo San Roman conducts himself gives indication to his rather snotty actual personality. When Angela Vicario declares that she wants to live in the Xius widower house, on the top of the hill, because of the beauty that it is perceived with, San Roman goes out of his way to convince the current owner to sell. He goes so far as to present but not give the money that would be the widowers, had he accepted the house, to him. His rather malicious behaviour obtains the reaction he wants, for "an amount within reach and having to say no from a simple weakness of the spirit" (37). This contempt shown by the groom to be is foreshadowing of his character, and events to come. Although it has already been stated before, that the sanctity of Angela Vicario had been raptured by someone in her childhood, she expects him to either understand, or not care. However, his lack of emotional compassion in this situation with the widower gives indication to his lack of feeling. I assume he has an overall pragmatist outlook on life, for he has lived it in comfort, knows he can attain what he wants, and from these actions, shows that it is not emotion that drives him, but rather convenience. In Angela Vicario's case, it would've been of very high inconvenience to maintain her after her incident, for her lack of purity would have ruined San Roman's reputation, and that is one thing that men in this era and culture were very protective of, due to the underlying Machismo presented.
In the novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel García Márquez uses symbolism to show how machismo directly contributes to the double standards that are found in sexism. The catalyst of the entire plot of the story is the fact that Angela Vicario is not a virgin, “They assured her that almost all women lost their virginity in childhood accidents. They insisted that even the most difficult of husbands resigned themselves to anything as long as nobody knew about it. They convinced her, finally, that most men came to their wedding night so frightened that they were incapable of doing anything without the woman's help, and at the moment of truth they couldn't answer for their own acts.” (Márquez). The concept of virginity here is based on the wholeness of the hymen, and the proof of virginity obtained by the blood from the tearing of the hymen after sex. This concept of virginity is faulty, as proven by the mentions of the hymen tearing in childhood accidents, and is toxic due to the double standard it holds. Men are not expected to remain virgins until marriage, and while the quote above does display that many men do, it is so shameful on their part that they do not speak of their new wives lack of it. The Lack of virginity on the woman’s part is seen as an insult to the men, but not a mark against their honor, “The only unforeseen surprise was caused by the groom on the morning of the wedding, for he was two hours late in coming for Angela Vicario and she had refused to get dressed as a bride until she saw him in the house. "Just imagine," she told me. "I would have been happy even if he hadn't come, but never if he abandoned me dressed up." Her caution seemed natural, because there was no public misfortune more shameful than for a woman to be jilted in her bridal gown.” A woman’s honor rests solely on how desirable she is to the man who intends to wed her, and if he leaves her, then the shame is hers to bear, while a man’s honor rests on his own actions. Just like in a doll’s house, Women’s honor means nothing in comparison to Men’s shame, and the machismo that is embedded deep within the culture in this town makes it so that a slight against someone’s honor means death, though whose is not always clear. This machismo creates toxic double standards, especially concerning sexuality and honor.
“There had never been a death more foretold” This quote is the epitome of the genovese syndrome. Santiago Nasar’s death could have been prevented due to the circumstances presenting themselves on every page, and yet no one interfered. Be it due to fear, mistaken impressions, hatred, or some inexplainable reason, the news of his death never reached Santiago Nasar. Is this syndrome still present today? Yes. Living on in bystanders in bullying, silent witnesses in crimes, turning the other way at child abuse and domestic disputes, humans do not intervene unless they feel socially obligated to. The reason we see heros that are sung praises are, is because people do not interfere as a rule of thumb, but heros do. Hero’s make a huge difference, they stop a crime, save lives, ensure the continued health of someone. In chronicles of a death foretold, the unbroken streak of Genovese syndrome is responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar, and for the lack of heros in the world we see around us.
In chapter four of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author uses wounds to symbolize disgrace and ruined reputations. In the middle of the chapter, Angela Vicario’s family leaves town, “”Pura Vicario wrapped the face of the rejected daughter in a cloth so that no one would see the bruises” (Marques, 95). The bruises on her face are small wounds that symbolize her loss of grace because Bayardo discovered she is not a virgin, and not quite an “Angel” as her name would imply her to be. Also, her mother wraps her face to cover the bruises so no one will see the wounds that mean this loss of honor. Earlier in the chapter Father Amador performs the autopsy on Santiago with the help of the druggist and a first year medical student. Father Amador’s autopsy report was used as evidence as it said that “Seven of the many wounds were fatal” (86). Santiago’s literal wounds symbolize the honor the Vicario brothers felt they lost because of Santiago. Because of what Santiago supposedly did to Angela, the Brothers felt they had had their family’s reputation fatally wounded, so they chose to inflict those same wounds onto Santiago. In the autopsy report, Father Amador also noted, “He had a deep stab in the right hand. The report says: 'It looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ'" (75). This symbolises how the way in which Christ sacrificed himself for the sins of the people can be compared to the way in which Santiago Nasar effectively sacrificed himself for society and to give Angela Vicario back her honor.
In chapter 4 of Chronicle of a Death foretold, Gabriel Márquez alludes to the bible to establish the dominance of religion in the lives of the characters. Catholicism is the main religion present in the stories characters and plot as it helps directly characterize them. The narrator states,”He had a deep stab in the right hand. The reporter says: it looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ” (Marquez 87). In this instance Santiago Nasar is compared to Jesus Christ. Similar to Jesus dying for the sins of the world, Santiago dies for the sins of Angela Vicario. His name “Santiago” also both translates and alludes to Saint James who was considered the first apostle to be martyred. The reporter then states that they had, “concluded that the cause of death had been a massive hemorrhage brought on by any one of the seven major wounds” (88) Santiago’s seven major wounds allude to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, pride, lust, envy, wrath, sloth, and greed. These Sins shape the Catholic viewpoint of individuals who will not be entered into heaven. Each wound created by the Vicario brothers symbolizes one of these seven sins. However, the brothers forget that what goes around, comes around and karma ultimately gets the best of them. Although they restore their family's honor they commit all seven of the deadly sins in the process. As a result of this they smell strongly of Nasar and are unable to get his scent off, get massive pains in their stomachs, and explosive diarrhea all while they are in jail. The scent of Santiago in this instance acts as a symbol for karma itself. There is no way to undo the death of him and the Vicario brothers only cared about the well honor of their family rather than the life of the man who possibly took their sisters virginity. Marquez makes these biblical references in order to further demonstrate the faith and values characters have while attempting to remain committed to the Catholic Church.
The main purpose of the final chapter in Chronicle of a Death Foretold was to examine the actions of both Santiago and the community prior to his death, Like the Kitty Genovese case, the death of Santiago Nasar could have been prevented. Although the characters act as if it couldn't have, they were all aware of the murder that would soon take place. Rather than taking any blame for his death the bystanders simply refuse to take blame. While discussing the Vicario brothers plan to murder Santiago Cristo Bedoya, a friend of Santiago finds out about the murder and rushes to his home in hopes of finding him. Although he is not home he spots Victoria Guzman warning her that the Vicario brothers are, “looking for him to kill him” (Marquez 124). She responds by stating, “Those poor boys won't kill anyone” (124). The Genovese case had individuals who were aware of the murder but like Guzman's reaction, were in shock and disbelief. Marquez writes, “We heard the town” the wife told me, “but we thought it was part of the bishops festival” (142). None of the community members believe the rumors connecting to the death of Santiago as it feels surreal. The power of the Vicario brothers is underestimated as they are viewed by all who know them as innocent boys. Nobody did anything to stop the crime because it didn't seem real. The Vicario brothers did not appear to be a threat and Santiago had seemed fine. None of the bystanders want to confess to knowing or hearing about anything relating to the death of Nasar because they have no intent on becoming involved with it. The limited actions/say by the bystanders in the novella helps to demonstrate how individuals today act in a similar way. Many horrendous situations and actions have the chance to be prevented but nobody has the guts to fess up and tell the truth behind it. By characterizing the bystanders as mute and cowardly Marquez is able to evoke a feeling of guilt and understanding the readers.
In chapter 5 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, I focused on the idea of guilt and who should feel guilt. Now, looking back on the entire novel, it seems as if the entire reason why the death happened was because of Santiago himself, as he seemingly took the virginity of Angela. However, after the fact, we can say that it was also Angela herself as the culprit, because she told Bayardo that she lost her virginity. (We later find out that she was most likely lying about this because no one ever saw them together.) Also, we can say this was an act of revenge. Going back to whose fault the death was; next we can also say that it was the Vicario brothers' fault, because they initially killed Santiago. However, they did warn people in other chapters that they would be killing Santiago. Now, the townspeople could have done things to prevent the death. Some did by leaving their doors unbarred so Santiago could be safe. BUT... after the fact of Santiago knowing he would die, did he do anything to stop his own death? Being confused by the matter is understandable, but he could have not done anything because he was still processing that he would be killed. This is an example of a paradox, because it loops back to who is the initial reason behind the death of Santiago. Also, during chapter 5, we find more information about his fate. Fate being a main focus of the novel, the chapter does add to the reason behind his murder, as since no one did anything to really stop the murder, this was set on him from the beginning. Also, there is no real evidence behind if Angela was really lying or telling the truth.
In chapter four of COTDF, Gabriel Marquez uses symbols and the theme of male-dominated society in the book. One of the main symbols in this chapter is the love letters Angela Vicario sends to Bayardo san Roman after he was shipped away on a book. He returns to visit Angela seventeen years later, where she has a job as an embroiderer. In his suitcase, he has all the letters that she has sent him which showed her love for him and how she felt about losing her virginity to Santiago Nasar. Bayardo did not open any of the letters, which could symbolize that he does not care what the say, but just the true symbol that she truly loves him still after all of these years. Angela was beaten by her mother and highly dishonored from the village for losing her virginity, but she does not care about her well-being but her husband’s. Its interesting how after all the drama and the murder that Angela still has feelings towards her husband. The visit from him several years later could also be a symbol that their relationship is unbreakable. I like how no one really cares that someone had to die over their “love”, but it makes an interesting plot.
I agree with your analysis of the chapter and how Gabriel Marquez uses symbolism to show insight into the motivations of Angela and her husband, Bayardo san Roman. Although, do you think that some of those lingering feelings that Angela has for Bayardo are feelings of regrets for what she put him through. After all, she had decided not to trick Bayardo in the end as she felt that it was unfair to him and had even prepared to die when she was found out. Also, it seemed that despite his rather arrogant attitude, he truly did wish to live a happy married life together with Angela only to have his expectations betrayed by his would-be-wife. The letters would also serve as a type of penance to assuage the guilt that Angela feels for what she did and Bayardo san Roman’s return might symbolize her being forgiven.
In chapter five, it gives the perspective of Cristo Bedoya and shows several other people’s perspectives before the initial murder takes place. This chapter justs shows again the Genovese syndrome and how the people of the town used multiple excuses to not tell Santiago about his eventual death. The only person who tries to help him is Cristo Bedoya, but even his efforts weren’t enough as he tried to Santiago’s home and warn him. However, he wasn’t there and could not stop his death. Santiago was at Flora Miguel’s house, his fiancee. She knew of the killing but still did not tell him because he would be forced to marry Angela Vicario after losing her virginity to him. Then, he ran home after some of the citizens of the town began to warn him of his death, but it was way too late as the Vicario brothers repeatedly stabbed him in the chest. Its interesting that everything in this chapter is already known by the reader, and no new information arises. This could symbolize that there is no truth about the whole murder, and the narrator still is trying to find all of the facts. Throughout the whole chapter, it seems as if the narrator will reveal some questions that the reader still has. Why did Angela choose Santiago Nasar as the person? Also, why does Gabriel Marquez make it such a mystery that every citizen of the town doesn’t do anything?
In chapter 4 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” fate plays a key role in the consequences of the Vicario brothers. After killing Santiago Nasar, the Vicario brothers do not get the necessary punishment. They are placed in jail, but nothing more, even though they slaughtered Santiago. Fate eventually brings the two their consequence. Marquez writes, “Up till then he’d overflowed the portable latrine twice and the guard on watch had taken him to the town hall washroom another six times” (80). Pablo Vicario faces a severe case of diarrhea shortly after the murder. It has come to the point where his brother, Pedro, thinks Pablo was poisoned. This quote emphasizes how many times Pablo had to go to the bathroom, showing how severe his case of the runs is. Marquez intentionally adds this incident to show how Pablo is fairly punished, and how fate can determine your punishment. I think this also shows how consequences are always inevitable. Another similar example of fate is when both Pablo and Pedro cannot sleep. When first spending the night in jail, right after killing Nasar, both twins are unable to get any sleep. Marquez writes, “They’d gone three nights without sleep” (78). This quote is referring the the Vicario brothers after being put in jail. The smell of Santiago Nasar keeps reminding them of the awful thing they had done. No matter how hard they tried, the smell wouldn’t leave. Fate, as well as karma, causes the brothers to stay awake. One of their many punishments for this crime is being unable to sleep. The theme of fate is most evident during chapter 4, but hows up multiple times throughout the book, showing how many things are inevitable.
"Help me,' she shouted to me. 'What [the dogs] want is to eat his guts" (73) "His mother covered [his face] with a handkerchief" (74) "It looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ" (75) "She would recount it... except for one item that would never be cleared up: who was the real cause of her damage... because no one believed that it had really been Santiago Nasar" (89)
The fourth chapter of Chronicle of a Death Foretold not only focuses on the untold love story between Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman, but the beginning talks about the autopsy conducted on Santiago Nasar. This grisly autopsy wasn't very humane, but continues the biblical allusion sprinkled throughout the rest of the novel, especially with the Christ being represented by Santiago Nasar. This is exemplary in this passage with the mirroring occurring between Christ's last days and the end of Santiago. Starting with the dogs eating his guts, the comparison to the bible would be a metaphorical situation, with the King's guard torturing Jesus and wanting to see him hurt, mocking him in his lowest hours, placing a crown of thorns on his head. The covering of the face with a handkerchief is an iconic Christian item, after Jesus was placed in his tomb, but before his resurrection, a cloth was covering his face. This led to his face being imprinted on this cloth after his resurrection, proving his miraculous existence and having evidence for him being the son of God. Although this may be superficial, and done to most people with disfiguring a=post-mortem attributes, the similarities between the rest of the cases make this one stronger. The stabbing areas seemed similar when reading, and when this was uttered, I thought of the same thing. Jesus was stabbed in both hands, on his feet, and on the sides of his abdomen when he was crucified, and Santiago Nasar bore many of these wounds on his body as well. Finally, the main similarity between Nasar and Christ would be the denial of Angela Vicario's lack of involvement with Nasar. Jesus died for sins he didn't commit, since he was a man born without original sin and living without any sinful actions either. In theory, no one believed that Santiago Nasar was the one to deflower Angela Vicario, so the whole town allowed the tragedy of his murder to pass knowing that the innocent one was the one suffering the consequences.
“Help me," she shouted to me. What they want is to eat his guts." This quote references the dog’s desire to get to Santiago Nasar, and mimics the beginning of the novel when The servants fed the rabbit’s guts to the dogs. It references the omen Nasar received before his untimely death and is a result of magical realism. So skillfully is the topic of clairvoyance woven into the novel, that no one stops to question it, or wonder at the truthfulness at the events told because of it. Many other instances of clairvoyance exist throughout the novel, but this one is the most prominent and easiest to spot of them all. Nasar’s death was foretold not only by everyone else but by fate. With so many opportunities for Nasar’s life to be spared, one can only wonder if his death was sealed in stone.
In chapter 5 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Marquez uses excuses to show that fate would eventually cause Santiago Nasar to die. The narrator frequently tells the accounts of those who knew Santiago’s death was going to take place. All of these people’s words and stories share one thing, and that is they never told Santiago he was going to die. In my opinion, their excuses, and not telling Santiago show that his death was inevitable, and brought by fate. Although we are never sure whether or not Santiago really did something to deserve this punishment, we know no one was so against it that they stopped it. Marquez writes, “he thought that Santiago Nasar had decided at the last moment to have breakfast at our house before changing his clothes” (110). Here, Cristo Bedoya tell his reasoning for not warning Santiago of his death. This doesn’t make very much sense in my opinion because no one told Cristo that Santiago wasn’t going home, because Santiago never said that. He had said he must go home before having breakfast at their house, even after his sister insisted he go right away, he refused. Along with this, Celeste Dangond says, “because it suddenly seemed to me that they couldn’t be killing him if he was so sure of what he was going to do” (103). One again, Celeste Dangond does not step in to save santiago by telling him about the murder plans. Her excuse is that Santiago seemed like he already had his day planned, so he couldn’t actually be killed. This excuse does not make sense because whether or not he knew about his death, his day would still be planned. Both Cristo and Celeste failed to warn Santiago, resulting in his violent death. This shows how Santiago’s death really could not have been prevented. Although it seems as though if one person told him he wouldn’t have died, the reality is no one would have/no one did tell him. Each and every person in the community had some reason for keeping the plan for Santiago. Although no one intentionally was trying to kill Santiago, they all ended up helping kill him. I think this goes along with fate, and how no one told him because his death was all a matter of fate. Unintentionally not telling Santiago he was about to be killed played on the theme of fate because his death could not be stopped. It became inevitable because everyone made up excuses or made mistakes and assumptions. Because every single person chose not to tell him, it became more evident that it was fate related.
Though I agree the townspeople attribute the death of Santiago Nasar to fate, I think its importance is over emphasized to portray that no matter how much they want to blame fate, they cannot. Santiago’s death is easily preventable, yet nobody manages to stop it even though they are all yelling advice or instructions to him in his last living moments. In this sense I think Marquez is mocking fate and showing that an incident like this is due to the negligence of the town, not destiny. Fate creates that magical effect in the magical realism, but the fact that fate alone cannot be blamed is the realistic trait.
"The cocks of dawn would catch us trying to give order to the chain of many chance events that had made absurdity possible" (96) "Most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honour are sacred monopolies" (97) "The crowd...was pouring in to testify without having been summoned, everyone eager to show off his own important role in the drama" (98) "... the twins had told him... they were going to kill Santiago Nasar. Like so many others, he thought these were the fantasies of early risers" (101) "The people who were coming back from the docks... began to take up positions around the square to witness the crime" (109) "He went into his house through the door that had been open since six and fell on his face in the kitchen" (120)
Chapter 5 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold seems to explore the theme of fatalism, immersing the reader into the genre of magical realism that this book was written in. This chapter is not written in a linear fashion, with events jumping from many years after the murder to an hour or two before the murder. The premeditated murder was unpreventable, with everyone being fated to lack the bravery to tell the victim of his oncoming death. It seems unlikely that the whole town would have known of this chain of events without anyone telling the object of it of his fate. This is the prime example of the Genovese Syndrome, where everyone attempts to not be included in the business of the case, for fear of involvement and consequences, but once it occurs, proclaiming the part they played in the tragedy, almost bragging about the lack of action they underwent. The perceived innocence of the Vicario twins is what sealed the deal for poor Santiago Nasar. It didn't matter how much bravado they built by announcing their intentions to half the town, citizens were missing concern for the event due to the low probability of the occurrence of it. The line that follows this, people gathering in order to witness the crime, is one that contradicts the statement that so many made, of the preconceived innocence, due to the expectation of the grisly murder that was to be witnessed by all those who knew. The final line, going into his house through the door that had been open since six, illustrates and accentuates the dramatic irony of the situation, with so many options highlighted for possible escapes from his death, yet the predetermination of his fate preventing him from seeing or taking these, for Santiago Nasar was destined to die at the hands of the twins, for a breach of honour that he didn't commit.
In novel the novel,“Chronicle of a Death Foretold” Gabriel García Márquez uses kinesthetic imagery to display Santiago Nasar’s confusion and how the genovese syndrome continues to doom people. Everyone wanted to help Nasar evade death without directly interfering with the family matter of honor, “They began to shout at him from every side, and Santiago Nasar went backward and forward several times, baffled by hearing so many voices at the same time.” Nasar went into shock directly upon hearing the news of his intended murder, and everyone in the village attempted to give him a fighting chance by sending him on the correct way home. Unfortunately their combined attempts only served to send Nasar further into shock, and destroyed any chance Nasar had at fighting back. This case is remarkably similar to the situation Kitty Genovese faced, with everyone yelling from the window, but never calling the police or leaving their apartments to provide more help. In both cases no one thought it was their right to interfere, and in both cases it resulted in the victim's death. The kinesthetic imagery best displays Nasar’s complete confusion. Not only did he not know the way home due to his shock, he only sinks further into shock due to the clamor of voices all assaulting him at once. It’s this state of confusion that allows the Vicario brothers to slay him so easily.
In chapter one of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Marquez juxtaposes rooster and bird diction with the individuals in the novel who are aware the death of Santiago Nasar will take place. While discussing the events prior to his murder Marquez writes, “Divina Flor went ahead of him to open the door, trying not to have him get ahead of her among the cages of the sleeping birds in the dining room” (14). Marquez includes that the birds are “sleeping” to symbolize the unawareness individuals had connecting to the death of Santiago. By implying that Divina quickly went ahead of him implies that she, unlike the other “sleeping birds” was aware with what would soon take place. The narrator later mentions that, “ the boat stopped tooting and the cocks began to crow… it was such a great uproar that I couldn't believe there were so many roosters in town, and i thought they were crowing on the bishops boat” (14). Once the roosters got off the boat they began crowing, similar to how a group may gossip and spread information about certain subjects. I connected the rooster activity to the reactions of the individuals involved in the Kitty Genovese case articles. In the “Kitty Genovese” case, 38 individuals kept their mouth shuts about the murder. Eventually a few individuals stepped forward and reported the case although many were hesitant about consulting police about the suspicious activity. I connected these articles a lot to the actions and sounds of the roosters in chapter 1. Just as the roosters all began crowing together, more people began to speak out about the case and what they had remembered happening. In Santiago Nasar's murder case no one spoke much about it since they didn't recognize the seriousness of the affair he had been involved in. Through the use rooster diction, Gabriel Marquez is able to better convey the effects of secrecy and hiding the truth from one another.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Chapter 1, I thought about the meaning of "magical realism" and the Kitty Genovese case. Magical realism is often referred to as a story that juxtaposes two things in which typically does not go together. This creates a new understanding of the cultural meanings behind the characters. In Chapter 1, we see that Santiago's father is described as Arabic, while his mother is Spanish. He learns skills from both sides of the family, including his interest in guns, which he soon learns to keep his gun unloaded, because it accidentally shot when it was loaded. Back to the Magical Realism discussion; so far the novel portrays Magical realism, because it compares two cultures in one body, to show an understanding on the effect and nature of one who holds both cultures.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on the relationship between the Kitty Genovese case and the novel, in Chapter 1 everyone on the dock (or what seems to be evryone), knows about Santiago's soon death, however they all assume that he knows, or he isn't in much danger anymore. This relates to the Kitty Genovese case, because there were bystanders who knew the situation, but failed to proceed to stop the situation from happening. In the article, someone says that they '...didn't want to get involved' (Gansberg). I am beginning to realize the cultural differences and similarities in the articles, and the book, as well as human nature. Hopefully, this will prove to show and explain the occurrences in the plot of the book.
“Victoria Guzman, for her part, had been categorical with her answer that neither she nor her daughter knew that the men were waiting for Santiago Nasar to kill him. But in the course of her years she admitted that both knew it when he came into the kitchen to have his coffee. They had been told it by a woman who had passed by after five o'clock to beg a bit of milk, and who in addition had revealed the motives and the place where they were waiting. ‘I didn't warn him because I thought it was drunkards' talk,’ she told me. Nevertheless, Divina Flor confessed to me on a later visit, after her mother had died, that the latter hadn't said anything to Santiago Nasar because in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill him” (1.13).
ReplyDeleteIn the Chronicle of the Death Foretold, Marquez uses the theme of lie and deceit to show the untruthfulness in society. In the story, Victoria Guzman is the maid to Santiago, who, on the outside, would probably tell him if he was to be assassinated. However, she was told and did not say anything, using the excuse that it was “drunkards’ talk.” However, the reader learns that Santiago’s father slept with Victoria, which could show her anger and her potential wanting of Santiago’s eventual death. Other characters that were interviewed by the narrator also said they wouldn’t tell him with some ridiculous excuses. I believe that most of the characters wanted him to be assassinated, because he was involved in something bad with their relationship, either indirectly or directly. This situation puts an indirectly bad reputation on Santiago, as even his maid is untrustworthy. This theme of lie and deceit help show that a person’s reputation could have an influence on someone’s actions towards another person.
Maya's blog (computer problems)
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 1 of, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes the weather on the day Santiago Nasar was killed, relating to the mystery of his death. Marquez writes, “Many people coincided in recalling that it was a radiant morning” (4). These people remembered the weather as nice, just like Santiago said the day of his death when he referred to the day as beautiful. Contrasting this, Marquez writes “Most agreed that the weather was funeral, with a cloudy, low sky” (4). The majority of the people say the weather was bad, with clouds and rain. Marquez includes these two contrasting opinions to reveal how foggy the mystery of Santiago Nasar’s death. So far, this chapter makes Santiago’s death seem like a mystery. The narrator is describing Santiago’s day, including lots of details that have no significance. The weather’s contrasting description shows how difficult it is to solve a mystery, and find out exactly what happened on a specific day. No matter what, you will find people who have different memories, and different opinions. It is almost impossible to really know who is telling the truth, and what is really right. Having contrasting memories is very common when trying to figure out the true story, and in this book, it shows how inaccurate the telling of Santiago’s death may be. Along with this, I think the weather may have some significance, and relation to Santiago’s death. Whether it was raining or sunny, there may be some symbolism behind the weather. I’m not exactly sure what either could symbolize, but as we continue to read the book, I will be curious to see if the weather continues to be brought up, and debated.
The opening chapter of Chronicle of a Death Foretold introduces irony and the theme of human nature into the story.
ReplyDeleteThe first instance of irony presents itself when Santiago's mom interprets him dreams. Subsequently to the opening of the book beginning with "On the day they were going to kill him..." (Marquez 1), the quote expresses Santiago's mom as having telepathic powers, yet she incorrectly 'predicts' the coming of the day for Santiago, interpreting his dreams. While they talk about the negative omen of the trees, yet never mention what it means, the positive omen of the birds is mentioned: "Any dream about birds means good health" (6). This is ironic, seeing as the reputation held by Placida Linero is that of a good fortuneteller, and the fact that she did not correctly predict her son's fate on the day of his death could be detrimental to the wellbeing of Placida Linero, due to her being wracked with guilt.
This guilt is one that transfers into the general theme of human nature and culpability, for it seems that the whole town is at fault for the death of a seemingly innocent man. Everyone originally claimed to not know about the announced death, and all signs of it are ignored, even by the would-be corpse himself. Although these claims are shown not to withstand, such as Victoria Guzman knowing of his murder, and not saying anything because "in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill [Santiago]" (13). This shameless guilt is carried by all characters, each making excuses for their actions or continuing the claim of being clueless to the impending crime. Although this is what the characters say, it is their actions and recollections that speak about their knowledge of the nature of the proceeding day. Such known 'in real life' foreshadowing is shown with quotes from Divina Flor for example: "...he grabbed her by the wrist with a hand that felt frozen and stony, like the hand of a dead man" (13). A shop owner also made a similar statement, stating that in his Sunday Church clothes, worn for the ceremony of the bishop, "[h]e already looked like a ghost" (15). The narrator's sister, conversing with Santiago about his future wedding plans, with him proclaiming that "life will be too short for people to tell about it", feels "the angel pass by" (18). This could be an allusion to the angel of death, which would be referencing the, once again, announced murder of the clueless main character. With no one making an effort to tell him of the events he will face, and everyone having subconscious or conscious knowledge of it, it shous the true human nature of uninvolvement in order to bolster self-preservation.
I like you insight on human nature, I didn't think about "self-preservation", as you put it, but I certainly agree, as many of the characters show signs of fear, such as later in the when "everyone knew that Santiago Nasar was about to die and they didn't dare touch him" (). Your ideas also sparked some of own, such as the fact that Santiago's white clothing could represent his purity in not knowing about his impending death, or also his potential innocence as the reader doesn't know for sure if he actually took Angela's virginity.
DeleteEarlier in your analysis, you discussed the birds and tree symbols in dreams, which could be evidence of Marquez's focus on insignificant details to add to the confusion. Furthermore, Placid Linero's unusual failure to predict the future reflects the theme of fate, and that his death was destined to occur.
Out of all the books we pre-read over the summer, Chronicle of Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez most most definitely my favorite. Marquez’s writing style is what attracted me the most. The non-linear storytelling coupled with how The novel resembles a mystery. The reader immediately learns that Santiago Nasar is going to die and is lured to continue reading to find out how and why this fateful event will occur. In a sort of irony, Chronicle of a Death Foretold is in fact not a chronicle, because the story is not told chronologically. The reader is told the events leading up to Santiago Nasar’s death by many points of view, including his killers, the Vicario brothers, but the question of his guilt is left up to the reader. That is my favorite part about the book, the fact the you have to make inferences and decide and form your own opinions about the situation. There is no page number you can reference to completely answer the question of his guilt, you have to choose a side and make a decision for yourself. I believe that your point of view on Santiago’s guilt will change your opinion of the story as a whole. I think that if you think the Vicario brothers are right to kill Santiago, if you let him fill the role of the typical antagonist, you will enjoy the story less. But if the reader chooses to believe that Angela Vicario just says Santiago’s name to save herself, and begins to questions the circumstances surrounding Santiago’s death and why no one stopped the Vicario brothers, one will enjoy the experience more.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Chronicle was my favorite novel we read this summer break as well, I also agree that the writing style of this novel had an extremely influential presence in the themes and tones of darkness and mystery. I also noticed how this "chronicle" is anything but a chronicle. With the plot lines mixed and the story lines at different times, Santiago displays a classic mystery story, similar to films like "Pulp Fiction". I agree with you that the reader's point of view on Santiago's guilt greatly influences the readers experience, that was a very smart way to articulate it. I struggled with how to say that, but thats true. However I believe that leaning on one side towards his Santiago's guilt doesn't make one experience better, but just different. Either the reader see's his death as in vain its a tragedy, or if he is innocent, either way the story is still a mystery because the novel never depicts the truth.
DeleteIn novel the novel,“Chronicle of a Death Foretold”Gabriel García Márquez uses magical realism to make it appear as though due to human nature, Santiago Nasar’s death was fated. Much is told of Santiago Nasar, but one thing that sticks out is his inheritance from his mother, “he seemed happy with his father until the latter died suddenly, three years before, and he continued seeming to be so with his solitary mother until the Monday of his death. From her he had inherited a sixth sense.” (Marquez,). It is a well known fact that humans possess five senses, with the metaphorical sixth sense referring to knowing things one shouldn’t, be it from clairvoyance or telepathy. There is no outright mention of Santiago Nasar making use of his sixth sense, unless one takes into account the way he reportedly dies, “But she couldn't avoid a wave of fright as she remembered Santiago Nasar's horror when she pulled out the insides of a rabbit by the roots and threw the steaming guts to the dogs. "Don't be a savage," he told her. "Make believe it was a human being." Victoria Guzman needed almost twenty years to understand that a man accustomed to killing defenceless animals could suddenly express such horror. "Good heavens," she explained with surprise. "All that was such a revelation." Nevertheless, she had so much repressed rage the morning of the crime that she went on feeding the dogs with the insides of the other rabbits, just to embitter Santiago Nasar's breakfast.” (Marquez). Santiago Nasar is said to have had his guts fall out of his stomach before his death, and if he did indeed possess a sixth sense, his uncharacteristic revulsion towards the rabbit’s guts would point towards him being clairvoyant. Even with this clairvoyance however, Santiago Nasar still dies, as no one takes it upon themselves to intervene before it happened, not even the victim himself. With clairvoyance interwoven in with the plot, it becomes obvious that the Genovese syndrome humans are regrettably plagued with, is what doomed Santiago Nasar to a fate appearing set in stone.
ReplyDelete"The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements… my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. 'They're perfect,' she was frequently heard to say. 'Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer'" (2.34).
ReplyDeleteIn chapter two of the story, Gabriel Marquez touches on the theme of the roles of women and men in a stereotypical Colombian society. I believe he does this to indirectly juxtapose Western culture to Spanish culture. Women were expected to do everything in the house, under her command of the man of the house or her husband. Her worthiness is the measure of how well she can perform these “chores”. Also, most women who are married are arranged marriages by the father, disregarding the idea of true love and freedom. In the quote, the first two sentences are structured the same way, but show the obvious differences between men and women. Girls aren’t brought up to be women, but to be “married”. Its interesting how this divide between roles was very accepted by society, as women couldn’t even be independent or do legitimate jobs. The most interesting part of the quote is the ending, as the narrator says that any man would be happy because they were raised to suffer. This is no understatement, as the women in these marriages would tend to “suffer”, as they were under complete control of their husbands. This is like the play “The Doll’s House”, and how even in Western culture many years ago the same gender roles existed. Obviously, Marquez placed this theme in here to show how wrong and ridiculous the divide is, and that every person, regardless of gender or race, should be equal.
"We'd been together at Maria Alejandrina Cervantes' house until after three, when she herself sent the musicians away and turned out the lights in the dancing courtyard so that her pleasurable mulatto girls could get some rest…Maria Alejandrina Cervantes was the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known, and the most serviceable in bed, but she was also the strictest. She'd been born and reared here, and here she lived, in a house with open doors, with several rooms for rent and an enormous courtyard for dancing lit by lantern gourds bought in the Chinese bazaars of Paramaribo" (3.74).
ReplyDeleteIn chapter three, Gabriel Marquez also addresses social roles and how taboo the idea of “sex” is in Spanish culture. In this society, there were many “prostitutes” who made money from taking men into their beds. However, Maria Alejandrina Cervantes is no ordinary girl, as she does not think that her job and her girls’ jobs are necessarily bad. There is always this stereotype that people who get paid for sex are bad people and shouldn’t be trusted, but Marquez is trying to prove this otherwise. The narrator says that she was the most “elegant” and “tender” woman he has ever met, even going as far as saying that she is the “strictest”. This is a form of magical realism, as typically “whores” and prostitutes are seen as the dirt of society. But Marquez uses a happy setting where her house in to show that their lives aren’t as bad as they are perceived to be. It seems like in this society there is a void between disregarding social roles and completely agreeing to them. A person like Angela Vicario is the stereotype of what girls during this time were supposed to turn out as. Interesting enough, the narrator mentions her “reared” upbringing, or that she was probably born into a home where this stereotype of the “perfect woman” existed. However, Maria decided to break this and go out on her own, thus showing how there is no in-between when coming to the topic of social roles in society.
In the capitulo dos, there is an obvious change in focus. Marquez shows that women in this period were somewhat powerless and under the dominance of men. When Angela does not wish to marry Bayardo, she says that she is not in love with him. This seems like it would be a good enough reason, as nowadays one does not have to marry when they are not in love or do not at least believe they are in love. The response her mother gave her made me think about the situation from two different perspectives, mainly dealing with various cultures I have experienced in my life. She told her, “Love can be learned too"(35). At first, this quote evokes anger in the reader at her mother because she was not letting her daughter have a choice in the situation. However, this makes one think about arranged marriages and notice that more often than not, those marriages work out better than meeting someone, falling in love, then proceeding to get married. This is because they learned to love each other. Her mother may know that this is best decision for her daughter. Marquez seems to emphasize this dilemma to show what life was like for women back then, but was the forced marriage necessarily a bad thing as it is still seen today?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Marquez uses the motif of gold to convey the theme of materialism. Attaining materialistic values tends to gain the attention of the characters introduced in the novel. The color gold is viewed as a symbol for power, wealth, wisdom, and strength often related to success and achievement. While characterizing Bayardo Marquez writes, “It also seems that he’s swimming in gold. That was in reply to the premature legend that Bayardo San Roman not only was capable of doing everything, and doing it quite well, but also had the access to endless resources” (29). Many of the men throughout the first few chapters are mainly focused on their wealth and what their personal gain out of occasions such as marriage will be. Gaining materialistic goods remains the prime goal of characters such as Bayardo. The use of the word “gold” while describing Bayardo characterizes him as a rich, stubborn, man who gets everything handed to him. Unlike his father who worked to become successful, Bayardo inherited many of his riches. Individuals with more money tend to be viewed at as higher up and better than people with less money thus creating a strong gap between the rich and the poor. This motif is repeated when the narrator discusses the life of Bayardo San Romans’ father General Roman, they state, “…everyone recognized him because of the fame of his pictures. He was wearing a wheat-colored linen suit, high-laced cordovan shoes, and gold rimmed glasses held by a clasp on the bridge of his nose…” (37). Not only was General Roman a civil war hero, but he had plenty of his own riches. Due to his past success “gold rimmed” glasses, individuals viewed him as an ideal leader to follow. Through the use of the motif of gold, Marquez is further able to display the importance of the materialistic world in different characters lives.
ReplyDeleteEl blog número tres
ReplyDelete"We'd been together at Maria Alejandrina Cervantes' house until after three, when she herself sent the musicians away and turned out the lights in the dancing courtyard so that her pleasurable mulatto girls could get some rest…Maria Alejandrina Cervantes was the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known, and the most serviceable in bed, but she was also the strictest. She'd been born and reared here, and here she lived, in a house with open doors, with several rooms for rent and an enormous courtyard for dancing lit by lantern gourds bought in the Chinese bazaars of Paramaribo." (74)
This excerpt shows yet another way that magic realism works Márquez's novel. Maria is a prostitute, but the her description and her home does not seem to condemn her for the profession. This is very surprising in a culture that would “return” a wedded wife because she was not a virgin. In the novel, Maria is shown as a beautiful woman who taught all the men of the community about sex. The incorporation of the visual and other sensual imagery, such as the musicians, the courtyard, and the chinese gourd lanterns all make the abode seem like some sort of paradise very different from normal innercity whore houses. This bright understanding of the commonplace by means of fantastical and magical imagery is notable in this passage because it gives accolades to something that is usually degraded. Márquez's use of magical realism allows him to avoid soliciting accustomed cultural perceptions when desired and offer authenticity in a new way.
In Chapter three of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez further characterizes twins Pedro and Pablo Vicario as individuals. When the brothers are introduced they are referred to as “the twins” rather than by their own individual names. Chapter three is the first time the twins are individualized and characterized separately. To some extent I viewed the murder of Nasar as a way of Pedro and Pablo proving their individual masculinity and power. Unlike many of the other characters introduced in the novel, the reader is able to get an inside look on who the brothers Pedro and Pablo truly are. In a sense Pablo has more power and control over his brother Pedro. Marquez writes, “Pablo Vicario was six minutes older than his brother, and he was the more imaginative and resolute until adolescence. Pedro Vicario always seemed more sentimental…” (68) Although Pablo is the older of the two brothers, he also is portrayed as the weaker and more indecisive. Stating these differences allows the reader to understand the specific personalities and motives of the brothers as individuals rather than one. The brothers are further characterized when details pertaining to the murder are discussed. Marquez writes, “Pedro Vicario, according to his own declaration, was the one who made the decision to kill Santiago Nasar, and at first his brother only followed along, But he was also the one who considered his duty fulfilled when the mayor disarmed them, and then it was Pablo Vicario who assumed command” (69). Again, this demonstrates the power Pedro holds above Pablo. However, Pablo does not want to be viewed as the weaker and less of a man compared to his brother.
ReplyDeleteApart from characterizing the brothers as two individuals with different personalities, I noticed the gender roles pertaining to this story’s plot were somewhat different than previous literature that has been read. Although both brothers are striving to be viewed as strong, controlling, tough men, it’s their love for their sister that truly results in the murder of Santiago Nasar. After Angela Vicario tells her brothers the name of the man who took her virginity they immediately murder him. I found this interesting because for once men are viewing women (in this case their sister) as equally as important as them. They murdered Nasar to protect Angela while also proving themselves to all who know them.
While reading and observing Chapter 2 in Chronicles of a Death Foretold, I have noticed what each character symbolizes. Based on textual evidence, Bayardo San Roman carries this theme of corruption. Corruption in his love that is, along with monetary corruption. Simply to impress Angela, Bayardo has bought "...all the tickets in the raffle" (30). This action includes a sense of corruption. However one can disagree and say he did this for love. Moreover, I believe that Bayardo is also a huge foreshadow for Santiago's death. Specifically talking about Bayardo's wealth, Marquez argues that "....Xius died..." (37) in light of the huge amount of wealth Bayardo holds. He also says that Xius dies because he has no clue how or why Bayardo hold so much wealth. I also observed that Bayardo goes to the very last inch to get his way. Thus further proving that he uses his wealth to gain his wishes. In this case it is the marriage of Angela. This does, however, fall back on him because Angela admits to not being a virgin after their marriage. This is because Angela is intimidated by the wealth of Bayardo, which is understandable because I would probably be intimidated too. Lastly, I payed attention to Bayardo's character development in the chapter, but I believe that other characters will develop in the plot in the future.
ReplyDeleteSomething that really stood out to me while reading chapter 3 is the Kitty Genovese Case. Oh how some people can be so afraid to stop an incident from happening! This does bother me because even if the characters thought that they were just joking, they should keep into account that something seriously wrong can be going on. In the chapter, the Vicario brothers seem a little out of place which is a signal that Santiago's death is coming soon. Basing the situation back to the Kitty Genovese case, I see that may people thought the brothers were just drunk, because no one makes those types of comments when they're sober right? In addition to observing this chapter, I have found an immense example of irony. Santiago's death lands on the day in which the Bishop is visiting. In fact, a character mentions that "...the bishop was coming on that unfortunate day" (70). This shows a sense of irony and a sense of Magical realism, because the novel is comparing two things that contradicts each other to create a new understanding of the subject. I find that the non-linear format of the novel shows a better understanding of the events and details in the case of the death of Santiago Nasar.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 3 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez reveals the theme of honor, which is present throughout the book. After Angela Vicario is returned home by her husband after finding out she is not a virgin, her two brothers, Pablo and Pedro Vicario, decide they will murder the man who took their sister’s virginity. They do this with the motive being their sister’s honor. Marquez writes, “‘We killed him openly,’ Pedro Vicario said, ‘but we're innocent.’ ‘Perhaps before God,’ said Father Amador. ‘Before God and before men,’ Pablo Vicario said. ‘It was a matter of honor’ (48). Pablo Vicario defends his decision to kill Santiago Nasar by saying it was a matter of honor. This shows how important your reputation was during this time period. It was extremely wrong for a woman to have lost her virginity to someone who was not her husband. Premarital sex was frowned upon in this culture. Angela Vicario’s honor is at risk now that her secret of losing her virginity has been found out. Her husband returning her to her home is embarrassing for her, along with her family. Angela’s brothers think that if they kill Santiago, they will prove a point, and save their sister’s honor.
ReplyDeleteThis theme of honor makes me think about “A Doll’s House.” In both of these pieces of literature, the characters go to great lengths to preserve their image, and reputation. In “A Doll’s House,” Torvald says that Nora and him will still have to live together, and pretend nothing is wrong when they are in public, after he finds out about Nora’s secret. He overreacts, and blows up on Nora. This is because he feels like his honor and reputation are at stake. This situation is similar to what is happening in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.” Here the Vicario brothers are saving their sister’s image by killing the man who took her virginity. If honor and reputation were not so important to them, the brother’s would not have gone to this extreme.
Chapter 3 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold introduces the theme of honour, especially as justification for the murder that the twins committed.
ReplyDeleteIn Latin America, the certain kind of honour that they present, that' manifested in their character, is known as Machismo. This was an exaggerated masculinity, marked by pride. These men were expected to protect their family at all costs, which resulted in a widely known effect of aggression that came with this kind of personality.
The counterpart to this was Marianismo, focusing on extreme femininity and purity of women. Women were supposed to be virtuous, saintly, modest, and sexually abstinent until marriage.
When Angela Vicario failed to fulfill her role in the societal expectations of 1950s Colombia, it was both shameful to Bayardo San Roman and to the Vicario twins when it was discovered that Angela was not the virgin she claimed and acted as. Starting with the judge accepting their justification of murder by honour, them telling the priest that they were innocent in the eyes of God because their motive was honour, this theme of shame and redemption is one presented. It is revealed that during the wedding, Santiago Nasar and the Narrator go to the newlyweds' house to sing, but they later realize that “Bayardo San Roman had taken [Angela] to her parents’ house on foot so that the noise of the motor wouldn’t betray his misfortune in advance” (67). This shame was the one that was also involved in the family of the Vicario's, which was why they had to avenge the lost innocence of their sister. The societal view of Marianismo was so accepted and widespread, that it was almost universally agreed in that town that what the twins attempted, was not only right, but the only acceptable thing to do: “I knew what they were up to,” she told me, “and I didn’t only agree, I never would have married him if he hadn’t done what a man should do” (62). Men were thought to protect the honour of the women they were related to, and therefore, keep the women's honour intact and keep them pure.
n chapter 2 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez introduces the gender inequality of this time. In the time and place this book takes place, women were seen as unequal to men. Men were superior to women in this culture. Marquez writes, “The brothers were brought up as men. The girls had been reared to get married” (31). He goes on to write about how the girls of the family as skillful at embroidery, and sewing, but nothing more. By saying that the brothers are brought up as men, Marquez characterizes the boys as more important, and powerful. The brothers’ duty in life is to be men. Men who have jobs, who work, and who are in charge. In contrast, the women do not work, but stay at home, and are good for sewing. The second sentence of this quote emphasizes that women are raised to satisfy their husbands, and obey them. The ultimate goal for women was to get married. Since they did not work, they needed husbands who would support them while they took care of the household. If they did not get married, they would be stuck living at home, which is something the families did not normally want. It is very condescending towards women to say that their only duty in life is to be a wife. This makes the woman seem very inferior to her husband. Another example of the gender inequality in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is when Marquez writes, “It was Angela Vicario who didn’t want to marry him” (34). Here Angela is shown to be very powerless, and has no say in her marriage. She must marry Bayardo because her family approved. This shows how unimportant women were during the time period, and how the gap between men and women’s rights was huge.
ReplyDeleteChronicle of a Death Foretold's second chapter talks about the pride exhibited by the man who is to become the husband to Angela Vicario.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Angela Vicario does not want him as a husband, he is able to marry her due to his riches and influence over the town; "...Bayardo San Roman was going to marry whomever he chose. It was Angela Vicario who didn't want to marry him" (34).
Although he makes it seem like he is a nice, charming, helpful person with everyone in town, the manner in which Bayardo San Roman conducts himself gives indication to his rather snotty actual personality. When Angela Vicario declares that she wants to live in the Xius widower house, on the top of the hill, because of the beauty that it is perceived with, San Roman goes out of his way to convince the current owner to sell. He goes so far as to present but not give the money that would be the widowers, had he accepted the house, to him. His rather malicious behaviour obtains the reaction he wants, for "an amount within reach and having to say no from a simple weakness of the spirit" (37).
This contempt shown by the groom to be is foreshadowing of his character, and events to come. Although it has already been stated before, that the sanctity of Angela Vicario had been raptured by someone in her childhood, she expects him to either understand, or not care. However, his lack of emotional compassion in this situation with the widower gives indication to his lack of feeling. I assume he has an overall pragmatist outlook on life, for he has lived it in comfort, knows he can attain what he wants, and from these actions, shows that it is not emotion that drives him, but rather convenience. In Angela Vicario's case, it would've been of very high inconvenience to maintain her after her incident, for her lack of purity would have ruined San Roman's reputation, and that is one thing that men in this era and culture were very protective of, due to the underlying Machismo presented.
In the novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel García Márquez uses symbolism to show how machismo directly contributes to the double standards that are found in sexism. The catalyst of the entire plot of the story is the fact that Angela Vicario is not a virgin, “They assured her that almost all women lost their virginity in childhood accidents. They insisted that even the most difficult of husbands resigned themselves to anything as long as nobody knew about it. They convinced her, finally, that most men came to their wedding night so frightened that they were incapable of doing anything without the woman's help, and at the moment of truth they couldn't answer for their own acts.” (Márquez). The concept of virginity here is based on the wholeness of the hymen, and the proof of virginity obtained by the blood from the tearing of the hymen after sex. This concept of virginity is faulty, as proven by the mentions of the hymen tearing in childhood accidents, and is toxic due to the double standard it holds. Men are not expected to remain virgins until marriage, and while the quote above does display that many men do, it is so shameful on their part that they do not speak of their new wives lack of it. The Lack of virginity on the woman’s part is seen as an insult to the men, but not a mark against their honor, “The only unforeseen surprise was caused by the groom on the morning of the wedding, for he was two hours late in coming for Angela Vicario and she had refused to get dressed as a bride until she saw him in the house. "Just imagine," she told me. "I would have been happy even if he hadn't come, but never if he abandoned me dressed up." Her caution seemed natural, because there was no public misfortune more shameful than for a woman to be jilted in her bridal gown.” A woman’s honor rests solely on how desirable she is to the man who intends to wed her, and if he leaves her, then the shame is hers to bear, while a man’s honor rests on his own actions. Just like in a doll’s house, Women’s honor means nothing in comparison to Men’s shame, and the machismo that is embedded deep within the culture in this town makes it so that a slight against someone’s honor means death, though whose is not always clear. This machismo creates toxic double standards, especially concerning sexuality and honor.
ReplyDelete“There had never been a death more foretold” This quote is the epitome of the genovese syndrome. Santiago Nasar’s death could have been prevented due to the circumstances presenting themselves on every page, and yet no one interfered. Be it due to fear, mistaken impressions, hatred, or some inexplainable reason, the news of his death never reached Santiago Nasar. Is this syndrome still present today? Yes. Living on in bystanders in bullying, silent witnesses in crimes, turning the other way at child abuse and domestic disputes, humans do not intervene unless they feel socially obligated to. The reason we see heros that are sung praises are, is because people do not interfere as a rule of thumb, but heros do. Hero’s make a huge difference, they stop a crime, save lives, ensure the continued health of someone. In chronicles of a death foretold, the unbroken streak of Genovese syndrome is responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar, and for the lack of heros in the world we see around us.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter four of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author uses wounds to symbolize disgrace and ruined reputations. In the middle of the chapter, Angela Vicario’s family leaves town, “”Pura Vicario wrapped the face of the rejected daughter in a cloth so that no one would see the bruises” (Marques, 95). The bruises on her face are small wounds that symbolize her loss of grace because Bayardo discovered she is not a virgin, and not quite an “Angel” as her name would imply her to be. Also, her mother wraps her face to cover the bruises so no one will see the wounds that mean this loss of honor. Earlier in the chapter Father Amador performs the autopsy on Santiago with the help of the druggist and a first year medical student. Father Amador’s autopsy report was used as evidence as it said that “Seven of the many wounds were fatal” (86). Santiago’s literal wounds symbolize the honor the Vicario brothers felt they lost because of Santiago. Because of what Santiago supposedly did to Angela, the Brothers felt they had had their family’s reputation fatally wounded, so they chose to inflict those same wounds onto Santiago. In the autopsy report, Father Amador also noted, “He had a deep stab in the right hand. The report says: 'It looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ'" (75). This symbolises how the way in which Christ sacrificed himself for the sins of the people can be compared to the way in which Santiago Nasar effectively sacrificed himself for society and to give Angela Vicario back her honor.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 of Chronicle of a Death foretold, Gabriel Márquez alludes to the bible to establish the dominance of religion in the lives of the characters. Catholicism is the main religion present in the stories characters and plot as it helps directly characterize them. The narrator states,”He had a deep stab in the right hand. The reporter says: it looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ” (Marquez 87). In this instance Santiago Nasar is compared to Jesus Christ. Similar to Jesus dying for the sins of the world, Santiago dies for the sins of Angela Vicario. His name “Santiago” also both translates and alludes to Saint James who was considered the first apostle to be martyred. The reporter then states that they had, “concluded that the cause of death had been a massive hemorrhage brought on by any one of the seven major wounds” (88) Santiago’s seven major wounds allude to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, pride, lust, envy, wrath, sloth, and greed. These Sins shape the Catholic viewpoint of individuals who will not be entered into heaven. Each wound created by the Vicario brothers symbolizes one of these seven sins. However, the brothers forget that what goes around, comes around and karma ultimately gets the best of them. Although they restore their family's honor they commit all seven of the deadly sins in the process. As a result of this they smell strongly of Nasar and are unable to get his scent off, get massive pains in their stomachs, and explosive diarrhea all while they are in jail. The scent of Santiago in this instance acts as a symbol for karma itself. There is no way to undo the death of him and the Vicario brothers only cared about the well honor of their family rather than the life of the man who possibly took their sisters virginity. Marquez makes these biblical references in order to further demonstrate the faith and values characters have while attempting to remain committed to the Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteThe main purpose of the final chapter in Chronicle of a Death Foretold was to examine the actions of both Santiago and the community prior to his death, Like the Kitty Genovese case, the death of Santiago Nasar could have been prevented. Although the characters act as if it couldn't have, they were all aware of the murder that would soon take place. Rather than taking any blame for his death the bystanders simply refuse to take blame. While discussing the Vicario brothers plan to murder Santiago Cristo Bedoya, a friend of Santiago finds out about the murder and rushes to his home in hopes of finding him. Although he is not home he spots Victoria Guzman warning her that the Vicario brothers are, “looking for him to kill him” (Marquez 124). She responds by stating, “Those poor boys won't kill anyone” (124). The Genovese case had individuals who were aware of the murder but like Guzman's reaction, were in shock and disbelief. Marquez writes, “We heard the town” the wife told me, “but we thought it was part of the bishops festival” (142). None of the community members believe the rumors connecting to the death of Santiago as it feels surreal. The power of the Vicario brothers is underestimated as they are viewed by all who know them as innocent boys. Nobody did anything to stop the crime because it didn't seem real. The Vicario brothers did not appear to be a threat and Santiago had seemed fine. None of the bystanders want to confess to knowing or hearing about anything relating to the death of Nasar because they have no intent on becoming involved with it. The limited actions/say by the bystanders in the novella helps to demonstrate how individuals today act in a similar way. Many horrendous situations and actions have the chance to be prevented but nobody has the guts to fess up and tell the truth behind it. By characterizing the bystanders as mute and cowardly Marquez is able to evoke a feeling of guilt and understanding the readers.
ReplyDeleteOops guys, I posted my analysis on chapter four in group four lol ;)
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, I focused on the idea of guilt and who should feel guilt. Now, looking back on the entire novel, it seems as if the entire reason why the death happened was because of Santiago himself, as he seemingly took the virginity of Angela. However, after the fact, we can say that it was also Angela herself as the culprit, because she told Bayardo that she lost her virginity. (We later find out that she was most likely lying about this because no one ever saw them together.) Also, we can say this was an act of revenge. Going back to whose fault the death was; next we can also say that it was the Vicario brothers' fault, because they initially killed Santiago. However, they did warn people in other chapters that they would be killing Santiago. Now, the townspeople could have done things to prevent the death. Some did by leaving their doors unbarred so Santiago could be safe. BUT... after the fact of Santiago knowing he would die, did he do anything to stop his own death? Being confused by the matter is understandable, but he could have not done anything because he was still processing that he would be killed. This is an example of a paradox, because it loops back to who is the initial reason behind the death of Santiago. Also, during chapter 5, we find more information about his fate. Fate being a main focus of the novel, the chapter does add to the reason behind his murder, as since no one did anything to really stop the murder, this was set on him from the beginning. Also, there is no real evidence behind if Angela was really lying or telling the truth.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter four of COTDF, Gabriel Marquez uses symbols and the theme of male-dominated society in the book. One of the main symbols in this chapter is the love letters Angela Vicario sends to Bayardo san Roman after he was shipped away on a book. He returns to visit Angela seventeen years later, where she has a job as an embroiderer. In his suitcase, he has all the letters that she has sent him which showed her love for him and how she felt about losing her virginity to Santiago Nasar. Bayardo did not open any of the letters, which could symbolize that he does not care what the say, but just the true symbol that she truly loves him still after all of these years. Angela was beaten by her mother and highly dishonored from the village for losing her virginity, but she does not care about her well-being but her husband’s. Its interesting how after all the drama and the murder that Angela still has feelings towards her husband. The visit from him several years later could also be a symbol that their relationship is unbreakable. I like how no one really cares that someone had to die over their “love”, but it makes an interesting plot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of the chapter and how Gabriel Marquez uses symbolism to show insight into the motivations of Angela and her husband, Bayardo san Roman. Although, do you think that some of those lingering feelings that Angela has for Bayardo are feelings of regrets for what she put him through. After all, she had decided not to trick Bayardo in the end as she felt that it was unfair to him and had even prepared to die when she was found out. Also, it seemed that despite his rather arrogant attitude, he truly did wish to live a happy married life together with Angela only to have his expectations betrayed by his would-be-wife. The letters would also serve as a type of penance to assuage the guilt that Angela feels for what she did and Bayardo san Roman’s return might symbolize her being forgiven.
DeleteIn chapter five, it gives the perspective of Cristo Bedoya and shows several other people’s perspectives before the initial murder takes place. This chapter justs shows again the Genovese syndrome and how the people of the town used multiple excuses to not tell Santiago about his eventual death. The only person who tries to help him is Cristo Bedoya, but even his efforts weren’t enough as he tried to Santiago’s home and warn him. However, he wasn’t there and could not stop his death. Santiago was at Flora Miguel’s house, his fiancee. She knew of the killing but still did not tell him because he would be forced to marry Angela Vicario after losing her virginity to him. Then, he ran home after some of the citizens of the town began to warn him of his death, but it was way too late as the Vicario brothers repeatedly stabbed him in the chest. Its interesting that everything in this chapter is already known by the reader, and no new information arises. This could symbolize that there is no truth about the whole murder, and the narrator still is trying to find all of the facts. Throughout the whole chapter, it seems as if the narrator will reveal some questions that the reader still has. Why did Angela choose Santiago Nasar as the person? Also, why does Gabriel Marquez make it such a mystery that every citizen of the town doesn’t do anything?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” fate plays a key role in the consequences of the Vicario brothers. After killing Santiago Nasar, the Vicario brothers do not get the necessary punishment. They are placed in jail, but nothing more, even though they slaughtered Santiago. Fate eventually brings the two their consequence. Marquez writes, “Up till then he’d overflowed the portable latrine twice and the guard on watch had taken him to the town hall washroom another six times” (80). Pablo Vicario faces a severe case of diarrhea shortly after the murder. It has come to the point where his brother, Pedro, thinks Pablo was poisoned. This quote emphasizes how many times Pablo had to go to the bathroom, showing how severe his case of the runs is. Marquez intentionally adds this incident to show how Pablo is fairly punished, and how fate can determine your punishment. I think this also shows how consequences are always inevitable. Another similar example of fate is when both Pablo and Pedro cannot sleep. When first spending the night in jail, right after killing Nasar, both twins are unable to get any sleep. Marquez writes, “They’d gone three nights without sleep” (78). This quote is referring the the Vicario brothers after being put in jail. The smell of Santiago Nasar keeps reminding them of the awful thing they had done. No matter how hard they tried, the smell wouldn’t leave. Fate, as well as karma, causes the brothers to stay awake. One of their many punishments for this crime is being unable to sleep. The theme of fate is most evident during chapter 4, but hows up multiple times throughout the book, showing how many things are inevitable.
ReplyDelete"Help me,' she shouted to me. 'What [the dogs] want is to eat his guts" (73)
ReplyDelete"His mother covered [his face] with a handkerchief" (74)
"It looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ" (75)
"She would recount it... except for one item that would never be cleared up: who was the real cause of her damage... because no one believed that it had really been Santiago Nasar" (89)
The fourth chapter of Chronicle of a Death Foretold not only focuses on the untold love story between Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman, but the beginning talks about the autopsy conducted on Santiago Nasar.
This grisly autopsy wasn't very humane, but continues the biblical allusion sprinkled throughout the rest of the novel, especially with the Christ being represented by Santiago Nasar. This is exemplary in this passage with the mirroring occurring between Christ's last days and the end of Santiago.
Starting with the dogs eating his guts, the comparison to the bible would be a metaphorical situation, with the King's guard torturing Jesus and wanting to see him hurt, mocking him in his lowest hours, placing a crown of thorns on his head.
The covering of the face with a handkerchief is an iconic Christian item, after Jesus was placed in his tomb, but before his resurrection, a cloth was covering his face. This led to his face being imprinted on this cloth after his resurrection, proving his miraculous existence and having evidence for him being the son of God. Although this may be superficial, and done to most people with disfiguring a=post-mortem attributes, the similarities between the rest of the cases make this one stronger.
The stabbing areas seemed similar when reading, and when this was uttered, I thought of the same thing. Jesus was stabbed in both hands, on his feet, and on the sides of his abdomen when he was crucified, and Santiago Nasar bore many of these wounds on his body as well.
Finally, the main similarity between Nasar and Christ would be the denial of Angela Vicario's lack of involvement with Nasar. Jesus died for sins he didn't commit, since he was a man born without original sin and living without any sinful actions either. In theory, no one believed that Santiago Nasar was the one to deflower Angela Vicario, so the whole town allowed the tragedy of his murder to pass knowing that the innocent one was the one suffering the consequences.
“Help me," she shouted to me. What they want is to eat his guts." This quote references the dog’s desire to get to Santiago Nasar, and mimics the beginning of the novel when The servants fed the rabbit’s guts to the dogs. It references the omen Nasar received before his untimely death and is a result of magical realism. So skillfully is the topic of clairvoyance woven into the novel, that no one stops to question it, or wonder at the truthfulness at the events told because of it. Many other instances of clairvoyance exist throughout the novel, but this one is the most prominent and easiest to spot of them all. Nasar’s death was foretold not only by everyone else but by fate. With so many opportunities for Nasar’s life to be spared, one can only wonder if his death was sealed in stone.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5 of “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Marquez uses excuses to show that fate would eventually cause Santiago Nasar to die. The narrator frequently tells the accounts of those who knew Santiago’s death was going to take place. All of these people’s words and stories share one thing, and that is they never told Santiago he was going to die. In my opinion, their excuses, and not telling Santiago show that his death was inevitable, and brought by fate. Although we are never sure whether or not Santiago really did something to deserve this punishment, we know no one was so against it that they stopped it. Marquez writes, “he thought that Santiago Nasar had decided at the last moment to have breakfast at our house before changing his clothes” (110). Here, Cristo Bedoya tell his reasoning for not warning Santiago of his death. This doesn’t make very much sense in my opinion because no one told Cristo that Santiago wasn’t going home, because Santiago never said that. He had said he must go home before having breakfast at their house, even after his sister insisted he go right away, he refused. Along with this, Celeste Dangond says, “because it suddenly seemed to me that they couldn’t be killing him if he was so sure of what he was going to do”
ReplyDelete(103). One again, Celeste Dangond does not step in to save santiago by telling him about the murder plans. Her excuse is that Santiago seemed like he already had his day planned, so he couldn’t actually be killed. This excuse does not make sense because whether or not he knew about his death, his day would still be planned. Both Cristo and Celeste failed to warn Santiago, resulting in his violent death. This shows how Santiago’s death really could not have been prevented. Although it seems as though if one person told him he wouldn’t have died, the reality is no one would have/no one did tell him. Each and every person in the community had some reason for keeping the plan for Santiago. Although no one intentionally was trying to kill Santiago, they all ended up helping kill him. I think this goes along with fate, and how no one told him because his death was all a matter of fate. Unintentionally not telling Santiago he was about to be killed played on the theme of fate because his death could not be stopped. It became inevitable because everyone made up excuses or made mistakes and assumptions. Because every single person chose not to tell him, it became more evident that it was fate related.
Though I agree the townspeople attribute the death of Santiago Nasar to fate, I think its importance is over emphasized to portray that no matter how much they want to blame fate, they cannot. Santiago’s death is easily preventable, yet nobody manages to stop it even though they are all yelling advice or instructions to him in his last living moments. In this sense I think Marquez is mocking fate and showing that an incident like this is due to the negligence of the town, not destiny. Fate creates that magical effect in the magical realism, but the fact that fate alone cannot be blamed is the realistic trait.
Delete"The cocks of dawn would catch us trying to give order to the chain of many chance events that had made absurdity possible" (96)
ReplyDelete"Most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honour are sacred monopolies" (97)
"The crowd...was pouring in to testify without having been summoned, everyone eager to show off his own important role in the drama" (98)
"... the twins had told him... they were going to kill Santiago Nasar. Like so many others, he thought these were the fantasies of early risers" (101)
"The people who were coming back from the docks... began to take up positions around the square to witness the crime" (109)
"He went into his house through the door that had been open since six and fell on his face in the kitchen" (120)
Chapter 5 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold seems to explore the theme of fatalism, immersing the reader into the genre of magical realism that this book was written in.
This chapter is not written in a linear fashion, with events jumping from many years after the murder to an hour or two before the murder. The premeditated murder was unpreventable, with everyone being fated to lack the bravery to tell the victim of his oncoming death. It seems unlikely that the whole town would have known of this chain of events without anyone telling the object of it of his fate. This is the prime example of the Genovese Syndrome, where everyone attempts to not be included in the business of the case, for fear of involvement and consequences, but once it occurs, proclaiming the part they played in the tragedy, almost bragging about the lack of action they underwent.
The perceived innocence of the Vicario twins is what sealed the deal for poor Santiago Nasar. It didn't matter how much bravado they built by announcing their intentions to half the town, citizens were missing concern for the event due to the low probability of the occurrence of it. The line that follows this, people gathering in order to witness the crime, is one that contradicts the statement that so many made, of the preconceived innocence, due to the expectation of the grisly murder that was to be witnessed by all those who knew.
The final line, going into his house through the door that had been open since six, illustrates and accentuates the dramatic irony of the situation, with so many options highlighted for possible escapes from his death, yet the predetermination of his fate preventing him from seeing or taking these, for Santiago Nasar was destined to die at the hands of the twins, for a breach of honour that he didn't commit.
In novel the novel,“Chronicle of a Death Foretold” Gabriel García Márquez uses kinesthetic imagery to display Santiago Nasar’s confusion and how the genovese syndrome continues to doom people. Everyone wanted to help Nasar evade death without directly interfering with the family matter of honor, “They began to shout at him from every side, and Santiago Nasar went backward and forward several times, baffled by hearing so many voices at the same time.” Nasar went into shock directly upon hearing the news of his intended murder, and everyone in the village attempted to give him a fighting chance by sending him on the correct way home. Unfortunately their combined attempts only served to send Nasar further into shock, and destroyed any chance Nasar had at fighting back. This case is remarkably similar to the situation Kitty Genovese faced, with everyone yelling from the window, but never calling the police or leaving their apartments to provide more help. In both cases no one thought it was their right to interfere, and in both cases it resulted in the victim's death. The kinesthetic imagery best displays Nasar’s complete confusion. Not only did he not know the way home due to his shock, he only sinks further into shock due to the clamor of voices all assaulting him at once. It’s this state of confusion that allows the Vicario brothers to slay him so easily.
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