Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Analysis

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Kevin Love Ms. Dobson WLS Tutorial-8 3/23/14 Gabriel Marquez’ story Chronicle of a death Foretold follows the final day of Santiago Nasar before he is brutally killed. It is widely believed that Santiago Nasar took the virginity of Angela Vicario before she was married, and that he should be punished as it is forbidden for women in their culture to have premarital sex. The story takes place in a small Colombian town during the 1950s and is told in first person through the eyes of a mysterious narrator. The culture of the town in which the story takes place revolves around honor. No one in the novel would question an action that occurs to defend somebody’s honor because it is normally thought to be an important moral trait that is crucial to keep whole. In this story, a person that does not demonstrate honor would be considered an pariah in the community. Marquez uses honor throughout the story to illustrate how togetherness is important in this community. Many of the characters in the novel are inspired by the power of honor, for this alone is single-handedly responsible for the death of Santiago Nasar. The story begins with the narrator telling us the ending. Santiago Nasar was killed after being accused of taking the virginity of an unmarried woman, Angela Vicario. The Vicario twins, Pedro and Pablo, stab Santiago to death so they can regain the honor of their sister. Angela goes against her culture and dishonors her family by sleeping with a man that is different than the one she would soon marry. The two brothers feel that the only way for this to be fixed is to kill Santiago for allegedly taking her virginity. “The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to get married. They knew how to do screen em... ... middle of paper ... ...at supposedly took her virginity because he was popular among the community and nobody really had a grudge against him. But nevertheless, Angela is scrutinized in this scene to confess the name of the culprit. The fact that the brothers took the time to get her away from the rest of the family and ask her privately who the person was just shows how much of a sin it was for a woman in this culture to have premarital sex. Gabriel Garcia Marquez ends the story with the murder of Santiago. Santiago is running to his home after being instructed to do so by Clothilde Armenta where the Vicario twins repeatedly stab him before he can get inside. Honor is an important part in many people’s lives, especially in the culture of this town, where defending the honor of their sister and family was more important to the Vicario brothers than the time they would spend in jail.

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