Analysis of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Recommended: Traditional gender roles in Latin America

Santiago Nasar's death by Colombian Society and it's gender roles

In Colombia and and other places of Latin America ,Patriarchy,the system of society in which men hold all the power and women are excluded from it ,has a mark in daily life for Colombians.In Chronicle of a Death Foretold ,Santiago Nasar was brutally murdered for the way Colombian Society views gender roles.This dependence in machismo, this masculine pride in which men rule over the women and are “the man of the house” and the direct response in which women must live up to this role of an idolized woman that follows that of the image of the Virgin Mary, Marianismo, leads to Santiago’s death. Men have the responsibility to provide and protect, their family,especially if the woman has been disrespected .The way these idealized roles are so important in Latin american countries like that of Colombia can cause any crime to be forgiven like that of murdered as long as it is to keep the honor of a woman ,because of this view of Marianismo.In order to apply these gender role issues in Chronicle of a Death Foretold and to show to what extent women are exploited under this unequal gender system Marquez ‘s uses Irony and Biblical allusions . Pedro and Pablo Vicario kill Santiago Nasar for dishonoring their sister even without the need or want to murder their friend, they still have to uphold their role of men in the society as Santiago has disrespected their sister, .
Marquez applies these gender role issues to the novel like that of women not being treated equally to men because of how and where he was raised.Marquez was raised in Colombia where he was able to see this type of gender distinction as the man was supposed to be strong and manly like...

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...rding to Machismo one would have to be honorable and two men fighting against a defenseless man makes this a dishonorable fight.Again with the biblical allusions and irony the ‘twins: Pedro and Pablo Vicario”have the same names as two of the most well known disciples of Jesus Christ.They kill Santiago Nasar who is the Christ figure of the story. Marquez just makes a mockery of religion and the emphasize of it in Latin america.
Overall the tragedy of Chronicle of a Death Foretold could have been prevented if it wasn't for hundreds of years of differences in what men and women are allowed to do. The representation and characterization of women and men in Marquez’s “Chronicles of a Death Foretold” shows an understanding of the varied ways in which patriarchy was and is still used to this day in Latin America.

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