Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Honor Essay

Throughout the course of the novel Chronicles of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia discusses the conflicting feelings of traditions and human nature amongst a small community when a man is murdered in the name of honor. The differing experiences each person had with the death of Santiago Nasar as well as their opinions on whether he deserved to die by the hands of the Vicario brothers, not only shows their contrasting emotions towards honor and human decency but also the effects of staying silent. The novel chose to incorporate not only the conflict amongst their community also shows the effects that this traditional society had on their values, beliefs and gender roles, that is constantly expressed by the people vocally and their actions as well.

In the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, two of the main characters, Pablo and Pedro Vicario, committed a murder based on allegations presented by their sister Angela Vicario. Throughout the novel, the townspeople try to justify the brothers’ actions as a mechanism to restore their sister’s honor. Based on the novel honor was salient in determining a family's worth; reputation, honor and gender roles were predominant issues in Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Gabriel Garcia Marquez exemplifies them.

In the novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Vicario brothers actions were justified by society because they were defending their sister’s honor. It is never confirmed if the protagonist, Santiago Nasar, actually took Angela Vicario’s virginity, but, no one cares enough to confirm the allegation. Living in a community where honor was salient in determining a family's worth, the brothers’ sought out revenge because they thought killing Santiago Nasar was the only way to redeem their family’s prosperity. Reputation and honor were predominant issues in the Colombian society and Gabriel Garcia Marquez exemplifies these issues in Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” –Oscar Wilde

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is not only an investigation into a murder, but an investigation into the morality that governs the society of a Latino town. Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez employs elements of surrealism and vivid imagery to depict the crippling effect of machismo and honor on society. By intentionally focusing on the townspeople’s reactions to the foretold murder, Márquez draws attention to the skewed sense of morality and ethics present in a community that is simply a product of its culture.

My cultural and contextual understanding of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Máquez was developed and increased during the first interactive oral. My group covered several topics including: setting, connections to our own lives, and techniques of the work. Everyone voiced their thoughts as well as asked several questions, allowing the discussion flow with concepts and opinions that expanded my knowledge of the novel.

In Chronicle of A Death Foretold most of characters avoid responsibility when it came to the death of Santiago Nasar, yet they did not believe that his murder was completely wrong. There was respect for their religion and the bishop, but a culture centered around honor was prevalent. The town struggles with the conflict of their moral and societal values. It is uncertain whether the characters are giving an excuse or the truth when they speak of the reasons that they did not warn Santiago Nasar. Each character reveals their human nature based on how they apply their moral and societal values. The majority of the society in story show how much of a lack of responsibility and cowardice there causing one to question their society that is supposedly centered around honor.

My understanding of the culture in Chronicles of a Death Foretold has deepened through the Interactive Oral in which my classmates and I had in class. Most of the conversation dealt with Latin American culture and how honors, religion, and morals in which Hispanics grow up in are distinct compared to other foreign countries. We debated whether or not if other religions would have had a unlike perspective upon the actions of the Vicario brothers or the actions in which Angela Vicario made upon losing her purity. In addition, we questioned the culture; what if the novel would have taken place in a different country with the complete opposite culture? What would be different? We approached these questions by not only depicting the country in which

Gabriel García Márquez's novella Chronicle Of A Death Foretold set in a small Colombian town in 1950 has strong traditional cultural influence. The novel focuses on Santiago Nasar's foretold murder by the Vicario brothers which is initiated when their sister, Angela is returned for not being a virgin by her husband Bayardo San Roman. Every character in this novel is a victim of the traditional Colombian culture, especially from the discriminatory gender expectations and conformities. Bayardo's decision to return Angela is a product of their culture as the importance of a women's virginity for a man's pride and honour is ingrained into their societal beliefs. Angela is also a victim of her culture due to the double standards and feminal expectations

In conclusion, in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel Garcia Marquez created a main idea to his reader that they could interpret as a moral or immoral idea. That idea was about the code of honor and if female needed to virgin to get married under the church. To the Colombia town, the death of Santiago Nasar was simply fairly defensible and without a doubt acceptable. Matter of fact, the Colombian people helped Pedro and Pablo because all of them turned their cheeks away from the murder. Honor and the significance of virginity seemed to the reader that they were worth killing for. Gabriel Garcia Marque states on page 97 “But those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs

Details, details, details. Everything has details, especially when it comes to novels. In the books Perfume by Patrick Suskind and Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Marquez, they both show signs of massive detail. When a great amount of detail is laid out, it helps the reader process everything that’s happening in the story and formulates images in the readers mind. It brings the story to life in a way that makes you take a second look around to make sure the story hasn’t become real.

The novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Garcia Marquez recounts the story where Santiago Nasar was accused of taking the virginity of Angela Vicario and therefore killed. The society depicted in the novel is one where appearances are important to the townsmen regardless of the cost of it. Using symbolism, Garcia Marquez exposes the superficial nature of the town and their flaws.

According to Epic World History, Latin American men consider honor both a prized personal possession and a crucially important expression of one’s public self (“Epic World History”). To lose one’s honor was to become low and tarnished in society’s eyes. Chronicle of a Death Foretold tells a story of horrific murder driven by the loss of honor through a journalistic view. In the novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, through the actions and thoughts of the Vicario brothers and townspeople, Gabriel García Marquez highlights the absurdity of the "code of honor" and critiques the flaws in Latin American society.

In the novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Vicario brothers’ actions were justified by society because they were defending their sister’s honor. It is never confirmed if the protagonist, Santiago Nasar, actually took Angela Vicario’s virginity, but, no one cares enough to confirm the allegation. Living in a community where honor was salient in determining a family's worth, the brothers sought out revenge because they thought killing Santiago Nasar was the only way to redeem their family’s prosperity. Reputation and honor were predominant issues in the Colombian society and Gabriel Garcia Marquez exemplifies these issues in Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

Art is thematic. Through the ages artists have explored ideas in art from different perspectives. The theme of death is recurrent in all cultures and throughout history. Religious death, death in battle, death as punishment, death juxtaposed with life, death, more death, even more death! Death is omnipresent in art. When one enters a museum, such as the National Gallery of Canada, different representations of death can be found if one looks closely.