During chapter 1, I learned a lot of new things. I think it’s very interesting how the book begins with saying when Santiago Nasar was killed and works backward as to explain why and how. On Page 8, Gabriel wrote about rain. I think this is a symbol because rain is never just rain, as we know, in stories. In this case, I feel as if it means something more about Santiago’s death. Victoria Guzmán was Santiago’s cook and recalled the day he was killed by stating that she doesn’t think it rained, “...was sure that it hadn’t rained that day, or during the whole month of February” (8). This is important because rain symbolizes and foreshadows death. This is because just before her statement, Santiago’s mom advised him to use an umbrella to protect him from the showers, but he refused, said bye, and that was the last time she saw her son. Victoria also has secrets of her own, she had an affair with Santiago’s dad, Ibrahim Nasar, while she was a young teenager and soon after it was over she had become the Nasar’s house servant, or cook. There also seems to be a very mysterious mood while reading this book because some characters claim to have heard about the men who killed Santiago while others hadn’t heard. Victoria, over the years, had heard things about the men’s motives and the place where they were waiting. She said, “I didn’t warn him because I thought it was drunkards’ talk,” (13). I think it’s interesting that she didn’t speak of the information she heard when it was about something as serious as a death. Even though she may have thought it was drunkards’ talk, it was about something serious, a man’s death. That should have given her a feeling as to tell someone because it could turn up to be real, as we know, or become a bigger problem, and she becomes involved in a way because she knew about it.
In the first Chapter, there is a lot of facts given to the reader about characters, plot, and the type of writing Marquez writes in. The magical realism is seen in the very beginning, Marquez writes about Santiago Nasar’s custom with his gun: “It was a wise custom established by his father ever since one morning when a servant girl had shaken the case to get the pillow out and the pistol went off as it hit the floor and the bullet wrecked the cupboard in the room, went through the living room wall, passed through the dining room of the house next door with thunder of war, and turned a life size saint on the main altar of the church on the opposite side of the square to plaster dust.” (Marquez, page 6). This passage is the first to introduce to the reader the magic realism writing. It is realistic for a gun to go off and accidentally shoot or kill someone, however it is not realistic for a bullet to travel that far. The magic is subtle, yet enough for a reader to catch onto. I also noticed the “chronological” order Marquez writes in, is not exactly chronological. There is a lot of switching between past and present language. There will be talk of the plot in present and then Marquez will switch to past about the plot: “In those days...” (Page 16) and begins to talk about what times were like then. Marquez has an interesting way of writing and it is noticeable to readers!
I agree that the first chapter is mainly about introducing the characters and plot. It goes around in the perspective of Santiago Nasar, and how the narrator saw how he acted on his “final” day as he roamed the town, not knowing he was to be killed. Marquez definitely does a great job foreshadowing using the entire chapter to set up the end result of a situation, to further set up the rest of the book. - Ryan K
“‘He was always dreaming about trees,’ Placida Linero, his mother, told me twenty-seven years later, recalling the details of that distressing Monday. ‘The week before, he’d dreamed that he was alone in a tinfoil airplane flying through the almond trees without bumping into anything,’ she said to me. She had a well earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people’s dreams, provided they were told her before eating, but she hadn’t noticed any ominous augury in those two dreams of her son’s, or in the other dreams of trees he’d described to her on the mornings preceding his death” (Marquez 6).
This portion of Chapter 1 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, contains many instances of symbolism and irony even though most of the plot is already known to the reader. The symbol which appears here is dreams, but more specifically Santiago Nasar’s dreams. His mother, Placida Linero, did not see Santiago’s dreams as a bad omen so they went on believing that everything is okay, which is quite ironic as everyone already knew what happened to Santiago, and it certainly was not a happy ending. While his dream can be interpreted as Santiago gliding through life, it can also be seen as foreshadowing how everyone in the town did not warn Santiago that he was going to die. Similar to the Kitty Genovese case, all the people in the town who knew that Santiago Nasar was going to die, didn’t warn him. He possibly could have been saved if someone had told him about his fate. So the fact that Santiago was flying in his dream just brushing through can show how he was just brushing through life, or it can be interpreted as how the townspeople didn’t tell Santiago about the Vicario brothers’ plan to kills him. The bystander effect is represented in this dream, and the symbolism really shows the extent of the problem.
The idea you talked about including the dreams Santiago had was something new to me. I hadn't thought about it in deep thought before I read what you wrote. I wonder why no one warned him that he was going to die? Also, like you said, this first chapter is similar to Kitty Genovese since it includes magical realism and no one warning them of their deaths.
I think it is interesting how Santiago has a dream that seems to predict his death or at least symbolize it on the day of his death. This is also a good representation of magical realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold because although some people may claim to have premonitions or be able to see into the future, it is very uncommon if possible at all leaving the opening “dream scene” to add to the genre of magical realism. Also, this is Nico Koppy, blogspot seems to insist on making my life as hard as it possibly can I have to post as anon otherwise it won't let me post.
In the first chapter, many things were introduced to us. Many names, many descriptions of a past court trial, a lot of descriptive words of the events that had transpired that day, and the majority of the people's' perspective on how that important day had gone. Because it was the first chapter, and how the story was written, I was generally confused on what was going on. And as the chapter continued, it was difficult to get a firm personality of Santiago Nasar, and what everyone had thought of him. Everyone had known that he was to die that day, except for the people in his family. This is extremely strange due to the fact that the entire town had known he was to die, yet had done nothing in order to stop or even inform him of this.
Chapter 2 is very eventful as Márquez intertwines the lesson of gender inequality and the theme of male dominance into his writing in this chapter. He writes about Angela Vicario’s mother talking to her about pleasing men and how they, the women, are meant to suffer. She says, “...she was frequently heard to say. Any man will be happy with them because they’ve been raised to suffer,” (31). This is similar to the play we just read, “A Doll’s House” because that also taught readers about how unfairly women were treated and this book also supports that idea. The phrase “raised to suffer” means, in my opinion, that women are expected to be submissive and follow along in men’s footsteps in life and not live their own life. They are raised to suffer because their life won’t be very happy, but know it is going to happen whether they want it or not. Another theme introduced in this chapter is marriage and whether or not it is out of love or just pure arrangement. The narrator says, “Angela Vicario never forgot the horror of the night on which her parents and her older sisters with their husbands, gathered together in the parlor, imposed on her the obligation to marry a man whom she’d barely seen.. Angela Vicario only dared hint at the inconvenience of a lack of love, but her mother demolished it with a single phrase: ‘Love can be learned too’” (35). This was interesting to read because it foreshadowed the next few lines because her marriage didn’t last very long. This creates the thought that the marriages are more for show and image for Angela’s family rather than her being happy and in love like it should be. I wonder if she will find real love or be stuck in a prearranged marriage for the rest of her life? This refers back to my original point of gender inequality because women do not get as much of a say in their own lives as they do not get their own opinion as to who they want to marry, which is ultimately their decision.
I agree that this chapter presents themes which are very similar to those in a "A Doll's House". I also found the question you posed very interesting, because nothing much has changed as many people are still stuck in loveless, arranged marriages. The quote "Love can be learned too" is so impactful because the reader would assume that perhaps Angela could learn to love Bayardo San Roman, but as you said, the marriage did not last long at all. This also brings up the topic of how some parents didn't seem to care about what their children wanted, but instead just told them to "deal with it" essentially. There are many motifs throughout this story, as well as the many others we read in class, which are still pertinent today, and I find that to be very interesting.
I agree with your point of this chapter focusing on gender inequality and male dominance. This entire chapter talks about a women's expectation to please her husband and for her to grow up with the entire idea of getting married. I liked your comparison to A Dolls House but I would also like you to think about Taming of the Shrew, which I think is more symbolic to this chapter than any piece of literature we have read yet. Katherine and Bianca are brought up by their father and everyone in the town, to be the perfect wife and to please her husband. Which is in comparison to the way Angela's mother acts in raising her to be the perfect wife as well.
“She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written. ‘Santiago Nasar,’ she said” (Marquez 47).
The second chapter of Chronicle Of A Death Foretold reveals the motives behind the murder of Santiago Nasar. This quote shows why the Vicario brothers targeted Santiago and how Angela accused Santiago of something he may not have even done. This word choice in this quote shows a hint of doubt in the narration, and it gives the readers a hint that Santiago is not actually guilty. It is like Angela Vicario had the whole thing planned in her head as seen in the line, “She only took the time necessary to say the name” (47). Angela waited the perfect amount of time to say Santiago’s name to make it seem like it was the truth, when in reality she could have easily been lying. Also the description that she found Santiago’s name “among the many, many easily confused names” shows how she could have picked any name, but his was the first she saw. Marquez’s choice to compare Santiago to a butterfly can represent many things. The way I interpreted it, was that the butterfly represented Santiago’s innocence, but whose “sentence has always been written”. Even though he was innocent, his fate was always sealed. However, after doing further research I found that in many cultures butterflies symbolize life and hope. This is somewhat ironic as in this case, the butterfly’s life will be cut short, as it is destined to live this path. There was no hope left for Santiago Nasar after Angela Vicario spoke his name, and the poor butterfly could have been innocent.
Your point about the symbol of a butterfly is super interesting because you're right, it is very ironic. I didn't know that a butterfly meant hope and life in some cultures, but now that I do, this part makes more sense because both the butterfly and Santiago's lives were cut short. Also, the part where you state that the doubt in the narration seems to make Santiago not guilty is something I agree with!
In the second chapter of a Chronicle of a Death Foretold, there is a lot of talk about marriage. Not about a healthy marriage but about a marriage that contains gender roles and control. Marquez writes “The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to get married” (Marquez, page 31). These two lines are extremely powerful and represent the entire theme of this chapter. Not only the theme of this chapter but the theme of this time period. Men were raised to be men, have fortune, and have strength. While a women was raised for a man and not for herself. This related to Taming of the Shrew based on Katherine and Bianca needing to be married and given suitors to choose from. Specifically Katherine, being that she was forced to marry Petruchio and was not given any other choices. Katherine then had to play a role to be the perfect wife to her husband, considering her role in life was to be married and please her husband. I also noticed that virginity was brought up in this chapter and was a huge deal to everyone in the town. Angela not being “pure” took away the pride of Bayardo San Roman, getting to take the virginity of his wife. It was shameful for Angela and her mother (considering her mother beat the crap out of her after finding out she was no longer a virgin): “The fact that Angela Vicario dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of the purity.” (41). In this time period, orange represented purity and fertility in a women which Angela was not. Her wearing the colors of virginity and purity was disrespectful in the eyes of the town and the community looked down upon her.
I agree on your analysis that this book is very related to the Taming of the Shrew. Many themes really are similar to each other, for example the perfect woman, obedience, and expectations from others. And the fact that Gabriel gives such roles to each gender, such as men, really helps to characterize the Vicario family and how they were raised up. - Ryan K
I agree with you that this relates to the play, "Taming of the Shrew" and the theme of marriage and love vs. lust. It is awful that women had to play a role of being the perfect wife and fitting the role of it and pleasing their husbands and aren't happy while doing it.
Chapter two was quite the doozy by introducing the incredibly rich, talented, and charming, Bayardo San Roman. In this chapter, it explains who Bayardo is, what he did to gain the trust of the village people, imass rumors and the image that he held, and how his involvement made a play with Santiago Nasar’s death. By marryin Angelio, he held a grand wedding to further his relationship with the people. This is extremely important because in the cliffhanger of chapter 2, when Angelio says who she lost her virginity to, enrages the townspeople. “The Vicario brothers were there and they were drinking with us and singing with Santiago Nasar five hours before killing him” (Page 50). The quote directly shows that the people had a fine relationship with Santiago, but the moment that he messes with the new hot guy in town, everyone turns on him, even going as far as killing him for revenge. - Ryan K
In chapter 3, the story behind Santiago’s death comes alive. After Angela tells her brothers the name of the man, Santiago, they immediately take action. They pick out knives and start the hunt for Santiago. The fact that the brothers told people their plan of killing him, but no one paid close attention to it, amazes me and was very ironic because people heard about the men wanting to kill him, didn't do anything, then he ended up dying just like the readers knew. Although these brothers are seemed to be nice and wouldn’t do something of that kind, hearing that they wanted to kill someone would immediately make me cautious and aware of them. No one did this in this book because they thought the men would never do that and they were crazy. They say, “‘We’re going to kill Santiago Nasar,’ he said. Their reputation as good people was so well-founded that no one paid any attention to them. ‘We thought it was drunkards’ baloney,” several butchers declared, just as Victoria Guzmán and so many others did who saw them later,” (52). Although the people never suspected this of the boys, I think they should’ve paid a little more attention to what they had said. The people ignoring the boys threats, foreshadows the upcoming events of Santiago’s killing. Death is never something to joke around with and when you do hear it, normally someone takes action in reporting or investigating, but not in this case. Since no one paid attention to the boys’ threats, Santiago was later killed. I, myself, would feel a sort of responsibility in Santiago’s death if I had heard the brothers threats of killing him. This is because I could’ve taken action to prevent it, just like some of the characters did, but chose not to. Never judge a book by its cover because you never know what’s on the inside, just like the characters did with the boys, their good reputation allowed them to get away with murder with no obstacles.
I agree with you that there is a lot of unfair treatment seen throughout this book. It is very sad that no one even gave Santiago a warning about the Pedro and Pablo Vicario, because that could have saved his life. I also agree that I would feel responsible for Santiago's death if I were in that position, but I would also feel incredibly guilty. The way I see it, the sole person responsible for Santiago's death is Angela, and the readers can pick up that Santiago may not have even been guilty in the first place. Yet later on she doesn't seem to show any guilt about her decision and keeps insisting that Santiago was the one she slept with. This makes it very hard for me to relate to Angela because I feel as if she made the wrong decision.
"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 honour."
Chapter three of A Chronicle of A Death Foretold shows the aftermath of the murder, while also shining light on why the Vicario brothers chose to kill Santiago Nasar. One of the main reasons the Vicario brothers “had” to kill Santiago, was because of honor. They had to bring honor to their family, so they killed Santiago. Another key point which is brought up throughout the novel, religion. This quote shows the Vicario brothers “surrendering” to Father Amador. They are confessing in the name of God, but they are also saying that the are innocent before God. The Vicario brothers are using honor as a get out of jail free card, because they know that everyone within their society only cares about honor and religion. This aspect alone can cause a lot of controversy, and it also brings up the question, what can justify murder? The Vicario brothers say they are innocent because it was a matter of honor, but in today’s society that would never pass as a justifiable reason to not be charged. Even though in this book, the brothers do end up in prison, no one outcasts them like a murderer would be outcasted in society today. It is really interesting to see the differences which occur with the huge time gap. Many people may not realize how much society has changed, either for the good or the bad, but it really has.
“They gave us back a completely different body. Half of the cranium had been destroyed by the trepanation, and the lady-killer face that death had preserved ended up having lost its identity. Furthermore, the priest had pulled out the sliced-up intestines by the roots, but in the end he didn't know what to do with them, and he gave them an angry blessing and threw them into the garbage pail. The last onlookers ranged about the schoolhouse windows lost their curiosity, the helper fainted, and Colonel Lazaro Aponte, who had seen and caused so many repressive massacres, became a vegetarian as well as a spiritualist. The empty shell, stuffed with rags and quicklime and sewed up crudely with coarse twine and baling needles, was on the point of falling apart when we put it into the new coffin with its silk quilt lining. "I thought it would last longer that way," Father Amador told me. Just the opposite happened, and we had to bury him hurriedly at dawn because he was in such bad shape that it was already unbearable in the house” (Marquez 45).
This passage which is found in chapter 4 of A Chronicle of A Death Foretold, describes how Santiago Nasar’s body was treated post mortem. The most interesting aspect about this passage is the gory imagery. I personally liked the addition of the description of the body. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s intense use of imagery makes the reader uncomfortable as the gory details are described. Every single description of the body is repulsive, and it leads me to wonder what Marquez wanted. Did he want the readers to feel uncomfortable, and if so why? The dismemberment of Santiago was one of the worst things the villagers have ever seen. This is especially seen in this line, “... Colonel Lazaro Aponte, who had seen and caused so many repressive massacres, became a vegetarian as well as a spiritualist” (45). A person like Colonel Lazaro Aponte who has seen death so many times couldn’t bear to see any more, which is why he became a vegetarian and a spiritualist.
This passage also brings up the unfairness in how Santiago’s body was treated. The autopsy was conducted with little to no concern for the condition of the body. The autopsy was also conducted with little concern about the family of Santiago and how they would want his body to look for the funeral or anything. The body was literally “falling apart” and there was nothing that could be done to save it. If Santiago was looked up to in the community his body wouldn’t be in such a sad condition, but Santiago lost his pride when Angela Vicario uttered his name. His name was tainted by her, therefore even when he died no one took care of his body.
Chapter 5 of Chronicle of A Death Foretold delves deeper into the guilt of all the townspeople and how the murder affected them. Starting off strong, the first pages of chapter 5 outline how specific characters handled the murder, but more importantly how they handled their guilt. The main characters which are described are, Flora Miguel, Hortensia Baute, Aura Villeros, Don Rogelio del Flor, and Placida Linero. It’s interesting to see that even though these character weren’t mentioned much throughout the book, their actions make it seem like they were pivotal characters. A lot of these people also didn’t seem to have a personal nor deep relationship with Santiago, but their guilt is eating them up. Hortensia Baute especially had no direction relation to the murder of Santiago, yet it still hits her hard. Marquez describes, “Hortensia Baute, whose only participation was having seen two bloody knives that weren't bloody yet, felt so affected by the hallucination that she fell into a penitential crisis, and one day, unable to stand it any longer, she ran out naked into the street” (Marquez 57). All of the hysteria and madness caused her to run naked into the street, all because she saw the two knives. The guilt of the townspeople caused them to go “insane” which can be seen as a message to society. People should not be bystanders and if you know something bad is going to happen, you should do something. This is also seen in the Kitty Genovese case, as no one helped her when she was being stabbed, and that ultimately led to her death. Marquez’s descriptions of everyone after the murder were put there for a purpose, and I think it could be to send a message about being a bystander in society.
During chapter 4, the real colors of Angela’s mom comes out. Her mother had beaten her so bad that she had to wrap her face to cover it up. This amazes me because how could a mom ever do this to their daughter? Especially because Angela’s mom is the one forcing her to do something (marry someone) she doesn’t want to. To continue with the themes of male dominance and gender inequality, Santiago says, “‘Your cousin the booby,’ he would say to me when he had to mention her” (90). The fact that Santiago refers to a woman as “the booby”, is very disrespectful and dishonors the woman. It’s very offensive and I would never want to be called that. Along with that, the description of Santiago’s body comes back very gruesome, “The damage from the knives was only a beginning for the unforgiving autopsy that Father Carmen Amador found himself obliged to perform in Dr. Dionisio Iguarán’s absence. ‘It was as if we killed him all over again after he was dead…’” (72). Not only does this show no remorse in these characters, but it is as if they enjoyed doing this in some sort of evil way. The first line of the chapter in which I wrote about, is very descriptive and brutal. It makes my stomach turn as if I had seen the body myself. How could someone ever murder another human? Márquez created a mood of discomfort and disbelief when it came to describing Santiago’s body, but that is what makes this book so interesting. While reading this part, I was bewildered to know that these men killed him the way they did. This reminds me of stories I’ve heard on the news and it shocks me to know that humans could do this to each other, and Márquez does a great job in painting this picture and making it seem so real.
I completely agree with your analysis, and I found the questions you posed very interesting. How could a mother ever hurt a daughter in this way? Even though Angela's mother felt dishonored by her daughter, I just don't understand how someone who is supposed to love you endlessly can hurt you in such a way. Your second question which talks about how a human could hurt another human brings up the topic of human nature. Were the Vicario brothers raised in such a way that murdering someone else can be justified? Also, Santiago was raised in a certain way, where he is described to be very similar to his father, so his habit of objectifying women can be seen as normal to him. It is all about perspective.
To comment on the part of a mother beating her child, I agree that it is disturbing how badly Angela was beat. A mother is meant to be there for you and love you and help teach you right from wrong. That is what a good mother is meant to do and in a time period like ours, that is how society sees a good mother. However, in a time period of this book, a mothers job was to prepare their daughter for marriage and to keep their daughter pure. It is disgusting to me that Angela's mother beat her but in a time period like this, it is almost expected. Violence is never okay but as a mother who has taught her daughter to be pure and to find out this awful news that she is no longer a virgin, it makes sense for her to be so angry.
In chapter 5, as we talked about in class, we had discussed that Angela may still be a virgin and it was just a rumour. In chapter 5, we learn that is true, it was just gossip. This flips everything upside down because her mom had beaten her for that, but now it is for no reason since she actually is a virgin. I feel very bad for Angela because she had been forced into a marriage she didn’t want to be in along with being a virgin, but no one believed her which resulted in her being beat. During chapter 5, we also learn that Santiago is innocent. The narrator says, “For him, just as for Santiago Nasar’s closest friends, the victim’s very behavior during his last hours was overwhelming proof of his innocence,” (100). This is a big twist because everyone thought he was guilty, but in reality, he was not. Also, there is a lot of remorse amongst the people in the town after Santiago’s death. The characters can’t live their lives the way they used to, it made me think that these people feel so guilty and responsible for his death because they knew it was going to happen but didn’t stop it. “But most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honor are sacred monopolies, giving access only to those who are part of the drama,” (97). This teaches me, and the rest of the readers, that you should take action whenever you can especially if it’s life threatening, otherwise you’ll die in your own pool of guilt, just like these characters are. Although guilt is an awful feeling, I don’t feel bad for these characters because they had the chance to avoid this feeling. Even if you aren’t “part of the drama”, but you know something on the outside of the midst of it all, you should speak up because it could save someone’s life, and in this case, Santiago’s. If they knew he was going to die and didn’t speak up, shouldn’t they also feel mad at themselves for not putting a stop to the men’s actions? Although they weren’t a major part of this book, it seems as if they are in the way they are coping with the murder.
I really enjoyed your analysis of this chapter. It is a life lesson to everyone that being a bystander is just as much harm as being the criminal. Children are often taught in school that if you watch someone be bullied and do nothing about it, you are just as bad. This should be reiterated to adults as well. For Santiago to be killed after not committing the crime they claimed he had and to be killed after multiple people, including the police, were aware of this murder about to take place is appalling. How can so many people be aware of this act and not stop the brothers. While some claim they tried to save Santiago and warn him, that is only to keep their peace of mind.
In Chapter four, there is talk about color again. Color seems to have a lot of meaning throughout the story. In Chapter two, Angela was wearing orange blossoms on her wedding day to represent the purity that a wife should have, before being married. “The fact that Angela Vicario dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of the purity.” (Marquez. 41). Angela was wearing orange to show the community that she was a virgin and had her purity, even though she claims to not be pure. In Chapter four, the color red is brought into the story. Angela wore a face wrap and the color red the day after being beat by her mother to hide the bruises, as well as to hide her mourning from being left by Bayardo. Hiding her mourning in the color red was an act for the public to see. Angela had to play a role to the community of being pure and married. Playing a role was also seen in Taming of the Shrew and A Doll's House, among multiple characters. In those times, playing a character or role was a necessity to each individual's society, men and women. There was also the talk of Angela’s hair color being yellowish gray, which is interesting for Marquez to specifically include the color yellow. “At the window of a house that faced the sea, embroidering by the machine at the hottest hour of the day, was a woman half in mourning, with steel-rimmed glasses and yellowish gray hair, and hanging above her head was a cage with a canary that didn’t stop singing.” (88). The imagery of Angela and her home, is relaxing and gives a sense of her being content. The sea paints a picture of relaxation and the color yellow is often associated with being calm and collective. Angela’s yellowish gray hair means that she is older and she is content with where she is at in her life. Even if she has regrets and misses her lovely husband Bayardo.
In Chapter five, it is circulatory to the story. Chapter five seems like it should be in the middle of the book as the climax rather than the ending. To end the story in detail of what happened when Santiago Nasar was murdered it interesting. The title having the word chronicles of a death foretold makes the reader believe they will be reading a book about a death that is told in order of events. Being that the word chronicle means to be in order. This story is interesting because there is background of what happened and there are different point of views from everyone. For the house maid of Santiago Nasar, she hated him. Claimed that Nasar and his father were the exact same person and that was a tool and nothing but a pervert. The mother loved her son and thought he had good fortune coming and a healthy life to live based on his dreams. Which she ended up reading wrong and would never forgive herself for giving her son false information. The Narrator of the story is an interesting individual as well. He is a bystander, yet an investigator to figure out the details of Nasar’s murder and how no one managed to stop it. There are many different points of view in this story and they are told throughout the chapters in a unique way.
Nico Koppy- The entire concept of pride and the impact of it in the lives of these people is really put into perspective with the way everyone acted. With chapter 4 being the chapter where the narrator explains the direct aftermath of the death of Santiago, we see how people hide in there houses drinking their lives away for their impure bride, bruises from livid mothers covered, people sent to prison. A big think that shocked me was to see how Bayardo reacted to having an impure wife. Throughout the book, I was under the impression that he wasn’t in the relationship for love, that maybe he had an alterior motive. His sheer depression proved me wrong. Something else I found interesting is how pride is such a factor that the Vicario family (which was large to say the least) packed up and left solely for the sake of pride.
Nico Koppy- Chapter 5 might as well of been called “Regret” because in all reality, that’s all it is about. It is the conclusion to this anti-chronologically ordered book and focuses on the coulda woulda shoulda aspect of everyone in the town who had a chance to prevent the murder of Santiago Nasar but didn’t. In this chapter it almost seems as if Garcia-Marquez is chalking it all up to fate which is probably the message he was trying to convey to his readers, that our lives are determined by fate.
Ryan Kim In chapter 5, the actually killing of Santiago and more rumors occurred. For the end of the book, the actual perspective on how Santiago was shown based on the brother's perspective. This is extremely important, because the central theme of lies and deception is shown in the one-sided slaughter of Santiago. In the quote on page 139, "'I'd given it to him at least three times and there wasn't a drop of blood.'" (139). It shows that even with the testimony of the brother's, they still lied even about the smallest of details.
During chapter 1, I learned a lot of new things. I think it’s very interesting how the book begins with saying when Santiago Nasar was killed and works backward as to explain why and how. On Page 8, Gabriel wrote about rain. I think this is a symbol because rain is never just rain, as we know, in stories. In this case, I feel as if it means something more about Santiago’s death. Victoria Guzmán was Santiago’s cook and recalled the day he was killed by stating that she doesn’t think it rained, “...was sure that it hadn’t rained that day, or during the whole month of February” (8). This is important because rain symbolizes and foreshadows death. This is because just before her statement, Santiago’s mom advised him to use an umbrella to protect him from the showers, but he refused, said bye, and that was the last time she saw her son. Victoria also has secrets of her own, she had an affair with Santiago’s dad, Ibrahim Nasar, while she was a young teenager and soon after it was over she had become the Nasar’s house servant, or cook. There also seems to be a very mysterious mood while reading this book because some characters claim to have heard about the men who killed Santiago while others hadn’t heard. Victoria, over the years, had heard things about the men’s motives and the place where they were waiting. She said, “I didn’t warn him because I thought it was drunkards’ talk,” (13). I think it’s interesting that she didn’t speak of the information she heard when it was about something as serious as a death. Even though she may have thought it was drunkards’ talk, it was about something serious, a man’s death. That should have given her a feeling as to tell someone because it could turn up to be real, as we know, or become a bigger problem, and she becomes involved in a way because she knew about it.
ReplyDeleteIn the first Chapter, there is a lot of facts given to the reader about characters, plot, and the type of writing Marquez writes in. The magical realism is seen in the very beginning, Marquez writes about Santiago Nasar’s custom with his gun: “It was a wise custom established by his father ever since one morning when a servant girl had shaken the case to get the pillow out and the pistol went off as it hit the floor and the bullet wrecked the cupboard in the room, went through the living room wall, passed through the dining room of the house next door with thunder of war, and turned a life size saint on the main altar of the church on the opposite side of the square to plaster dust.” (Marquez, page 6). This passage is the first to introduce to the reader the magic realism writing. It is realistic for a gun to go off and accidentally shoot or kill someone, however it is not realistic for a bullet to travel that far. The magic is subtle, yet enough for a reader to catch onto. I also noticed the “chronological” order Marquez writes in, is not exactly chronological. There is a lot of switching between past and present language. There will be talk of the plot in present and then Marquez will switch to past about the plot: “In those days...” (Page 16) and begins to talk about what times were like then. Marquez has an interesting way of writing and it is noticeable to readers!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the first chapter is mainly about introducing the characters and plot. It goes around in the perspective of Santiago Nasar, and how the narrator saw how he acted on his “final” day as he roamed the town, not knowing he was to be killed. Marquez definitely does a great job foreshadowing using the entire chapter to set up the end result of a situation, to further set up the rest of the book. - Ryan K
DeleteGood points, guys! And thanks for being on top of it! :)
ReplyDelete“‘He was always dreaming about trees,’ Placida Linero, his mother, told me twenty-seven years later, recalling the details of that distressing Monday. ‘The week before, he’d dreamed that he was alone in a tinfoil airplane flying through the almond trees without bumping into anything,’ she said to me. She had a well earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people’s dreams, provided they were told her before eating, but she hadn’t noticed any ominous augury in those two dreams of her son’s, or in the other dreams of trees he’d described to her on the mornings preceding his death” (Marquez 6).
ReplyDeleteThis portion of Chapter 1 of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, contains many instances of symbolism and irony even though most of the plot is already known to the reader. The symbol which appears here is dreams, but more specifically Santiago Nasar’s dreams. His mother, Placida Linero, did not see Santiago’s dreams as a bad omen so they went on believing that everything is okay, which is quite ironic as everyone already knew what happened to Santiago, and it certainly was not a happy ending. While his dream can be interpreted as Santiago gliding through life, it can also be seen as foreshadowing how everyone in the town did not warn Santiago that he was going to die. Similar to the Kitty Genovese case, all the people in the town who knew that Santiago Nasar was going to die, didn’t warn him. He possibly could have been saved if someone had told him about his fate. So the fact that Santiago was flying in his dream just brushing through can show how he was just brushing through life, or it can be interpreted as how the townspeople didn’t tell Santiago about the Vicario brothers’ plan to kills him. The bystander effect is represented in this dream, and the symbolism really shows the extent of the problem.
The idea you talked about including the dreams Santiago had was something new to me. I hadn't thought about it in deep thought before I read what you wrote. I wonder why no one warned him that he was going to die? Also, like you said, this first chapter is similar to Kitty Genovese since it includes magical realism and no one warning them of their deaths.
DeleteI think it is interesting how Santiago has a dream that seems to predict his death or at least symbolize it on the day of his death. This is also a good representation of magical realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold because although some people may claim to have premonitions or be able to see into the future, it is very uncommon if possible at all leaving the opening “dream scene” to add to the genre of magical realism. Also, this is Nico Koppy, blogspot seems to insist on making my life as hard as it possibly can I have to post as anon otherwise it won't let me post.
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter, many things were introduced to us. Many names, many descriptions of a past court trial, a lot of descriptive words of the events that had transpired that day, and the majority of the people's' perspective on how that important day had gone. Because it was the first chapter, and how the story was written, I was generally confused on what was going on. And as the chapter continued, it was difficult to get a firm personality of Santiago Nasar, and what everyone had thought of him. Everyone had known that he was to die that day, except for the people in his family. This is extremely strange due to the fact that the entire town had known he was to die, yet had done nothing in order to stop or even inform him of this.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 is very eventful as Márquez intertwines the lesson of gender inequality and the theme of male dominance into his writing in this chapter. He writes about Angela Vicario’s mother talking to her about pleasing men and how they, the women, are meant to suffer. She says, “...she was frequently heard to say. Any man will be happy with them because they’ve been raised to suffer,” (31). This is similar to the play we just read, “A Doll’s House” because that also taught readers about how unfairly women were treated and this book also supports that idea. The phrase “raised to suffer” means, in my opinion, that women are expected to be submissive and follow along in men’s footsteps in life and not live their own life. They are raised to suffer because their life won’t be very happy, but know it is going to happen whether they want it or not. Another theme introduced in this chapter is marriage and whether or not it is out of love or just pure arrangement. The narrator says, “Angela Vicario never forgot the horror of the night on which her parents and her older sisters with their husbands, gathered together in the parlor, imposed on her the obligation to marry a man whom she’d barely seen.. Angela Vicario only dared hint at the inconvenience of a lack of love, but her mother demolished it with a single phrase: ‘Love can be learned too’” (35). This was interesting to read because it foreshadowed the next few lines because her marriage didn’t last very long. This creates the thought that the marriages are more for show and image for Angela’s family rather than her being happy and in love like it should be. I wonder if she will find real love or be stuck in a prearranged marriage for the rest of her life? This refers back to my original point of gender inequality because women do not get as much of a say in their own lives as they do not get their own opinion as to who they want to marry, which is ultimately their decision.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this chapter presents themes which are very similar to those in a "A Doll's House". I also found the question you posed very interesting, because nothing much has changed as many people are still stuck in loveless, arranged marriages. The quote "Love can be learned too" is so impactful because the reader would assume that perhaps Angela could learn to love Bayardo San Roman, but as you said, the marriage did not last long at all. This also brings up the topic of how some parents didn't seem to care about what their children wanted, but instead just told them to "deal with it" essentially. There are many motifs throughout this story, as well as the many others we read in class, which are still pertinent today, and I find that to be very interesting.
DeleteI agree with your point of this chapter focusing on gender inequality and male dominance. This entire chapter talks about a women's expectation to please her husband and for her to grow up with the entire idea of getting married. I liked your comparison to A Dolls House but I would also like you to think about Taming of the Shrew, which I think is more symbolic to this chapter than any piece of literature we have read yet. Katherine and Bianca are brought up by their father and everyone in the town, to be the perfect wife and to please her husband. Which is in comparison to the way Angela's mother acts in raising her to be the perfect wife as well.
Delete“She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written.
ReplyDelete‘Santiago Nasar,’ she said” (Marquez 47).
The second chapter of Chronicle Of A Death Foretold reveals the motives behind the murder of Santiago Nasar. This quote shows why the Vicario brothers targeted Santiago and how Angela accused Santiago of something he may not have even done. This word choice in this quote shows a hint of doubt in the narration, and it gives the readers a hint that Santiago is not actually guilty. It is like Angela Vicario had the whole thing planned in her head as seen in the line, “She only took the time necessary to say the name” (47). Angela waited the perfect amount of time to say Santiago’s name to make it seem like it was the truth, when in reality she could have easily been lying. Also the description that she found Santiago’s name “among the many, many easily confused names” shows how she could have picked any name, but his was the first she saw. Marquez’s choice to compare Santiago to a butterfly can represent many things. The way I interpreted it, was that the butterfly represented Santiago’s innocence, but whose “sentence has always been written”. Even though he was innocent, his fate was always sealed. However, after doing further research I found that in many cultures butterflies symbolize life and hope. This is somewhat ironic as in this case, the butterfly’s life will be cut short, as it is destined to live this path. There was no hope left for Santiago Nasar after Angela Vicario spoke his name, and the poor butterfly could have been innocent.
Your point about the symbol of a butterfly is super interesting because you're right, it is very ironic. I didn't know that a butterfly meant hope and life in some cultures, but now that I do, this part makes more sense because both the butterfly and Santiago's lives were cut short. Also, the part where you state that the doubt in the narration seems to make Santiago not guilty is something I agree with!
DeleteIn the second chapter of a Chronicle of a Death Foretold, there is a lot of talk about marriage. Not about a healthy marriage but about a marriage that contains gender roles and control. Marquez writes “The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to get married” (Marquez, page 31). These two lines are extremely powerful and represent the entire theme of this chapter. Not only the theme of this chapter but the theme of this time period. Men were raised to be men, have fortune, and have strength. While a women was raised for a man and not for herself. This related to Taming of the Shrew based on Katherine and Bianca needing to be married and given suitors to choose from. Specifically Katherine, being that she was forced to marry Petruchio and was not given any other choices. Katherine then had to play a role to be the perfect wife to her husband, considering her role in life was to be married and please her husband. I also noticed that virginity was brought up in this chapter and was a huge deal to everyone in the town. Angela not being “pure” took away the pride of Bayardo San Roman, getting to take the virginity of his wife. It was shameful for Angela and her mother (considering her mother beat the crap out of her after finding out she was no longer a virgin): “The fact that Angela Vicario dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of the purity.” (41). In this time period, orange represented purity and fertility in a women which Angela was not. Her wearing the colors of virginity and purity was disrespectful in the eyes of the town and the community looked down upon her.
ReplyDeleteI agree on your analysis that this book is very related to the Taming of the Shrew. Many themes really are similar to each other, for example the perfect woman, obedience, and expectations from others. And the fact that Gabriel gives such roles to each gender, such as men, really helps to characterize the Vicario family and how they were raised up. - Ryan K
DeleteI agree with you that this relates to the play, "Taming of the Shrew" and the theme of marriage and love vs. lust. It is awful that women had to play a role of being the perfect wife and fitting the role of it and pleasing their husbands and aren't happy while doing it.
ReplyDeleteChapter two was quite the doozy by introducing the incredibly rich, talented, and charming, Bayardo San Roman. In this chapter, it explains who Bayardo is, what he did to gain the trust of the village people, imass rumors and the image that he held, and how his involvement made a play with Santiago Nasar’s death. By marryin Angelio, he held a grand wedding to further his relationship with the people. This is extremely important because in the cliffhanger of chapter 2, when Angelio says who she lost her virginity to, enrages the townspeople. “The Vicario brothers were there and they were drinking with us and singing with Santiago Nasar five hours before killing him” (Page 50). The quote directly shows that the people had a fine relationship with Santiago, but the moment that he messes with the new hot guy in town, everyone turns on him, even going as far as killing him for revenge. - Ryan K
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 3, the story behind Santiago’s death comes alive. After Angela tells her brothers the name of the man, Santiago, they immediately take action. They pick out knives and start the hunt for Santiago. The fact that the brothers told people their plan of killing him, but no one paid close attention to it, amazes me and was very ironic because people heard about the men wanting to kill him, didn't do anything, then he ended up dying just like the readers knew. Although these brothers are seemed to be nice and wouldn’t do something of that kind, hearing that they wanted to kill someone would immediately make me cautious and aware of them. No one did this in this book because they thought the men would never do that and they were crazy. They say, “‘We’re going to kill Santiago Nasar,’ he said. Their reputation as good people was so well-founded that no one paid any attention to them. ‘We thought it was drunkards’ baloney,” several butchers declared, just as Victoria Guzmán and so many others did who saw them later,” (52). Although the people never suspected this of the boys, I think they should’ve paid a little more attention to what they had said. The people ignoring the boys threats, foreshadows the upcoming events of Santiago’s killing. Death is never something to joke around with and when you do hear it, normally someone takes action in reporting or investigating, but not in this case. Since no one paid attention to the boys’ threats, Santiago was later killed. I, myself, would feel a sort of responsibility in Santiago’s death if I had heard the brothers threats of killing him. This is because I could’ve taken action to prevent it, just like some of the characters did, but chose not to. Never judge a book by its cover because you never know what’s on the inside, just like the characters did with the boys, their good reputation allowed them to get away with murder with no obstacles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there is a lot of unfair treatment seen throughout this book. It is very sad that no one even gave Santiago a warning about the Pedro and Pablo Vicario, because that could have saved his life. I also agree that I would feel responsible for Santiago's death if I were in that position, but I would also feel incredibly guilty. The way I see it, the sole person responsible for Santiago's death is Angela, and the readers can pick up that Santiago may not have even been guilty in the first place. Yet later on she doesn't seem to show any guilt about her decision and keeps insisting that Santiago was the one she slept with. This makes it very hard for me to relate to Angela because I feel as if she made the wrong decision.
Delete"We killed him openly," Pedro Vicario said, "but we're innocent."
ReplyDelete"Perhaps before God," said Father Amador.
"Before God and before men," Pablo Vicario said. "It was a matter of honour."
Chapter three of A Chronicle of A Death Foretold shows the aftermath of the murder, while also shining light on why the Vicario brothers chose to kill Santiago Nasar. One of the main reasons the Vicario brothers “had” to kill Santiago, was because of honor. They had to bring honor to their family, so they killed Santiago. Another key point which is brought up throughout the novel, religion. This quote shows the Vicario brothers “surrendering” to Father Amador. They are confessing in the name of God, but they are also saying that the are innocent before God. The Vicario brothers are using honor as a get out of jail free card, because they know that everyone within their society only cares about honor and religion. This aspect alone can cause a lot of controversy, and it also brings up the question, what can justify murder? The Vicario brothers say they are innocent because it was a matter of honor, but in today’s society that would never pass as a justifiable reason to not be charged. Even though in this book, the brothers do end up in prison, no one outcasts them like a murderer would be outcasted in society today. It is really interesting to see the differences which occur with the huge time gap. Many people may not realize how much society has changed, either for the good or the bad, but it really has.
“They gave us back a completely different body. Half of the cranium had been destroyed by the trepanation, and the lady-killer face that death had preserved ended up having lost its identity. Furthermore, the priest had pulled out the sliced-up intestines by the roots, but in the end he didn't know what to do with them, and he gave them an angry blessing and threw them into the garbage pail. The last onlookers ranged about the schoolhouse windows lost their curiosity, the helper fainted, and Colonel Lazaro Aponte, who had seen and caused so many repressive massacres, became a vegetarian as well as a spiritualist. The empty shell, stuffed with rags and quicklime and sewed up crudely with coarse twine and baling needles, was on the point of falling apart when we put it into the new coffin with its silk quilt lining.
ReplyDelete"I thought it would last longer that way," Father Amador told me.
Just the opposite happened, and we had to bury him hurriedly at dawn because he was in such bad shape that it was already unbearable in the house” (Marquez 45).
This passage which is found in chapter 4 of A Chronicle of A Death Foretold, describes how Santiago Nasar’s body was treated post mortem. The most interesting aspect about this passage is the gory imagery. I personally liked the addition of the description of the body. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s intense use of imagery makes the reader uncomfortable as the gory details are described. Every single description of the body is repulsive, and it leads me to wonder what Marquez wanted. Did he want the readers to feel uncomfortable, and if so why? The dismemberment of Santiago was one of the worst things the villagers have ever seen. This is especially seen in this line, “... Colonel Lazaro Aponte, who had seen and caused so many repressive massacres, became a vegetarian as well as a spiritualist” (45). A person like Colonel Lazaro Aponte who has seen death so many times couldn’t bear to see any more, which is why he became a vegetarian and a spiritualist.
This passage also brings up the unfairness in how Santiago’s body was treated. The autopsy was conducted with little to no concern for the condition of the body. The autopsy was also conducted with little concern about the family of Santiago and how they would want his body to look for the funeral or anything. The body was literally “falling apart” and there was nothing that could be done to save it. If Santiago was looked up to in the community his body wouldn’t be in such a sad condition, but Santiago lost his pride when Angela Vicario uttered his name. His name was tainted by her, therefore even when he died no one took care of his body.
Chapter 5 of Chronicle of A Death Foretold delves deeper into the guilt of all the townspeople and how the murder affected them. Starting off strong, the first pages of chapter 5 outline how specific characters handled the murder, but more importantly how they handled their guilt. The main characters which are described are, Flora Miguel, Hortensia Baute, Aura Villeros, Don Rogelio del Flor, and Placida Linero. It’s interesting to see that even though these character weren’t mentioned much throughout the book, their actions make it seem like they were pivotal characters. A lot of these people also didn’t seem to have a personal nor deep relationship with Santiago, but their guilt is eating them up. Hortensia Baute especially had no direction relation to the murder of Santiago, yet it still hits her hard. Marquez describes, “Hortensia Baute, whose only participation was having seen two bloody knives that weren't bloody yet, felt so affected by the hallucination that she fell into a penitential crisis, and one day, unable to stand it any longer, she ran out naked into the street” (Marquez 57). All of the hysteria and madness caused her to run naked into the street, all because she saw the two knives. The guilt of the townspeople caused them to go “insane” which can be seen as a message to society. People should not be bystanders and if you know something bad is going to happen, you should do something. This is also seen in the Kitty Genovese case, as no one helped her when she was being stabbed, and that ultimately led to her death. Marquez’s descriptions of everyone after the murder were put there for a purpose, and I think it could be to send a message about being a bystander in society.
ReplyDeleteDuring chapter 4, the real colors of Angela’s mom comes out. Her mother had beaten her so bad that she had to wrap her face to cover it up. This amazes me because how could a mom ever do this to their daughter? Especially because Angela’s mom is the one forcing her to do something (marry someone) she doesn’t want to. To continue with the themes of male dominance and gender inequality, Santiago says, “‘Your cousin the booby,’ he would say to me when he had to mention her” (90). The fact that Santiago refers to a woman as “the booby”, is very disrespectful and dishonors the woman. It’s very offensive and I would never want to be called that. Along with that, the description of Santiago’s body comes back very gruesome, “The damage from the knives was only a beginning for the unforgiving autopsy that Father Carmen Amador found himself obliged to perform in Dr. Dionisio Iguarán’s absence. ‘It was as if we killed him all over again after he was dead…’” (72). Not only does this show no remorse in these characters, but it is as if they enjoyed doing this in some sort of evil way. The first line of the chapter in which I wrote about, is very descriptive and brutal. It makes my stomach turn as if I had seen the body myself. How could someone ever murder another human? Márquez created a mood of discomfort and disbelief when it came to describing Santiago’s body, but that is what makes this book so interesting. While reading this part, I was bewildered to know that these men killed him the way they did. This reminds me of stories I’ve heard on the news and it shocks me to know that humans could do this to each other, and Márquez does a great job in painting this picture and making it seem so real.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis, and I found the questions you posed very interesting. How could a mother ever hurt a daughter in this way? Even though Angela's mother felt dishonored by her daughter, I just don't understand how someone who is supposed to love you endlessly can hurt you in such a way. Your second question which talks about how a human could hurt another human brings up the topic of human nature. Were the Vicario brothers raised in such a way that murdering someone else can be justified? Also, Santiago was raised in a certain way, where he is described to be very similar to his father, so his habit of objectifying women can be seen as normal to him. It is all about perspective.
DeleteTo comment on the part of a mother beating her child, I agree that it is disturbing how badly Angela was beat. A mother is meant to be there for you and love you and help teach you right from wrong. That is what a good mother is meant to do and in a time period like ours, that is how society sees a good mother. However, in a time period of this book, a mothers job was to prepare their daughter for marriage and to keep their daughter pure. It is disgusting to me that Angela's mother beat her but in a time period like this, it is almost expected. Violence is never okay but as a mother who has taught her daughter to be pure and to find out this awful news that she is no longer a virgin, it makes sense for her to be so angry.
DeleteIn chapter 5, as we talked about in class, we had discussed that Angela may still be a virgin and it was just a rumour. In chapter 5, we learn that is true, it was just gossip. This flips everything upside down because her mom had beaten her for that, but now it is for no reason since she actually is a virgin. I feel very bad for Angela because she had been forced into a marriage she didn’t want to be in along with being a virgin, but no one believed her which resulted in her being beat. During chapter 5, we also learn that Santiago is innocent. The narrator says, “For him, just as for Santiago Nasar’s closest friends, the victim’s very behavior during his last hours was overwhelming proof of his innocence,” (100). This is a big twist because everyone thought he was guilty, but in reality, he was not. Also, there is a lot of remorse amongst the people in the town after Santiago’s death. The characters can’t live their lives the way they used to, it made me think that these people feel so guilty and responsible for his death because they knew it was going to happen but didn’t stop it. “But most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honor are sacred monopolies, giving access only to those who are part of the drama,” (97). This teaches me, and the rest of the readers, that you should take action whenever you can especially if it’s life threatening, otherwise you’ll die in your own pool of guilt, just like these characters are. Although guilt is an awful feeling, I don’t feel bad for these characters because they had the chance to avoid this feeling. Even if you aren’t “part of the drama”, but you know something on the outside of the midst of it all, you should speak up because it could save someone’s life, and in this case, Santiago’s. If they knew he was going to die and didn’t speak up, shouldn’t they also feel mad at themselves for not putting a stop to the men’s actions? Although they weren’t a major part of this book, it seems as if they are in the way they are coping with the murder.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of this chapter. It is a life lesson to everyone that being a bystander is just as much harm as being the criminal. Children are often taught in school that if you watch someone be bullied and do nothing about it, you are just as bad. This should be reiterated to adults as well. For Santiago to be killed after not committing the crime they claimed he had and to be killed after multiple people, including the police, were aware of this murder about to take place is appalling. How can so many people be aware of this act and not stop the brothers. While some claim they tried to save Santiago and warn him, that is only to keep their peace of mind.
DeleteIn Chapter four, there is talk about color again. Color seems to have a lot of meaning throughout the story. In Chapter two, Angela was wearing orange blossoms on her wedding day to represent the purity that a wife should have, before being married. “The fact that Angela Vicario dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of the purity.” (Marquez. 41). Angela was wearing orange to show the community that she was a virgin and had her purity, even though she claims to not be pure. In Chapter four, the color red is brought into the story. Angela wore a face wrap and the color red the day after being beat by her mother to hide the bruises, as well as to hide her mourning from being left by Bayardo. Hiding her mourning in the color red was an act for the public to see. Angela had to play a role to the community of being pure and married. Playing a role was also seen in Taming of the Shrew and A Doll's House, among multiple characters. In those times, playing a character or role was a necessity to each individual's society, men and women. There was also the talk of Angela’s hair color being yellowish gray, which is interesting for Marquez to specifically include the color yellow. “At the window of a house that faced the sea, embroidering by the machine at the hottest hour of the day, was a woman half in mourning, with steel-rimmed glasses and yellowish gray hair, and hanging above her head was a cage with a canary that didn’t stop singing.” (88). The imagery of Angela and her home, is relaxing and gives a sense of her being content. The sea paints a picture of relaxation and the color yellow is often associated with being calm and collective. Angela’s yellowish gray hair means that she is older and she is content with where she is at in her life. Even if she has regrets and misses her lovely husband Bayardo.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter five, it is circulatory to the story. Chapter five seems like it should be in the middle of the book as the climax rather than the ending. To end the story in detail of what happened when Santiago Nasar was murdered it interesting. The title having the word chronicles of a death foretold makes the reader believe they will be reading a book about a death that is told in order of events. Being that the word chronicle means to be in order. This story is interesting because there is background of what happened and there are different point of views from everyone. For the house maid of Santiago Nasar, she hated him. Claimed that Nasar and his father were the exact same person and that was a tool and nothing but a pervert. The mother loved her son and thought he had good fortune coming and a healthy life to live based on his dreams. Which she ended up reading wrong and would never forgive herself for giving her son false information. The Narrator of the story is an interesting individual as well. He is a bystander, yet an investigator to figure out the details of Nasar’s murder and how no one managed to stop it. There are many different points of view in this story and they are told throughout the chapters in a unique way.
ReplyDeleteNico Koppy-
ReplyDeleteThe entire concept of pride and the impact of it in the lives of these people is really put into perspective with the way everyone acted. With chapter 4 being the chapter where the narrator explains the direct aftermath of the death of Santiago, we see how people hide in there houses drinking their lives away for their impure bride, bruises from livid mothers covered, people sent to prison. A big think that shocked me was to see how Bayardo reacted to having an impure wife. Throughout the book, I was under the impression that he wasn’t in the relationship for love, that maybe he had an alterior motive. His sheer depression proved me wrong. Something else I found interesting is how pride is such a factor that the Vicario family (which was large to say the least) packed up and left solely for the sake of pride.
Nico Koppy-
ReplyDeleteChapter 5 might as well of been called “Regret” because in all reality, that’s all it is about. It is the conclusion to this anti-chronologically ordered book and focuses on the coulda woulda shoulda aspect of everyone in the town who had a chance to prevent the murder of Santiago Nasar but didn’t. In this chapter it almost seems as if Garcia-Marquez is chalking it all up to fate which is probably the message he was trying to convey to his readers, that our lives are determined by fate.
Ryan Kim
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5, the actually killing of Santiago and more rumors occurred. For the end of the book, the actual perspective on how Santiago was shown based on the brother's perspective. This is extremely important, because the central theme of lies and deception is shown in the one-sided slaughter of Santiago. In the quote on page 139, "'I'd given it to him at least three times and there wasn't a drop of blood.'" (139). It shows that even with the testimony of the brother's, they still lied even about the smallest of details.