Something I found interesting in Chapter 2, was how Marquez described Bayardo San Roman as a dreamy character. On page 26, Magdalena Oliver says, “He looked like a fairy. And it was a pity, because I could have buttered him up and eaten him alive.” Roman was considered to be very rich, respectable man. A lot of the townspeople were enchanted by him when he arrived. Also, the man’s mother writes a letter to him and says, “It also seems that he’s swimming in gold.” (pg 27). Roman’s character was like a fairytale character. The people in the small town looked up to him and saw him as a god-like figure. Chapter 2 characterizes Bayardo San Roman as a very materialistic character, constantly bribing others with his money. His money was the only reason that Angela Vicario married him. Her family considered his money to be a dream and something that they needed. Even when Roman returns his wife to her family, the mother says, “He had that green color of dreams.” (pg 46). This quote could be interpreted as the “green” being the money. The Vicario family thought Roman was dreamy due to his wealth and high status. It shows how materialistic and corrupt the society was in the town.
This is a really interesting point! When San Roman comes the villagers really emphasize the wealth of San Roman and that shows, like you said, the obsession with materials and corruptness of the society. When the villagers first meet San Roman, they overlook the coldness of his character for his riches. Even the narrator's mother was entranced by him, but later said that San Roman reminded her "of the devil." (28).
While reading chapter two of Chronicle of A Death Foretold, I immediately noticed the amount of animal depictions used. The narrator describes Bayardo San Roman as having, “The waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter.” (Marquez, 25). Saltpeter is a type of mineral used to increase the shelf life of meat. Bayardo also arrives wearing calfskin clothes. Throughout the second chapter, the narrator describes Bayardo as being excessively well liked by the other characters, and is as being almost god-like. By immediately relating this seemingly perfect character to animals, Marquez demonstrates that even the best people are innately animal like. Marquez shows that people are savage by nature, and no one is exempt. Marquez also implies that how well a person is liked does not determine how good they are on the inside. Saltpeter is used to conserve meat, but it is also used in explosives such as fireworks and gunpowder. Bayardo is easily the most popular man in town, but even he acts in ways that are not entirely wholesome. The use of saltpeter to describe Bayardo foreshadows the less than kind way he will treat Angela after the wedding, and also shows that external appearances are not good predictors of a person’s heart.
I noticed that Marquez seems to be subtly commenting on human nature a lot through out the book. Why do you think he does this? Do you think something in his past made him feel like human nature is savage?
In this chapter, Marquez shines light on the role and treatment of women in time period. Much like in "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Doll's House" we see that women are considered lesser than men and have signifucantly less power and say in what they do. Angela doesn't want to marry Bayardo because she does not love him. To this her mother replies "Love can be learned too"(35). Marriage was not seen as something done out of love, rather it was something a daughter was obligated to do. This shows the lack of choice that Angela, and other women, had in this time period. Also, when it is discovered that Angela is not a virgin, she is not only abandoned by her husband but also beat and abused by her own mother. It was much more shameful for a girl to loose her virginity before marriage than for a guy to. Marques seems to emphasize this in order to show what life was like back then. Do you think Marquez suggest discontent of the time period in which this story takes place?
I think so! Marquez's depiction of Angela's unhappiness with her marriage shows that not all women who were set up in arranged marriages agreed with them. I also think you could interpret Angela's not being a virgin as a way for her to lash back at her parents and to be a little rebellious.
I definitely agree with your analysis. I also think that Angela not being a virgin represents her trying to be rebellious. Also, it is interesting how Angela tried to break the gender stereotypes. On page 47, she says, "On the contrary: I felt as if the drowsiness of death has finally been lifted from me..." This quote shows that Angela Vicario was relived that someone had found out about her secret. It seems as if she lost her virginity in order for people to find out and cause an uproar.
Bayardo San Roman was described as mysterious but honest and has a good heart. However, when he woke up from his nap and saw Angela Vicario, he said "'She's well-named'. Then he rested his head on the back of the rocker and closed his eyes again. 'When I wake up, remind me that I'm going to marry her'" (ch. 2, pg.31). His actions and tone portrays arrogance, shallowness, and indifference. Even though he doesn't know Angela well, he only wants to marry because she is "well-named" and attractive. After looking at her, he goes back to sleep, which shows that he's not going to put much thought into her and doesn't care about her anymore. When he tells the landlady to remind him to marry Angel when he wakes up, he sounds indifferent, as if it's just another chore or activity that he needs to do. He acts like Angela is another grocery item on the list. Last, he sounds confident and certain that he's going to marry her because of the use of word "going to". This shows that he's arrogant because he thinks that he's worthy and she would accept him as her husband no doubt.
Pura Vicario is the epitome of the idyllic wife and mother in the views of machismo. She could be considered the archetype of a machismo's wife; she is a marianismo. In fact, Pura is so good at her role as a mother and wife that "at times, one forgot she still existed"(31). This demonstrates the inferior views held towards women at the time; that they are property and only meant for childbearing (Wow, this woman does her job of being a wife and taking care of kids so well, its like she's not even there!). Pura is considered meek and submissive (the ideal standard), but she "hid the strength of her character quite well" (31). It is apparent that Pura is not, in fact, weak at all, but she has to conceal this part of her because she knows that a woman is not supposed to be that way and must conform to society's norms. She knows that this is what a woman has to do in order to survive and prosper in this world so she rears her daughters to fit these roles. When Angela expresses that she does not love Bayardo San Roman, her mother replies "Love can be learned too" (35); Angela must marry him not because she wants to, but because she has to. Pura knows this and has long ago learned to accept this and tells Angela because she knows that is the way it is for women if they want to prosper.
What I found to be quite interesting in Chapter Two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold was the motif of gold. I'll list some of the occasions in which the word "gold" made an appearance: "...a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter" (27). "It also seems that he's swimming in gold" (29). "...his golden eyes had caused the shudder of a fear in her" (30). "Her father, Poncio Vicario, was a poor man's goldsmith" (33). "...and that he'd salvaged the remains of a Spanish galleon loaded with gold in the Windward Passage" (36). "...and gold-rimmed glasses held by a clasp on the bridge of his nose..." (37). The usage of this word isn't strictly particular to one person, but it is mostly associated with the character Bayardo San Roman, who has a rather wealthy and prestigious background. My thinking is that the author, Marquez, used the motif of gold to illustrate the prevalence at this time and in this society of the desire for/obsession with wealth. The clash between this aspect of materialism with, say, love, is certainly highlighted in this chapter. For example, Angela Vicario is forced to marry Bayardo San Roman simply to elevate her family's poor status. Her love for him is not there, but the promise of wealth overshadows that shortfall. We see this happen once more with the deal exchange between the widower Xius and Bayardo. Xius at first appears to be so adamant about not selling his house due to the deep sentimental value he has with his home. He repeatedly refuses, saying, "It hasn't got a price" (40) and "I'm sorry, Bayardo,...but you young people don't understand the motives of the heart" (40), which is all so ironic considering he sells his house and everything in it because he succumbs to Bayardo's incredible wealth. I liked the comment made by Dr. Dionisio Iguaran when he said, "He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart"(41). This shows just how powerful the battle between love and materialism is. Xius fought so hard against Bayardo's wealthy offers because he loved his wife and the memories attached to his house, but in the end, he couldn't resist the temptation of riches and therefore yielded.
Do you think that Marquez used symbolism of gold because of the society? Why doesn't he use green or silver or purple? I know those are all colors that represent wealth and money usually. I think that it is very important that we see the relationship between Bayardo San Roman and the color gold. Wealth and possessions is obviously a large part of his character but I'm just wondering what is the relationship between the color gold specifically and the society that CODF is based in.
While reading the second chapter, I noticed the specific characterization tactics that Marquez uses towards Angela Vicario's family, which ultimately creates sympathy amongst the readers. He states that "her father was a poor man's goldsmith, and he had lost his sight from working to keep the honor of the house"(33). The father is blind and he was willing to sacrifice for his family a very values sense, his sight. Such characterization creates sympathy for her father, and ultimately her, as she was raised in a suffering family. She is raised with a selfless father which means that she must also be selfless and have the spirit of sacrifice for the greater good. Marquez also describes her mother as a woman who "devoted herself with such spirit of sacrifice to the care of her husband and the rearing of her children that at times she forgot she still existed"(33). Similarly to her dad, the mother is portrayed by Marquez as a devoted individual who sacrifices herself for the good of the family and the good as a whole. Amongst her duties of raising children and taking care of a blind husband, she has no time to think about herself. Ultimately, this positive depiction, means that Angela must also sacrifice for the good of the whole family as she is forced to marry a man she doesn't love. Marques justifies her family's pushy nature by exposing their entire history of poverty and suffering, making it justifiable for them to make their daughter marry a wealthy man. It is interesting to notice that Marquez only portrays Angela in a positive light, whereas he ceases to do so for Bayardo. in contrast, he is described as a 'devil' and 'concealed'. Do you think Marquez intentionally favored Angela over Bayardo in order to convey a message?
In the second chapter, I saw an interesting juxtaposition again between the way the author describes a character, and how their actions characterize them. In the first chapter, the narrator describes Santiago as "merry and peaceful, and openhearted" (6) and through his actions, Santiago seems to be the ideal son, churchgoer and friend. However, this is violently juxtaposed with people describing Santiago as "A shit" (9). This shows that the opinion of the people is very different from the narrator's point of view. This clash in viewpoints is especially highlighted in chapter 2, when Bayardo San Roman is introduced. Luisa Santiaga describes him as "honest and has a good heart, and last Sunday he received communion on his knees" (29). The importance placed on his religious standing is interesting, but so is the fact that Luisa Santaiga gave him "the final blessing" on the opinion of the townspeople, "People like him a lot" (29). Even teh narrator says "Bayardo San Roman had become our very good friend" (470. But Bayardo's actions speak of a different person completely. He embarrasses Angela Vicario, and doesn't even try to court her, but rather courts her family into allowing him to have her. Bayarado buys Angela a gift as soon as he can, to show off his money, and is constantly rude towards her. He also essentially buys an old widow man out of his house and its entire contents, and in general is very arrogant. There is a clear contrast between the opinions of the citizens and how the narrator describes these two key players. I think this could be foreshadowing some information that the reader does not have yet, and will change our opinion of these characters, or it could be influenced by the narrator's point of view on these two men.
Something that stood out to me while I was reading this chapter was when near the beginning of the chapter when the narrator describe the Vicario family, and the daughters in the family. The narrator states, "The only thing that my mother reproached them for was the custom of combing their hair before sleeping. 'Girls,' she would tell them, 'don't comb your hair at night; you'll slow down seafarers.' Except for that, she thought there were no better-reared daughters" (34). This refers to the myth that states how sirens would comb their hair and sing to lure sailors to their deaths. And this shows how superstitious the characters are. From the dreams Santiago has before his death, how he inherited a "six sense" from his mother(4), and how the narrator's sister felt an "angel pass by" when she heard Santiago describe his wedding(11). Throughout the book there are moments where Marquez refers or includes superstition, or something supernatural, but it seems like most of them are wrong. Which makes you wonder, since he grew up with superstitions, if he is satirizing them in a critical way or if he is trying to show how some beliefs aren't reliable.
One thing that stood out to me in this chapter was how much Angela’s, and by extension, all other women’s value in this time period was tied to her virginity. The near-fetishization of women’s virginity is not exclusive to the setting or time period of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, but I was surprised to the extent to which such treatment of virginity existed in the novel. I read the article given to us by Mrs. Ballard after reading chapter two, which helped put some of the events of chapter two into context. The part of chapter two where Guzman tells the reader that Angela Vicaro is not a virgin was the part which stood out to me the most. Angela’s former virginity is referred to as her “lost possession” and the reader learns she was told to “…display open under the sun in the courtyard of her house the linen sheet with the stain of honor” (Marquez, 38). The strange treatment of virginity makes sense within the cultural context of Latin America explained in the article, wherein the Virgin Mary is revered in a much greater way than she is in Europe and is seen as the “ideal” woman. The Virgin Mary is revered because of her virginity, and it makes sense then that virginity would be held in such high regard in the culture portrayed in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Without her virginity, Angela has failed to be a “good” woman, and her husband, Bayardo, is unable to take her virginity and thereby hold power over her by “possessing” her “honor”, as it is metaphorically put in the novel. Guzman wrote this chapter in the way he did not only to explain the events leading to Santiago Nasar’s death but to also demonstrate the extreme cultural importance of virginity, at least until marriage, in Latin American culture.
I agree with your analysis, so do you think that because a women's value is tied to her virginity, do you think that the Vicario brothers are justified (to some extent) for killing Santiago? Because they thought he took her virginity so they must kill him to restore their sister's honor.
In Chapter 2, I realized that there were a lot of instances where Marquez added in magical realism. The narrator’s mother talks about Bayardo's superior swimming ability, “One Sunday after mass he challenged the most skillful swimmers... and left the best behind by twenty strokes... ‘It also seems that he’s swimming in gold’ (27). She stresses how this mysterious yet handsome guy, Bayardo is capable of doing so many things proficiently, including swimming, and the extra description of gold suggests that Bayardo comes from a wealthy family, able to provide luxurious things for him. Another occurrence of magical realism appears when Bayardo sees Angela Vicario for the first time, “[Bayardo] had been napping in a rocking chair in the parlor... when Angela Vicario and her mother crossed the square... Bayardo San Roman half-awoke, saw the two women... and asked who the young one was.”(28). This scene is the beginning of Bayardo’s journey to win Angela’s heart so that she’ll become his wife, and also the beginning of Angela’s misfortune of being forced to marry Bayardo, which very quickly does not end very well. The aspect of magical realism in this part suggests “love at first sight” for Bayardo. He was sleeping, but when Angela and her mom walked past his window, he awoke, which suggests that Angela’s beauty caused him to wake from his sleep, and gave him the intuition that he was going to marry her. This scene with magical realism can easily be skipped over and thought as a humanly natural occurrence, but Marquez’s subtle but impactful detail gives this scene a little twist and adds interest to the overall event. Marquez’s sprinkling of magical realism throughout Chapter 2 and the rest of the book adds interest to the overall story and makes a fundamentally sad story lively.
"He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart" (41). I noticed this quote for it came on the next page after, “He was weeping with rage” (40). The windower wept at the idea of losing his beloved house, but at the same time, at the prospect of giving up so much money. When his heart had tears bubbling inside, it was because he had lost his house and, in essence, his wife. Understandably, people cry when they lose something dear to them, especially when it involves death. What if the tears represent more than that, though? Perhaps they symbolize death itself? The tears he wept when he had to choose between the house and the money represented his wife’s spirit finally dying and him giving up the fight. If this is so, then when he had tears inside of his heart, he had death inside of himself. That would explain why he died so soon afterwards.
One quote from the narrator's mother really stood out to me. "'He reminded me of the devil,' she told me, 'but you yourself had told me that things like that shouldn't be put into writing." (Marquez, 30). The effect of Catholicism in the town is impossible to not notice, as there's a recurring idea of failure to follow faith, as well as the failure of faith itself. For example, the character Bayardo San Roman is described as essentially a perfect person - after all, he was described as, "not only (was) capable of doing anything, and doing it quite well, but also had access to endless resources." (Marquez, 29). Immediately I thought about God, the most perfect being in Western religion - but once the narrator's mother described him as a "devil" I realized that like many other elements found in the book, Bayardo is another symbol for something impure disguised as something worthy of worship. On the other hand, I saw Bayardo's disappointment and rejection of his bride a metaphor for the religious failure of the town, which could symbolize faith that had been destroyed once reality was revealed - in this case, his faith that the town was upholding its duty to religious values. Faith and its demise can also be found in the Bishop. Everyone secretly knew that the Bishop would probably pass through the town without giving it so much as a second glance, but they still gathered on the docks, hoping that he'd step down. In the end, just like how everyone knew Santiago was about to be murdered, but blindly assured themselves that "someone" would warn him, the Bishop sailed past, and Santiago's rescue never came. What other religious motifs and symbols have you all noticed?
One thing I found interesting this chapter was that it was in chronological order. While the first chapter jumped around a lot between different events and different characters and their personal problems. During this chapter, the narrator was very specific about what happened and went in the order of events. The narrator starts with the moment Bayardo San Roman arrives. He/she describes him with detail, how "He was around thirty years old,... had the waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter." (25). The narrator then goes on to add detail about how San Roman went to the telegrapher and even taught him "a formula of his so that he could keep on using his worn-out batteries." (26). He/she continues on with specific details and events on how Bayardo San Roman first saw Angela Vicario. "... napping in a rocking chair in the parlor... carrying artificial flowers.... he rested his head on the back of the rocker and closed his eyes again." (28-29). I also noticed that this chapter moved faster and didn't detour as often to other individuals' stories. After reading the first two chapters, I found it kind of unsettling that the villagers have such detailed and clear memories of events that happened twenty seven years ago.
The description of Bayardo San Roman throughout the second chapter is nothing but positive from every member of the village. He has a charming personality, extremely refined skills and he comes from a background of money. There seems to be nothing wrong with him in any way. However, Angela Vicario, the perfect wife, “born like the great queens of history, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck”(Marquez, 32), dislikes him in every way. This irony of two seemingly perfect people failing to come together illustrates the conflict between perfection, Roman, and ideas or people that seem perfect but are really tarnished, Angela Vicario. the Bishop that visited the town in the first chapter is similar to Angela. The Bishop symbolizes the purity of the church and good yet he was unwilling to disembark his ship and visit the town. His morales and personality are not as pure as what he represents. Both Angela and the Bishop reflect the village where the story takes place and how a perfectly normal town could fail to do the right thing and save Santiago from his murderers. Marques uses the town and the people inside to expose the imperfections of society when it is face with a difficult situation. The difficulties are increased further when the man who must be saved also has a tarnished reputation.
Something interesting to note in chapter 2 is the reference to the Model T Ford. When Pura Vicario requests Bayardo to present his family as a sign of respect before marriage, he does so and "they arrived in a Model T Ford with official plates" (Marquez, 36). Due to the influences of magical realism, the setting in the book is not told or talked about much. The reader has to read in between the lines to uncover where the setting is, or the background circumstances. The reference to the Model T Ford is a clue to where the setting is, hinting that it is in America during 1908-1927 (the time period that the Model T Ford was produced). This could possibly be just another element of magical realism as well, but I believe that Marquez uses the magical realism to help symbolize certain ideas or themes, maybe even something like the setting. What do you guys think? Is the Model T Ford representative of something in the story?
While reading chapter two I found multiple sections very interesting, but one that stuck out the most was the characterization of Bayardo. He is a very admirable, well-liked, person but when it comes to Angela it is the complete opposite. His only concern is to flaunt how wealthy he is and flower her with gifts; he does not even get to know her. He is on a search for a wife and says, "Ive been going from town to town looking for someone to marry," (28). For him to say that, tells the reader that he thinks he can causally just go from town to town and get whom ever he would like. In my opinion, I think that he has become very picky but some could think he is just picky. What do you guys think? In this time period and culture, it is a woman's goal to marry and something that would improve their life. Angela does not want to marry him but her parents are wanting it full force.
In chapter two, Marquez describes a lot about Angela Vicario. It’s frustrating as a reader because we know that she is the reason for Santiago’s death, automatically giving her a negative tone. However, the way the author describes her the beginning of chapter two foreshadows how he describes her later in the book. He says, “my mother says that she had been born like the great queens of history, with the umbilical cord around her neck. But she had helpless and a poverty of spirit…” (32). When a baby has their umbilical cord around their neck, their supply of nutrition and oxygen is gone inside of the mother. The same thing happens when the baby is born, the umbilical cord cuts off their ability to get their own oxygen. This could foreshadow Angela’s “penury of spirit” later on in her life. This could also come to show the role of women in that society. They were born expected to be “queens,” or otherwise “blessed” with the ability and responsibility of being a mother. But women could not do anything on their own, thus being symbolized by getting their oxygen supply getting cut off. The symbolism gives Angela and women in general powerless tone which reflects the society at that time.
In Chapter 2, I found the quote, “Any man would be happy with them because they’ve been raised to suffer” (Marquez 34). As people would hope that this characteristic of society was a part of the magical realism, but in the time period that this book was written, womens roles were as described. This is interesting as it introduces another theme into the book. Is death more opportune than living to suffer. According to the quote, the life of suffering was ideal in the eyes of men who dominated society. The significance of this in the chapter is to contrast the soft tone that San Roman creates and exposes what lies within society.
In Chapter two, we begin to understand more about how marriage was like during this time. We can see first see this arise when talking about the mother of the Vacario family. Marquez describes her as the one who “devoted herself with such spirit of sacrifice to the care of her husband and the rearing of her children that at times she forgot she existed”(33). We can see that this pressure to be the perfect wife and mother is somewhat absurd enough because of the fact that the mother sometimes “forgot that she existed”. Also as the readers we can see that this helps to see the characterization of Angela due to the fact that doesn’t partake in these traditional values. She doesn’t believe in marrying this person who she barely knows and none the less who she doesn’t even love, even though her mother says that “love can be learned”(38). I believe that this sets up the interaction that will soon happen between Angela and Santiago perfectly due to the fact that Angela doesn’t feel the need to be traditional and goes against all of the usual values that a woman should have.
I completely agree with you I think that the views of the Vicario mother were not reflected on to her daughter. Her mother seems to think that the only priority in life is for her children to become wealthy, but in reality love cannot be bought with love and that is what Angela thought going into the wedding. What I found to be cruel of her motor to do, is beat her because of one mistake she made. This shows her mothers true feelings and show she would go to abuse to overcome her rage that her daughter could not stay with her very sexist husband.
During chapter two, Marquez writes a lot towards the characterization of Bayardo San Roman. He goes over what other people thought on him within the town. Everyone knows that Bayardo is very attractive and rich but there is more underneath the surface I believe. Our first instinct is to think of Bayardo's surface persona; a man who is very mysterious and soft-spoken and we see him trying to be sweet and buy Angela anything she wants. In reality Bayardo 's wealth consumes his life and he relies on it with all of life. Also he is very selfish but this is masked by his overall charm. The narrator in the book states, "he seemed to me like a very sad man,"(31) and Luisa Santiaga had said, "he reminded me of the devil,"(34). Although other character's did not realize this evil side of him. We see this very controlling and not good intention side of his with the house. He drives this old man to death with his consistent offers on the house. We can see how money and power can kill someone which is an interesting motif in the book. His obsession with honor and getting what he wants no matter other's opinions is another way that he has a hidden sense of evil. Angela does not wish to marry him but despite her opinions and denial he goes through with charming her family and trying to impress her with money and charm. Bayrado's character is very important to adding to the diverse dynamics of the society. He is very possession based which is different than what is normal in the town. That is why Luisa and the narrator get negative feelings towards him. Marquez adds this character to contradict other characters as well as telling the author more about the society which the story is set and the morality.
I noticed the fact that he is possession based as well. I thought it was interesting how he tried a lot harder to buy things for Angela and do this for her, than he tried to actually get to know her. He did not try to court her or anything, but instead just buy her any and everything, and this is not how a relationship should go.
In Chapter two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the most intriguing part was how Angela Vicarrio goes along with her wedding when in turn she knows she is not a virgin. “On, the other hand, the fact the Angela Vicarrio dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of purity.” (pg.41) Because Angela did go on to marry Bayardo San Roman, Angela’s mother Pura Vicarrio, beats her visciously, “the only thing I can remember is that she was holding me by me by the hair with one hand and beating me with the other with such rage that I thought she was going to kill me,” (Pg.46) both of these quots show the standards of the society they live in and how strict the rules of marriage are. It is hard to determine in this book what is and isn’t appropriate for this day and age. I think one of the main components of this book is not knowing what time period this book is set in. Marquez uses references of todays language but has morals and ethical codes from a very different generation than todays society. Do you think he does this on purpose?
In Chapter 2, I found it interesting how Bayardo was characterized as a perfect guy, with a lot of money, charm, wit, and a big heart, but Angela didn't seem to like him at all. It was as if everybody in the town wanted Angela to marry him, except for Angela herself. I thought this was funny because in a lot of movies and books, it is the couple who is in love and society rejects it, but in this case it is the other way around. Angela even says "The only thing I prayed to God was for to give me the courage to kill myself". The fact that Angela wanted to kill herself more than she wanted to marry Bayardo seemed very strange to me, considering how he seemed to be a perfect husband. Bayardo went out of his way to buy the music box and give it to her, planned an extravagant wedding, he even bought a house for her and payed much much more than it was worth, just for her. I would guess that most women in this society would really appreciate all these things, and I would have guessed Angela would too considering how her family doesn't have a lot of money. I thought at first that Angela was simply being ungrateful, but she really just doesn't seem to love him, and that is more important than anything else in a marriage.
But was Bayardo San Roman that great of a guy? Yes he had wealth and a certain charm that enchanted the Vicarrio family, but did he really love Angela? Or did he just want a wife? I think Angela Vicarrio wanted nothing more than to have this marriage not happen because she knew that he didn't truly want her out of love and she was able to see right through his money. I think she wished to marry someone else, maybe even the person who really took her virginity, or else she would've taken his money gladly like you mentioned since she came from such a poor upbringing. I agree with you that Angela truly did not love Bayardo for who he was.
In class, a group discussed how money plays a huge role in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Although they said that money can buy people in that society by temptation like how Bayardo tells the Widower that he want to buy his house and he refuses, but later on Bayardo makes an offer, "Ten thousand... Right now and with one bill on top of another." (Marquez/ 36), and the Widower accepts the offer with his "eyes full of tears." (Marquez/ 36). Although we can see that temptation can be a possibility, isn't it possible that instead of temptation it can be necessity instead? In the book, we can see that money is a necessity as well, and not just temptation because in the Latin culture, and especially the society in a Chronicle of a Death Foretold, has lower level characters, which one of them is Angela Vicario. Bayardo wants to marry her, but Angela doesn't want to, but her mother says, "It seems all right to me that they should get married," (Marquez/ 33), which emphasizes that she wants her to get married to Bayardo because he has money. She later tells Angela, "Love can be learned too." (Marquez/35). The mother with her single phrase, that she says to Angela to show her that inconvinience of love shows that money in their society is much more of a necessity!
I found the motif of animals in this chapter rather interesting. The chapter opens up with the Vicario brothers openly admitting to the murder of Santiago Nazar and the scene switches to the butchers' market and talks about how a butcher can't kill livestock looking into its eyes. “When you sacrifice a steer, you don't dare look into its eyes” (60). On the following page, there is an anecdote about a police officer which relates back to animals. He dies in a bull attack a year after Santiago's death. “and he died the following year, gored in the jugular vein by a bull during the national holidays” (61) Outside of the market, the twins visit a house for coffee where another mention of animals is found. “They pushed open the door to the courtyard, surrounded by the dogs” (71)
In this chapter, Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses symbolism to express the theme that valuing material gain over love and compassion ultimately leads to unhappiness; the reader begins to understand the inherent cruelty of a materialistic outlook through Marquez’s depiction of the unintentional harm Bayardo San Roman inflicts on the widower Xius. The main symbols involved in this passage are the widower Xius’ house, which represents sincere romantic love, and the domino game, which represents Bayardo’s calculating attitude as well as the potentially far-reaching consequences of his actions; both images help to construct the physical and emotional setting of the text. Marquez does not explicitly describe Xius’ house, but the reader still perceives it as an emotionally powerful piece of property due to its connection with Xius’ late wife. The loss of the (traditional, well-loved) house, combined with the mention of Xius’ old-fashioned “good breeding,” suggests that a corrupting influence has made this entire community more selfish than it was. Because the house now belongs to the unpredictable and apparently greedy Bayardo, the village’s traditional values will also come into question. In addition, the fact that Bayardo and Xius play dominoes during this scene suggests that both parties understand that the society in which they live is a game. Throughout Bayardo’s negotiations for the ownership of the house, he “plays to win,” even attempting to weaken Xius’ resolve by confronting him directly with “ten bundles of thousand-peso notes with the printed bands of the State Bank still on them” (37). In addition, dominoes carry the connotation of a chain of consequences, foreshadowing the complex web of blame that will follow Santiago Nasar’s death. As a whole, the symbolism in this passage provides the reader with a sense of moral instability and competitive ambition that sets the stage for Marquez’s deeper investigation into Bayardo’s (and other characters’) motives in later chapters.
Something I found interesting in Chapter 2, was how Marquez described Bayardo San Roman as a dreamy character. On page 26, Magdalena Oliver says, “He looked like a fairy. And it was a pity, because I could have buttered him up and eaten him alive.” Roman was considered to be very rich, respectable man. A lot of the townspeople were enchanted by him when he arrived. Also, the man’s mother writes a letter to him and says, “It also seems that he’s swimming in gold.” (pg 27). Roman’s character was like a fairytale character. The people in the small town looked up to him and saw him as a god-like figure. Chapter 2 characterizes Bayardo San Roman as a very materialistic character, constantly bribing others with his money. His money was the only reason that Angela Vicario married him. Her family considered his money to be a dream and something that they needed. Even when Roman returns his wife to her family, the mother says, “He had that green color of dreams.” (pg 46). This quote could be interpreted as the “green” being the money. The Vicario family thought Roman was dreamy due to his wealth and high status. It shows how materialistic and corrupt the society was in the town.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting point! When San Roman comes the villagers really emphasize the wealth of San Roman and that shows, like you said, the obsession with materials and corruptness of the society. When the villagers first meet San Roman, they overlook the coldness of his character for his riches. Even the narrator's mother was entranced by him, but later said that San Roman reminded her "of the devil." (28).
DeleteWhile reading chapter two of Chronicle of A Death Foretold, I immediately noticed the amount of animal depictions used. The narrator describes Bayardo San Roman as having, “The waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter.” (Marquez, 25). Saltpeter is a type of mineral used to increase the shelf life of meat. Bayardo also arrives wearing calfskin clothes. Throughout the second chapter, the narrator describes Bayardo as being excessively well liked by the other characters, and is as being almost god-like. By immediately relating this seemingly perfect character to animals, Marquez demonstrates that even the best people are innately animal like. Marquez shows that people are savage by nature, and no one is exempt. Marquez also implies that how well a person is liked does not determine how good they are on the inside. Saltpeter is used to conserve meat, but it is also used in explosives such as fireworks and gunpowder. Bayardo is easily the most popular man in town, but even he acts in ways that are not entirely wholesome. The use of saltpeter to describe Bayardo foreshadows the less than kind way he will treat Angela after the wedding, and also shows that external appearances are not good predictors of a person’s heart.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Marquez seems to be subtly commenting on human nature a lot through out the book. Why do you think he does this? Do you think something in his past made him feel like human nature is savage?
DeleteIn this chapter, Marquez shines light on the role and treatment of women in time period. Much like in "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Doll's House" we see that women are considered lesser than men and have signifucantly less power and say in what they do. Angela doesn't want to marry Bayardo because she does not love him. To this her mother replies "Love can be learned too"(35). Marriage was not seen as something done out of love, rather it was something a daughter was obligated to do. This shows the lack of choice that Angela, and other women, had in this time period. Also, when it is discovered that Angela is not a virgin, she is not only abandoned by her husband but also beat and abused by her own mother. It was much more shameful for a girl to loose her virginity before marriage than for a guy to. Marques seems to emphasize this in order to show what life was like back then. Do you think Marquez suggest discontent of the time period in which this story takes place?
ReplyDeleteI think so! Marquez's depiction of Angela's unhappiness with her marriage shows that not all women who were set up in arranged marriages agreed with them. I also think you could interpret Angela's not being a virgin as a way for her to lash back at her parents and to be a little rebellious.
DeleteI definitely agree with your analysis. I also think that Angela not being a virgin represents her trying to be rebellious. Also, it is interesting how Angela tried to break the gender stereotypes. On page 47, she says, "On the contrary: I felt as if the drowsiness of death has finally been lifted from me..." This quote shows that Angela Vicario was relived that someone had found out about her secret. It seems as if she lost her virginity in order for people to find out and cause an uproar.
DeleteBayardo San Roman was described as mysterious but honest and has a good heart. However, when he woke up from his nap and saw Angela Vicario, he said "'She's well-named'. Then he rested his head on the back of the rocker and closed his eyes again. 'When I wake up, remind me that I'm going to marry her'" (ch. 2, pg.31). His actions and tone portrays arrogance, shallowness, and indifference. Even though he doesn't know Angela well, he only wants to marry because she is "well-named" and attractive. After looking at her, he goes back to sleep, which shows that he's not going to put much thought into her and doesn't care about her anymore. When he tells the landlady to remind him to marry Angel when he wakes up, he sounds indifferent, as if it's just another chore or activity that he needs to do. He acts like Angela is another grocery item on the list. Last, he sounds confident and certain that he's going to marry her because of the use of word "going to". This shows that he's arrogant because he thinks that he's worthy and she would accept him as her husband no doubt.
ReplyDeletePura Vicario is the epitome of the idyllic wife and mother in the views of machismo. She could be considered the archetype of a machismo's wife; she is a marianismo. In fact, Pura is so good at her role as a mother and wife that "at times, one forgot she still existed"(31). This demonstrates the inferior views held towards women at the time; that they are property and only meant for childbearing (Wow, this woman does her job of being a wife and taking care of kids so well, its like she's not even there!). Pura is considered meek and submissive (the ideal standard), but she "hid the strength of her character quite well" (31). It is apparent that Pura is not, in fact, weak at all, but she has to conceal this part of her because she knows that a woman is not supposed to be that way and must conform to society's norms. She knows that this is what a woman has to do in order to survive and prosper in this world so she rears her daughters to fit these roles. When Angela expresses that she does not love Bayardo San Roman, her mother replies "Love can be learned too" (35); Angela must marry him not because she wants to, but because she has to. Pura knows this and has long ago learned to accept this and tells Angela because she knows that is the way it is for women if they want to prosper.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found to be quite interesting in Chapter Two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold was the motif of gold. I'll list some of the occasions in which the word "gold" made an appearance:
ReplyDelete"...a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter" (27).
"It also seems that he's swimming in gold" (29).
"...his golden eyes had caused the shudder of a fear in her" (30).
"Her father, Poncio Vicario, was a poor man's goldsmith" (33).
"...and that he'd salvaged the remains of a Spanish galleon loaded with gold in the Windward Passage" (36).
"...and gold-rimmed glasses held by a clasp on the bridge of his nose..." (37).
The usage of this word isn't strictly particular to one person, but it is mostly associated with the character Bayardo San Roman, who has a rather wealthy and prestigious background. My thinking is that the author, Marquez, used the motif of gold to illustrate the prevalence at this time and in this society of the desire for/obsession with wealth. The clash between this aspect of materialism with, say, love, is certainly highlighted in this chapter. For example, Angela Vicario is forced to marry Bayardo San Roman simply to elevate her family's poor status. Her love for him is not there, but the promise of wealth overshadows that shortfall. We see this happen once more with the deal exchange between the widower Xius and Bayardo. Xius at first appears to be so adamant about not selling his house due to the deep sentimental value he has with his home. He repeatedly refuses, saying, "It hasn't got a price" (40) and "I'm sorry, Bayardo,...but you young people don't understand the motives of the heart" (40), which is all so ironic considering he sells his house and everything in it because he succumbs to Bayardo's incredible wealth. I liked the comment made by Dr. Dionisio Iguaran when he said, "He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart"(41). This shows just how powerful the battle between love and materialism is. Xius fought so hard against Bayardo's wealthy offers because he loved his wife and the memories attached to his house, but in the end, he couldn't resist the temptation of riches and therefore yielded.
Do you think that Marquez used symbolism of gold because of the society? Why doesn't he use green or silver or purple? I know those are all colors that represent wealth and money usually. I think that it is very important that we see the relationship between Bayardo San Roman and the color gold. Wealth and possessions is obviously a large part of his character but I'm just wondering what is the relationship between the color gold specifically and the society that CODF is based in.
DeleteWhile reading the second chapter, I noticed the specific characterization tactics that Marquez uses towards Angela Vicario's family, which ultimately creates sympathy amongst the readers. He states that "her father was a poor man's goldsmith, and he had lost his sight from working to keep the honor of the house"(33). The father is blind and he was willing to sacrifice for his family a very values sense, his sight. Such characterization creates sympathy for her father, and ultimately her, as she was raised in a suffering family. She is raised with a selfless father which means that she must also be selfless and have the spirit of sacrifice for the greater good. Marquez also describes her mother as a woman who "devoted herself with such spirit of sacrifice to the care of her husband and the rearing of her children that at times she forgot she still existed"(33). Similarly to her dad, the mother is portrayed by Marquez as a devoted individual who sacrifices herself for the good of the family and the good as a whole. Amongst her duties of raising children and taking care of a blind husband, she has no time to think about herself. Ultimately, this positive depiction, means that Angela must also sacrifice for the good of the whole family as she is forced to marry a man she doesn't love. Marques justifies her family's pushy nature by exposing their entire history of poverty and suffering, making it justifiable for them to make their daughter marry a wealthy man. It is interesting to notice that Marquez only portrays Angela in a positive light, whereas he ceases to do so for Bayardo. in contrast, he is described as a 'devil' and 'concealed'. Do you think Marquez intentionally favored Angela over Bayardo in order to convey a message?
ReplyDeleteIn the second chapter, I saw an interesting juxtaposition again between the way the author describes a character, and how their actions characterize them. In the first chapter, the narrator describes Santiago as "merry and peaceful, and openhearted" (6) and through his actions, Santiago seems to be the ideal son, churchgoer and friend. However, this is violently juxtaposed with people describing Santiago as "A shit" (9). This shows that the opinion of the people is very different from the narrator's point of view. This clash in viewpoints is especially highlighted in chapter 2, when Bayardo San Roman is introduced. Luisa Santiaga describes him as "honest and has a good heart, and last Sunday he received communion on his knees" (29). The importance placed on his religious standing is interesting, but so is the fact that Luisa Santaiga gave him "the final blessing" on the opinion of the townspeople, "People like him a lot" (29). Even teh narrator says "Bayardo San Roman had become our very good friend" (470. But Bayardo's actions speak of a different person completely. He embarrasses Angela Vicario, and doesn't even try to court her, but rather courts her family into allowing him to have her. Bayarado buys Angela a gift as soon as he can, to show off his money, and is constantly rude towards her. He also essentially buys an old widow man out of his house and its entire contents, and in general is very arrogant. There is a clear contrast between the opinions of the citizens and how the narrator describes these two key players. I think this could be foreshadowing some information that the reader does not have yet, and will change our opinion of these characters, or it could be influenced by the narrator's point of view on these two men.
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DeleteSomething that stood out to me while I was reading this chapter was when near the beginning of the chapter when the narrator describe the Vicario family, and the daughters in the family. The narrator states, "The only thing that my mother reproached them for was the custom of combing their hair before sleeping. 'Girls,' she would tell them, 'don't comb your hair at night; you'll slow down seafarers.' Except for that, she thought there were no better-reared daughters" (34). This refers to the myth that states how sirens would comb their hair and sing to lure sailors to their deaths. And this shows how superstitious the characters are. From the dreams Santiago has before his death, how he inherited a "six sense" from his mother(4), and how the narrator's sister felt an "angel pass by" when she heard Santiago describe his wedding(11). Throughout the book there are moments where Marquez refers or includes superstition, or something supernatural, but it seems like most of them are wrong. Which makes you wonder, since he grew up with superstitions, if he is satirizing them in a critical way or if he is trying to show how some beliefs aren't reliable.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me in this chapter was how much Angela’s, and by extension, all other women’s value in this time period was tied to her virginity. The near-fetishization of women’s virginity is not exclusive to the setting or time period of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, but I was surprised to the extent to which such treatment of virginity existed in the novel. I read the article given to us by Mrs. Ballard after reading chapter two, which helped put some of the events of chapter two into context. The part of chapter two where Guzman tells the reader that Angela Vicaro is not a virgin was the part which stood out to me the most. Angela’s former virginity is referred to as her “lost possession” and the reader learns she was told to “…display open under the sun in the courtyard of her house the linen sheet with the stain of honor” (Marquez, 38). The strange treatment of virginity makes sense within the cultural context of Latin America explained in the article, wherein the Virgin Mary is revered in a much greater way than she is in Europe and is seen as the “ideal” woman. The Virgin Mary is revered because of her virginity, and it makes sense then that virginity would be held in such high regard in the culture portrayed in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Without her virginity, Angela has failed to be a “good” woman, and her husband, Bayardo, is unable to take her virginity and thereby hold power over her by “possessing” her “honor”, as it is metaphorically put in the novel. Guzman wrote this chapter in the way he did not only to explain the events leading to Santiago Nasar’s death but to also demonstrate the extreme cultural importance of virginity, at least until marriage, in Latin American culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis, so do you think that because a women's value is tied to her virginity, do you think that the Vicario brothers are justified (to some extent) for killing Santiago? Because they thought he took her virginity so they must kill him to restore their sister's honor.
DeleteIn Chapter 2, I realized that there were a lot of instances where Marquez added in magical realism. The narrator’s mother talks about Bayardo's superior swimming ability, “One Sunday after mass he challenged the most skillful swimmers... and left the best behind by twenty strokes... ‘It also seems that he’s swimming in gold’ (27). She stresses how this mysterious yet handsome guy, Bayardo is capable of doing so many things proficiently, including swimming, and the extra description of gold suggests that Bayardo comes from a wealthy family, able to provide luxurious things for him. Another occurrence of magical realism appears when Bayardo sees Angela Vicario for the first time, “[Bayardo] had been napping in a rocking chair in the parlor... when Angela Vicario and her mother crossed the square... Bayardo San Roman half-awoke, saw the two women... and asked who the young one was.”(28). This scene is the beginning of Bayardo’s journey to win Angela’s heart so that she’ll become his wife, and also the beginning of Angela’s misfortune of being forced to marry Bayardo, which very quickly does not end very well. The aspect of magical realism in this part suggests “love at first sight” for Bayardo. He was sleeping, but when Angela and her mom walked past his window, he awoke, which suggests that Angela’s beauty caused him to wake from his sleep, and gave him the intuition that he was going to marry her. This scene with magical realism can easily be skipped over and thought as a humanly natural occurrence, but Marquez’s subtle but impactful detail gives this scene a little twist and adds interest to the overall event. Marquez’s sprinkling of magical realism throughout Chapter 2 and the rest of the book adds interest to the overall story and makes a fundamentally sad story lively.
ReplyDelete"He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart" (41). I noticed this quote for it came on the next page after, “He was weeping with rage” (40). The windower wept at the idea of losing his beloved house, but at the same time, at the prospect of giving up so much money. When his heart had tears bubbling inside, it was because he had lost his house and, in essence, his wife. Understandably, people cry when they lose something dear to them, especially when it involves death. What if the tears represent more than that, though? Perhaps they symbolize death itself? The tears he wept when he had to choose between the house and the money represented his wife’s spirit finally dying and him giving up the fight. If this is so, then when he had tears inside of his heart, he had death inside of himself. That would explain why he died so soon afterwards.
ReplyDeleteOne quote from the narrator's mother really stood out to me. "'He reminded me of the devil,' she told me, 'but you yourself had told me that things like that shouldn't be put into writing." (Marquez, 30). The effect of Catholicism in the town is impossible to not notice, as there's a recurring idea of failure to follow faith, as well as the failure of faith itself. For example, the character Bayardo San Roman is described as essentially a perfect person - after all, he was described as, "not only (was) capable of doing anything, and doing it quite well, but also had access to endless resources." (Marquez, 29). Immediately I thought about God, the most perfect being in Western religion - but once the narrator's mother described him as a "devil" I realized that like many other elements found in the book, Bayardo is another symbol for something impure disguised as something worthy of worship. On the other hand, I saw Bayardo's disappointment and rejection of his bride a metaphor for the religious failure of the town, which could symbolize faith that had been destroyed once reality was revealed - in this case, his faith that the town was upholding its duty to religious values. Faith and its demise can also be found in the Bishop. Everyone secretly knew that the Bishop would probably pass through the town without giving it so much as a second glance, but they still gathered on the docks, hoping that he'd step down. In the end, just like how everyone knew Santiago was about to be murdered, but blindly assured themselves that "someone" would warn him, the Bishop sailed past, and Santiago's rescue never came. What other religious motifs and symbols have you all noticed?
ReplyDeleteOne thing I found interesting this chapter was that it was in chronological order. While the first chapter jumped around a lot between different events and different characters and their personal problems. During this chapter, the narrator was very specific about what happened and went in the order of events. The narrator starts with the moment Bayardo San Roman arrives. He/she describes him with detail, how "He was around thirty years old,... had the waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by saltpeter." (25). The narrator then goes on to add detail about how San Roman went to the telegrapher and even taught him "a formula of his so that he could keep on using his worn-out batteries." (26). He/she continues on with specific details and events on how Bayardo San Roman first saw Angela Vicario. "... napping in a rocking chair in the parlor... carrying artificial flowers.... he rested his head on the back of the rocker and closed his eyes again." (28-29). I also noticed that this chapter moved faster and didn't detour as often to other individuals' stories. After reading the first two chapters, I found it kind of unsettling that the villagers have such detailed and clear memories of events that happened twenty seven years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe description of Bayardo San Roman throughout the second chapter is nothing but positive from every member of the village. He has a charming personality, extremely refined skills and he comes from a background of money. There seems to be nothing wrong with him in any way. However, Angela Vicario, the perfect wife, “born like the great queens of history, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck”(Marquez, 32), dislikes him in every way. This irony of two seemingly perfect people failing to come together illustrates the conflict between perfection, Roman, and ideas or people that seem perfect but are really tarnished, Angela Vicario. the Bishop that visited the town in the first chapter is similar to Angela. The Bishop symbolizes the purity of the church and good yet he was unwilling to disembark his ship and visit the town. His morales and personality are not as pure as what he represents. Both Angela and the Bishop reflect the village where the story takes place and how a perfectly normal town could fail to do the right thing and save Santiago from his murderers. Marques uses the town and the people inside to expose the imperfections of society when it is face with a difficult situation. The difficulties are increased further when the man who must be saved also has a tarnished reputation.
ReplyDeleteSomething interesting to note in chapter 2 is the reference to the Model T Ford. When Pura Vicario requests Bayardo to present his family as a sign of respect before marriage, he does so and "they arrived in a Model T Ford with official plates" (Marquez, 36). Due to the influences of magical realism, the setting in the book is not told or talked about much. The reader has to read in between the lines to uncover where the setting is, or the background circumstances. The reference to the Model T Ford is a clue to where the setting is, hinting that it is in America during 1908-1927 (the time period that the Model T Ford was produced). This could possibly be just another element of magical realism as well, but I believe that Marquez uses the magical realism to help symbolize certain ideas or themes, maybe even something like the setting. What do you guys think? Is the Model T Ford representative of something in the story?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading chapter two I found multiple sections very interesting, but one that stuck out the most was the characterization of Bayardo. He is a very admirable, well-liked, person but when it comes to Angela it is the complete opposite. His only concern is to flaunt how wealthy he is and flower her with gifts; he does not even get to know her. He is on a search for a wife and says, "Ive been going from town to town looking for someone to marry," (28). For him to say that, tells the reader that he thinks he can causally just go from town to town and get whom ever he would like. In my opinion, I think that he has become very picky but some could think he is just picky. What do you guys think? In this time period and culture, it is a woman's goal to marry and something that would improve their life. Angela does not want to marry him but her parents are wanting it full force.
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ReplyDeleteIn chapter two, Marquez describes a lot about Angela Vicario. It’s frustrating as a reader because we know that she is the reason for Santiago’s death, automatically giving her a negative tone. However, the way the author describes her the beginning of chapter two foreshadows how he describes her later in the book. He says, “my mother says that she had been born like the great queens of history, with the umbilical cord around her neck. But she had helpless and a poverty of spirit…” (32). When a baby has their umbilical cord around their neck, their supply of nutrition and oxygen is gone inside of the mother. The same thing happens when the baby is born, the umbilical cord cuts off their ability to get their own oxygen. This could foreshadow Angela’s “penury of spirit” later on in her life. This could also come to show the role of women in that society. They were born expected to be “queens,” or otherwise “blessed” with the ability and responsibility of being a mother. But women could not do anything on their own, thus being symbolized by getting their oxygen supply getting cut off. The symbolism gives Angela and women in general powerless tone which reflects the society at that time.
In Chapter 2, I found the quote, “Any man would be happy with them because they’ve been raised to suffer” (Marquez 34). As people would hope that this characteristic of society was a part of the magical realism, but in the time period that this book was written, womens roles were as described. This is interesting as it introduces another theme into the book. Is death more opportune than living to suffer. According to the quote, the life of suffering was ideal in the eyes of men who dominated society. The significance of this in the chapter is to contrast the soft tone that San Roman creates and exposes what lies within society.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter two, we begin to understand more about how marriage was like during this time. We can see first see this arise when talking about the mother of the Vacario family. Marquez describes her as the one who “devoted herself with such spirit of sacrifice to the care of her husband and the rearing of her children that at times she forgot she existed”(33). We can see that this pressure to be the perfect wife and mother is somewhat absurd enough because of the fact that the mother sometimes “forgot that she existed”. Also as the readers we can see that this helps to see the characterization of Angela due to the fact that doesn’t partake in these traditional values. She doesn’t believe in marrying this person who she barely knows and none the less who she doesn’t even love, even though her mother says that “love can be learned”(38). I believe that this sets up the interaction that will soon happen between Angela and Santiago perfectly due to the fact that Angela doesn’t feel the need to be traditional and goes against all of the usual values that a woman should have.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you I think that the views of the Vicario mother were not reflected on to her daughter. Her mother seems to think that the only priority in life is for her children to become wealthy, but in reality love cannot be bought with love and that is what Angela thought going into the wedding. What I found to be cruel of her motor to do, is beat her because of one mistake she made. This shows her mothers true feelings and show she would go to abuse to overcome her rage that her daughter could not stay with her very sexist husband.
DeleteDuring chapter two, Marquez writes a lot towards the characterization of Bayardo San Roman. He goes over what other people thought on him within the town. Everyone knows that Bayardo is very attractive and rich but there is more underneath the surface I believe. Our first instinct is to think of Bayardo's surface persona; a man who is very mysterious and soft-spoken and we see him trying to be sweet and buy Angela anything she wants. In reality Bayardo 's wealth consumes his life and he relies on it with all of life. Also he is very selfish but this is masked by his overall charm. The narrator in the book states, "he seemed to me like a very sad man,"(31) and Luisa Santiaga had said, "he reminded me of the devil,"(34). Although other character's did not realize this evil side of him. We see this very controlling and not good intention side of his with the house. He drives this old man to death with his consistent offers on the house. We can see how money and power can kill someone which is an interesting motif in the book. His obsession with honor and getting what he wants no matter other's opinions is another way that he has a hidden sense of evil. Angela does not wish to marry him but despite her opinions and denial he goes through with charming her family and trying to impress her with money and charm. Bayrado's character is very important to adding to the diverse dynamics of the society. He is very possession based which is different than what is normal in the town. That is why Luisa and the narrator get negative feelings towards him. Marquez adds this character to contradict other characters as well as telling the author more about the society which the story is set and the morality.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the fact that he is possession based as well. I thought it was interesting how he tried a lot harder to buy things for Angela and do this for her, than he tried to actually get to know her. He did not try to court her or anything, but instead just buy her any and everything, and this is not how a relationship should go.
DeleteIn Chapter two of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the most intriguing part was how Angela Vicarrio goes along with her wedding when in turn she knows she is not a virgin. “On, the other hand, the fact the Angela Vicarrio dared put on the veil and the orange blossoms without being a virgin would be interpreted afterwards as a profanation of the symbols of purity.” (pg.41) Because Angela did go on to marry Bayardo San Roman, Angela’s mother Pura Vicarrio, beats her visciously, “the only thing I can remember is that she was holding me by me by the hair with one hand and beating me with the other with such rage that I thought she was going to kill me,” (Pg.46) both of these quots show the standards of the society they live in and how strict the rules of marriage are. It is hard to determine in this book what is and isn’t appropriate for this day and age. I think one of the main components of this book is not knowing what time period this book is set in. Marquez uses references of todays language but has morals and ethical codes from a very different generation than todays society. Do you think he does this on purpose?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 2, I found it interesting how Bayardo was characterized as a perfect guy, with a lot of money, charm, wit, and a big heart, but Angela didn't seem to like him at all. It was as if everybody in the town wanted Angela to marry him, except for Angela herself. I thought this was funny because in a lot of movies and books, it is the couple who is in love and society rejects it, but in this case it is the other way around. Angela even says "The only thing I prayed to God was for to give me the courage to kill myself". The fact that Angela wanted to kill herself more than she wanted to marry Bayardo seemed very strange to me, considering how he seemed to be a perfect husband. Bayardo went out of his way to buy the music box and give it to her, planned an extravagant wedding, he even bought a house for her and payed much much more than it was worth, just for her. I would guess that most women in this society would really appreciate all these things, and I would have guessed Angela would too considering how her family doesn't have a lot of money. I thought at first that Angela was simply being ungrateful, but she really just doesn't seem to love him, and that is more important than anything else in a marriage.
ReplyDeleteBut was Bayardo San Roman that great of a guy? Yes he had wealth and a certain charm that enchanted the Vicarrio family, but did he really love Angela? Or did he just want a wife? I think Angela Vicarrio wanted nothing more than to have this marriage not happen because she knew that he didn't truly want her out of love and she was able to see right through his money. I think she wished to marry someone else, maybe even the person who really took her virginity, or else she would've taken his money gladly like you mentioned since she came from such a poor upbringing. I agree with you that Angela truly did not love Bayardo for who he was.
DeleteIn class, a group discussed how money plays a huge role in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Although they said that money can buy people in that society by temptation like how Bayardo tells the Widower that he want to buy his house and he refuses, but later on Bayardo makes an offer, "Ten thousand... Right now and with one bill on top of another." (Marquez/ 36), and the Widower accepts the offer with his "eyes full of tears." (Marquez/ 36). Although we can see that temptation can be a possibility, isn't it possible that instead of temptation it can be necessity instead? In the book, we can see that money is a necessity as well, and not just temptation because in the Latin culture, and especially the society in a Chronicle of a Death Foretold, has lower level characters, which one of them is Angela Vicario. Bayardo wants to marry her, but Angela doesn't want to, but her mother says, "It seems all right to me that they should get married," (Marquez/ 33), which emphasizes that she wants her to get married to Bayardo because he has money. She later tells Angela, "Love can be learned too." (Marquez/35). The mother with her single phrase, that she says to Angela to show her that inconvinience of love shows that money in their society is much more of a necessity!
ReplyDeleteI found the motif of animals in this chapter rather interesting. The chapter opens up with the Vicario brothers openly admitting to the murder of Santiago Nazar and the scene switches to the butchers' market and talks about how a butcher can't kill livestock looking into its eyes. “When you sacrifice a steer, you don't dare look into its eyes” (60). On the following page, there is an anecdote about a police officer which relates back to animals. He dies in a bull attack a year after Santiago's death. “and he died the following year, gored in the jugular vein by a bull during the national holidays” (61) Outside of the market, the twins visit a house for coffee where another mention of animals is found. “They pushed open the door to the courtyard, surrounded by the dogs” (71)
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter, Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses symbolism to express the theme that valuing material gain over love and compassion ultimately leads to unhappiness; the reader begins to understand the inherent cruelty of a materialistic outlook through Marquez’s depiction of the unintentional harm Bayardo San Roman inflicts on the widower Xius. The main symbols involved in this passage are the widower Xius’ house, which represents sincere romantic love, and the domino game, which represents Bayardo’s calculating attitude as well as the potentially far-reaching consequences of his actions; both images help to construct the physical and emotional setting of the text. Marquez does not explicitly describe Xius’ house, but the reader still perceives it as an emotionally powerful piece of property due to its connection with Xius’ late wife. The loss of the (traditional, well-loved) house, combined with the mention of Xius’ old-fashioned “good breeding,” suggests that a corrupting influence has made this entire community more selfish than it was. Because the house now belongs to the unpredictable and apparently greedy Bayardo, the village’s traditional values will also come into question. In addition, the fact that Bayardo and Xius play dominoes during this scene suggests that both parties understand that the society in which they live is a game. Throughout Bayardo’s negotiations for the ownership of the house, he “plays to win,” even attempting to weaken Xius’ resolve by confronting him directly with “ten bundles of thousand-peso notes with the printed bands of the State Bank still on them” (37). In addition, dominoes carry the connotation of a chain of consequences, foreshadowing the complex web of blame that will follow Santiago Nasar’s death. As a whole, the symbolism in this passage provides the reader with a sense of moral instability and competitive ambition that sets the stage for Marquez’s deeper investigation into Bayardo’s (and other characters’) motives in later chapters.
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