Santiago Nasar

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Recommended: Analysis of chronicles of a death foretold

Occasionally it requires a great tragedy for society to acknowledge its ineffectiveness and ugly traits. In the brilliant Colombian crime fiction novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the major tragedy is the death of Santiago Nasar. Nasar’s brutal death alludes to that of Jesus, emphasizing on the spiritual aspect of him being a martyr for his society. Particularly, this is embedded into the passage in which the actual killing of Santiago Nasar by the Vicario brothers, outside his house, occurs. In this passage from Chronicle of a Death of Foretold, Garcia Marquez uses kinesthetic imagery, abstract diction, and symbolism of animals in order to declare Santiago Nasar as a christlike figure, signifying the innocence …show more content…

The Vicario brothers are displayed as defenders of justice, with their “iron wrist” (Garcia Marquez 139). In the passage, most of the physical actions are attributed to the brothers, which indirectly characterizes them as Roman crucifiers. Pedro Vicario, gave Santiago Nasar a “thrust” (Garcia Marquez 139). The physical image of a thrust evokes a very violent lunge, that requires a substantial amount of force. After this, Santiago Nasar only “turned forward” and “leaned his back” (Garcia Marquez 139). Compared to the “thrust” by Pedro Vicario, Santiago’s movement is quite subtle. It is just a slight, and delicate change. While Pedro is very aggressive towards Santiago, he is simply making soft moves. In this passage, Garcia Marquez does the job of painting the Vicario brothers as ruthless murderers. The cause for which they were fighting is lost, and the perspective of the reader is dwindled to just this image. The embellishment of the Vicario brothers physical actions and the plainness in Santiago Nasar’s movements, evidently prove his innocent will for securing the family’s …show more content…

The depiction of the Vicario brothers as ruthless killers willing to go any length through kinesthetic imagery, shows their similarity with the Roman soldiers that killed Jesus Christ. It also helps further the indirect characterization of the Vicario brothers through their forceful physical actions. By describing Santiago Nasar as a saintlike figure through abstract diction, Garcia Marquez is able to portray Santiago as a scapegoat for the bigger problems in the society. The symbolism of animals explicitly encompasses the virtue of the patsy. The passage is able to attain the selflessness in sacrifice. Combining all of these literary elements together, Garcia Marquez is able to attain a much more coherent comprehension of the text through biblical

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  • Use Of Syntax In Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

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    Angela Vicario’s actions tested everyones honor in Gabriel García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Once shame was brought onto the Vicario family, it was Pedro and Pablo’s obligation to restore their good name. Honor proves itself to be a strong value in this community verified by Santiago Nasar’s death. Because of the power that honor is given, Santiago’s death was inevitable.

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    Foremost, Marquez foretold Santiago’s fate with the opening line “on the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on” to illustrate our fate is decided before we are born (Marquez 3). Marquez lets the reader know that Santiago was going to die but the fact that he also includes the plan Santiago had that morning

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    (118).” This is metaphor of comparing Nasar’s cry in pain to that of a moan of a calf is giving Santiago an animal characteristic which is also the employment of zoomorphism. These devices Marquez’s attempt to bring the element of sacrifice to the death of Nasar. Santiago Nasar’s moan of a calf directly parallels to Jesus Christ who was also known as the sacrificial lamb for the people. His sacrifice on the cross was for the sins of the people, and Santiago Nasar’s sacrifice was for the sins of Angela. This idea of a sacrifice is a criticism on the values of the society, for it required the sacrifice of a life to defend the honor of a woman who has sinned. Marquez furthers the idea of the innocence of Santiago Nasar by exemplifying the idea of sacrifice. This allusion to the Bible furthers Gabriel Marquez’s attempt to draw similarities between the Jesus Christ and Santiago Nasar. “Mortally wounded three times… (118).” The allusion of this line directly relates to the wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross, for which the nail marks on Christ were the mortal wounds that eventually lead to his death. Marquez usage of this allusion helps portray Nasar’s death to be similar to Jesus Christ, for both deaths were results of three mortal

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    So instead they try to explain and understand Santiago Nasar's death as an unavoidable force driven by a divine nature. It was the only consolation the narrator could draw from Santiago Nasar missing the anonymous note under the door that warned him of the plot against his life. Or the door that was open in the rear of the house that the protagonist could have fled to during the attack he faced from the Vicario brothers.

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  • Societal Analysis of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Garbriel Marquez

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    As the story unfolds, it is quickly clear that honor is paramount in this society, particularly family honor. The whole focus of the story is the murder of Santiago Nasar which was committed to restore the family honor lost by Angela Vicario when she had premarital sex, resulting in her failed marriage. Angela’s brothers commit murder, a mortal sin, to restore the family’s honor as tradition demands despite their reluctance since it “was certain that the Vicario brothers were not as eager to carry out of the sentence as to find someone who would do them the favor of stopping them” (Marquez, 57). Even after confessing to the crime, a jury found the brothers innocent in the name of honor ”Before God and before men…It was a matter of honor” (Marquez, 49). Yet these actions, in the name of honor, go against the religious beliefs of the town.

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  • Symbolism In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

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    The Vicario brothers “followed Santiago Nasar with their eyes… they looked at him more with pity” rather than hatred or anger (Marquez, 16). The feeling of pity the Vicario brothers place upon Santiago does not correlate with the typical angry, fear, or remorse that are common feelings associated with murderous acts. Pity, as seen in the novella, is intertwined with sympathy; Pedro knows it was morally wrong to murder an innocent man and displaying his guilt. As the day advanced “everything continued to smell of Santiago Nasar” which lingered throughout the town (Marquez, 78). Santiago’s scent is ingrained into the town, almost like that of a poltergeist. Poltergeist are spectors commonly associated with producing noises, movements, and smells. This is a prime example of how religion and superstition play a role in the novel. The Vicario brothers could smell him in the jail cell, no matter how much the brothers scrubbed their hands, they “couldn’t get rid of the smell” of Santiago’s blood from their hands (Marquez, 78). The text above backs the idea of guilt in the novella’s society as the brothers cannot wash away the crime and sin they committed. Blood on the hands is a parallel to guilt that is a motif throughout the bible with thirty-four verses containing a direct reference to liability and blood on the hands. Pedro, while talking to an investigator,

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  • An Analysis of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold

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    Brutality manifests itself in many forms throughout the novel, it is the sole element that transforms the story from a parody to a harrowing murder mystery ,It is used by the Vicario brothers to transform the concept of honour into a savage,ominous and less than benevolent caricature of it’s former self. In this story, the protagonist, an individual by the name of Santiago Nasar is murdered after he allegedly deflowered Angela Vicario, before she was handed over in marriage to Bayardo San Roman, the son of a famous military general. The narrator constantly alludes to the fact that there might have been a gross...

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