Use Of Irony In Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

Marquez uses irony many times throughout A Chronicle of a Death Foretold, to display the strange turn of events and bring sarcasm to the rather dark novel. The novel centers around the murder of the young man Santiago Nasar, and his alleged involvement with Angela Vicario. In the scene where the author reveals that Angela Vicario is not a virgin on her wedding night, the reader and the characters are surprised because, as the narrator states, “No one would have thought, nor did anyone say, that Angela Vicario wasn't a virgin (22)”. This quote is ironic because the thought of Angela Vicario not being a virgin, never crossed the minds of the people in the village since Angela was raised strictly to be the perfect wife. Because no one in the town would have thought, nor had there been any gossip about Angela Vicario losing her virginity. The incredulous townspeople were not surprised when the Vicario’s exact revenge; much less had anyone thought that it was

For an example, when Bayardo San Roman says “‘That very night Bayardo San Roman went to the social club and sat down at the widower Xius table to play a game of dominoes. "Widower," he told him, "I'll buy your house." "It's not for sale," the widower said."I'll buy it along with everything inside."The widower Xius explained to him with the good breeding of olden days that the objects in the house had been bought by his wife over a whole lifetime of sacrifice and that for him they were still a part of her” (21). This line shows irony because the house Bayardo wants to buy from Xius is a symbol of the love he shared with his wife. This is shown when Xius explains why cannot sell the house to Bayardo, “the house had been bought by his wife over a whole lifetime of sacrifice and that for him they were still a part of her”. To Xius the house serves as the memory of his late wife and the life they shared before her