Death Foretold

The setting of the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold plays a crucial role in the novel as the setting enables the author, Gabriel Marquez, to manipulate the events which will occur, and is the fundamental reason the characters are depicted in a particular way. The setting of the story takes place in a small coastal town in Columbia. Throughout the novel, Marquez uses elements significant to the novel that pertain to the country such as: the weather, location, culture, and status. These elements are the base for which Marquez develops the novel. If the location of the setting were to change and the setting occurs in France, the culture and the location would not be as critical or pertain to the novel the same way a small town in Columbia would.

Marquez was born in Aracataca (Barco), a small rural town in Columbia, and also lived in Zipaquira, a town on the outskirts of Bogota, the capital of Columbia (cite). Through the experiences that occurred throughout his lifetime, Marquez gained perspective on the living conditions of both cities and give insight for the novel. Pertinent to the novel, Marquez uses magical realism to unfold the story by flashbacks, fast forwarding time, displaying dreams experienced by the characters, and memories to tell the story of the murder. As Marquez uses time and the setting to manipulate the events in the novel to tell the story to the reader. In chronicle of a death foretold, Gabriel Marquez uses the significance of the setting to develop the events and the characters in the novel.
Location
Historically from 1899-1902, the Columbian Civil, The War of a Thousand days, had taken place. After the civil war, Columbia’s economy expanded, many immigrants from poorer countries migrated into Colombia, and one group was people of Arab Descent. The small town in the novel has an established community of Arab descents, Santiago’s father being one of first to arrive. After settling down, people have had multiple generations of children now. Yet, the families are still treated as outsiders, effecting Santiago as the townspeople did not warn him of the future events.The town is so small that everyone in the town is invited to Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman’s wedding, while those who could not attend the wedding were given pieces of cake. As a result of the town being small, the people are aware of the others, enabling information to spread easily and vastly in a short period of time. Throughout the novel, the characters and the townspeople hear the news which states the Vicario twins (Pablo, and Pedro) have intentions to kill Santiago, yet, most people in the town do not tell Santiago if the plans. Cristo Bedoya attempts to tell his best friend, yet is unsuccessful with the timing, as Bedoya is not able to warn Santiago of the unfortunate events involving him ("Chronicle of a Death Foretold Themes.").
A disadvantage the town faces is the lack of resources the community is unable to obtain as a result of their location.

The town is located on the coast of Columbia “ limitless paradise of the marshes covered with purple anemones… neat horizon of the Caribbean and the tourist ships from Cartagena de Indias” (Marquez 35), limiting the availability of the resources as the only means of transportation to the exterior of the city is by river “ It (Santiago’s house) had been built in the days when the river was so usable that many seagoing barges and even a few tall ships made their way up there through the marshes of the estuary”(Marquez 10). The town is not industrialized or advanced “ he (Bayardo) spoke of the urgency for building a railroad into the interior so that we could keep ahead of the river’s fickle ways” (Marquez 26), hindering the people, as the town does not have access to a variety of supplies and is isolated. When Santiago is murdered, he is not taken to a hospital, or receives professional medical assistance “they only had few instruments for minor surgery available and the rest were craftsmen’s tools” (Marquez 75), the setting in the novel prevents the town form obtaining adequate equipment and facilities. Thus, Marquez uses the disadvantages to show how small and insignificant the town is portrayed to be “nor did they have the slightest idea of what he had come to do in a mislaid town” (87). The arrival of the bishop in the town consists of so much excitement, it is a big deal, yet “the bishop didn’t get off his boat” (16), signifying, the bishop does not value the town or find the town significance as the town is in a obscure

place.
Weather
Columbia is located below the equator, in South America. Due to the location of the country, the tropical, and coastal climate are used by Marquez to symbolize the impact of Santiago’s death. The confusion of the weather is extremely important in the novel as the weather adds to the mystery of Santiago’s murder. The characters when asked are not sure about the weather the day of the murder, adding to the confusion of the events which took place. “Many people coincided in recalling that it was a radiant morning with a sea breeze coming in through the banana groves, as was to be expected in a fine February of that period. But most agreed that the weather was funereal, with a cloudy, low sky and the thick smell of still waters, and that at the moment of the misfortune a thin drizzle was falling like the one Santiago Nasar had seen in his dream” (2). "I can remember with certainty that it was almost five o'clock and it was beginning to rain." (26) Said Colonel Lázaro Aponte. Pablo Said “It wasn't raining. [...] There was a sea wind and you could still count the stars with your finger." (41). Weather is a simple concept, yet however is taken for granted. The reader would not imagine anyone would lie about the weather, however everyone in the novel lies. Marquez uses the assumption made by the reader to create the conflicting views in the story.

Culture
The setting of the novel enables Marquez to show the Hispanic culture and morals that contributes to the motifs in the novel and the characteristics of the characters. Due to the strong catholic religion on the Hispanic culture, the characters, especially the Vicario twins, portray their morals as their motive to murder Santiago is to restore the honor of their sister. The belief that women should stay pure before they are married is not honored in the novel as Angela loses her virginity to another man. In order for her mistakes to be made right, Angela’s brothers need to murder Santiago “it was a matter of honor” (49), these actions demonstrate machoism. As Bayardo did not accept Angela when discovering her virginity had been claimed previously, as he believes once a women is not a virgin, she is soiled, is gave the Vicario twins more initiative to execute Santiago. The severe emphasis on masculine and feminine behavior leads to injustice ("Chronicle of a Death Foretold Themes"), the gender roles in the Hispanic culture contribute to the perception of a women, along with her actions and duties to fulfill the image of a women. The men in the novel show macho characteristics “Santiago Nasar grabbed her by the wrist when she came to take the empty mug from him. “The time has come for you to be tamed," he told her (3), as in their culture it is acceptable for them, as their society endorses sexual desires, which the men in the novel are not ashamed to show. As the setting allows Marquez to develop the characters in the novel and use characteristics of the town and the community to represent the Hispanic culture.
In conclusion, the setting in the novel holds a deeper significance to the novel as the setting is the foundation for the novel. As a result of the location of the town in Columbia, Marquez uses the geography of the area to support events and develop the town to symbolize the importance of the town and the impact the people have on the murder. Without the gossip in the novel, the conflicts that occur either would not happen or would not cause the dramatic responses from the community.