Santiago Nasar Symbolism

Santiago Nasar

In his novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel García Márquez uses literary devices such as irony, diction, and allusions, and symbols to establish parallel scenes between the gutting of the rabbits and Santiago’s autopsy in order to show Márquez’ satirical views on society and to demonstrate the theme that “although tradition can be significant to one, one should not follow it simply to uphold what society believes is right because it may lead to a situation that is harmful to another person; instead, he or she should make just decisions based on his or her own morals.”

The gutting of the rabbits is a symbol in this novel. The rabbits symbolize Santiago Nasar. The rabbits are gutted by Victoria Guzmán, and the fact that

The narrator then describes the rabbits as “defenseless animals” (p. 10). The word “defenseless” means without protection against an attack, danger, or injury, or without means to defend (SOURCE). This word, however, in conjunction with the symbol of the rabbits, has a connotation of being innocent as well as being without defense or protection. This is seen in how the rabbits are viewed in the novel as innocent animals. They are eaten by dogs, which are seen as brutal and as not having a conscience. This shows how the narrator believes that Santiago is not guilty (like the rabbits) and did not have any means of protecting himself from the “dogs” (the Vicario brothers). Márquez employs this example diction to further the theme that “although tradition can be significant to one, one should not follow it simply to uphold what society believes is right because it may lead to a situation that is harmful to another person; instead, he or she should make just decisions based on his or her own morals.” The diction of “defenseless” in conjunction with rabbits helps to further this theme because it demonstrates Márquez’ views on how people should make decisions based off of their own moral views because if he or she bases it off of tradition of what society views as proper, then it can cause one to be punished and harmed for something that there is not even evidence that he or

10). This is irony because, as Victoria Guzmán states, Santiago is “accustomed to killing defenseless animals” (p. 10). Márquez includes Santiago’s moment of uncharacteristic horror to death to present his own ideas and opinions. Since this horror is not usual for him, the contrast makes it clear that this is more than just Santiago speaking at the moment. Márquez employs this irony to demonstrate the theme that “although tradition can be significant to one, one should not follow it simply to uphold what society believes is right because it may lead to a situation that is harmful to another person; instead, he or she should make just decisions based on his or her own morals.” This is shown through the irony because the high contrast between Santiago’s words and his (implied) previous actions shows how it is Márquez satirizing the traditions in society and the violence or harm that may stem from