Death of Santiago Nasar As Term Paper

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Angela knows she cannot change this social perception of gender roles, and gives the first name that comes to mind because she realizes that she is in the position of sentencing that man to death, and probably tries to save the man who had actually dishonored her.

Guilt is a major theme in the novel, and is closely linked to the theme of fate. In fact, this inextricable link explains why Santiago is killed although so many characters know about the Vicario twins' intentions in advance: "There had never been a death more foretold" (Marquez: 50). Angela is both guilty and innocent because although she falsely accuses Santiago and sentences him to death, she cannot avoid giving her brothers the name of the man who had dishonored her. She is persecuted by her family, beaten and questioned so she must provide a name. Bayardo is also guilty because he is the one who sets vengeance in motion. Of course, the Vicario brothers i.e. The killers are also guilty. But most of the other characters also share the guilt of Santiago's death. Father Carmen Amador, the local priest, for instance, is too busy preparing for the visit of the bishop, and does not do anything to prevent the murder. Also, the mayor, Colonel Lazare Aponte, is wrapped up in his dominoes game, and does not react when told about the plans of the Vicario brothers.

Fate also plays an important role in Santiago's death. The implacability of fate is tackled with irony by Marquez. First of all, everyone in town including his close ones know about the Vicario brothers' intentions to kill him, everyone except Santiago himself since no one actually warns him. Secondly, there is never any proof that Santiago is responsible for dishonoring Angela; furthermore, the brothers do not even bother to ask him what had happened, and simply take what their sister tells them as the absolute truth.

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What is more, the narrator tells us that Angela and Santiago were never seen together in public, and that he considered her a "fool" (Marquez: 251). In addition, Santiago Nasar and Angela Vicario belong to different social classes in a society where social class determines identity hence a romance between the two seems highly unlikely. The narrative voice gives the impression that Angela Vicario names Santiago in order to protect someone she really loves i.e. The man who had actually deflowered her.

Through the literary technique of foreshadowing, the narrator tries to convince his readers that Santiago's fate dictates his death. From this point-of-view, the fact that so many characters could have prevent the killing but did not has a double meaning. The townsfolk know about the brothers' plan to murder Santiago, but are not able to stop them; at a first look, this might indicate that Santiago's fate was indeed implacable. However, at a closer examination of the text, one must acknowledge that none of the characters make any kind of effort to intervene; moreover, they all appear to be too busy with their own lives to care about another's. Marquez's irony suggests that the role of fate might not be as strong as the townspeople think it is. They are all morally responsible for Santiago's death; the townsfolk either remain passive and uninterested whether he lives or dies or, even worse, endorse the murder as an act of vengeance and a question of honor. Marquez alters the initial relationship between guilt and fate; in the end, the narrative voice suggests that the murder could have been prevented, and that perhaps fate is not the only responsible factor. In this sense, the townspeople choose to believe the murder was foretold because blaming fate is better than blaming themselves.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Knopf Publishing Group, 2003......

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