Santiago Nasar Guilty

A Guilty Town of Murderous Forces

Some people may say that it is true that Pablo and Pedro Vicario are guilty of murdering Santiago Nasar because he is believed to have “deflowered” their sister, Angela. However, this is wrong because the entire Colombian town was focused on honor and machismo, and this resulted in the entire town being guilty. The author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of the novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, suggests through the main character, Santiago Nasar, that honor and machismo are dangerous qualities to cherish in a town. Also, it is proven that although there is usually one or two murderers, many people, even a whole town, can be involved in one way or another. It is what the people choose to do about the situation,

as well as how they react, that creates a sense of guilt. Two forces, honor and machismo, lead to the death of Santiago Nasar, and Marquez reveals the guilt of the small, Colombian town through the strange ways each person as an individual feels a sense of guilt for not stopping the murder.
The sense and restoration of honor is one of the main forces that lead to the planning and murder of Santiago Nasar. This honor is what motivates Pablo and Pedro Vicario to commit a murder. Angela Vicario, the sister, claims that Santiago was the one that “deflowered” her after she is returned by her newlywed husband on the same night of their wedding. In the novel, it states, “’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’” (49). Another example that honor was a force of Santiago’s death was with the character, Clotilde Armenta. She was the owner of the local milk shop, and she attempted to caution Santiago by passing on the warning through several different people, but she was unsuccessful. Armenta says, “’Spare boys from the horrible duty that’s fallen on them’” (57). She acknowledges that the Vicario brothers are following through with Santiago’s murder in order to defend their sister and their family’s honor. Honor is so important that it even trumps love in the town. On the night of the wedding between Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario, he discovers that his bride is not a virgin. Although he loves and cares for her very much, she is a dishonorable woman. So, he proceeds to take Angela back to her home in the middle of the night to prove that a woman is only worth being married to if she is still “flowered” (46). It is very important to have a sense of honor, and to have the drive to restore honor, but it is also very dangerous because it can result in death.
Machismo is another quality seen throughout the novel that contributes to the death of young Santiago in the Colombian town.

Machismo is the strong or aggressive pride, as well as the dominance men have over women. Divina Flor, the daughter of the Nasar family’s cook, was proof that Santiago was capable of taking Angela Vicario’s virginity. Divina says, “’It was what he always did when he caught me alone in some corner of the house, but that day I didn’t feel the usual surprise but an awful urge to cry’” (13). Santiago had pride over Divina, and he felt that he had complete and utter control over her, or at least enough to assault in her such ways without her permission. Another example of machismo is when Pedro Vicario confronted Angela about who “deflowered” her. Marquez describes, “Pedro Vicario, the more forceful of the brothers, picked her up by the waist and sat her on the dining room table. ‘All right, girl,’ he said to her, trembling with rage, ‘tell us who it was’” (47). In this moment, Pedro is using his gender status to physically and verbally demand the answer of who took his little sister’s virginity. This is the beginning of the brothers’ rage to kill Santiago Nasar. A final example from the novel of the effect machismo has on Santiago’s murder is that Purisima del Carmen raised her children in different ways. Angela and her sister had been “reared to get married,” while Pedro and Pablo were “brought up to be men” (31). The Vicario brothers have been told

since day one to be men of machismo, which leads to their determination in murdering Santiago. Machismo can be a positive quality for men to have, but it also can lead to discrimination towards women, and even men.
The entire town, including the Vicario brothers, was consumed with guilt after the murder of Santiago Nasar.

Marquez describes a scene, saying, “Both [Pablo and Pedro Vicario] followed Santiago Nasar with their eyes as he began to cross the square. ‘They looked at him more with pity,’ Clotilde Armenta said” (16). This scenario proves that even the plotters of Santiago’s death felt guilty for their plan of the soon-to-be murder before they had even gone proceeded with it. The twins also described how they couldn’t “rid of the smell” of Santiago, or how they were unable to sleep for three days because they would “commit the crime all over again” (78). A second example of how guilt was overcoming the town was when they said that there was only one person that was innocent. The novel states, “For the immense majority of people there was only one victim: Bayardo San Roman” (83). The whole town concludes that Bayardo was a victim because he had to put his pride before his love, and the majority of the people were aware of the murder plot, but did not warn Santiago. Marquez described, “Many of those who were on the docks knew that they were going to kill Santiago Nasar” (19). This quote proves that all citizens of the town had the capability of stopping this murder, but not a single person warned Santiago or stopped the brothers. The people of the small town all contributed to the death of Santiago in one way or another, and this results in the widespread feeling of

guilt.
Honor and machismo both contribute to the death of Santiago Nasar, and also to the guilt that is felt throughout the small, Columbian town. These strong qualities can either make or break a society, and in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, it unfortunately broke this town and the people in it. Although, this could have been prevented if the members of this community had taken initiative and warned Santiago. In this case, it is essential to cherish the values in one’s community, but it is more important to not push the limit when defending one’s honor or machismo because it can collectively affect everyone that is involved.