Chronicle of a Death Foretold Quotes

English

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - retells the murder of Santiago Nassar in a small town, where everyone except Santiago knows the murder will happen but no one prevents it.

Employs ironic mode to critique societal norms and highlight their absurdity; machismo and marianismo

"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."

Pedro and Pablo Vicario are confessing to murdering Santiago - represents conflict b/w societal norms and higher spiritual/honor laws, exposes the corruption present in the town as it highlights the failure of religious and civil institutions to provide moral guidance or justice in the face of collective wrongdoing

Ironic - confessing to the priest who is supposed to be the highest moral authority but is noncommittal = failure to prevent of condemn the murder

”Now it's a matter of warning Santiago Nasar, and happy new year."

Spoken by Colonel Aponte (authority figure) after he was informed of the twins’ plans to kill Santiago - reduces threat to warning rather than arresting them and adds “happy new year” = lack of seriousness and urgency

Irony - juxtaposes warning of violence with cheerful New Year’s greeting = normalizes violence and social rituals of the town; appearances matter more than justice/ human life (Waiting by Ha Jin connection - keeps Shuyu hidden)

”It isn't right that everybody should know that they're going to kill her son and she the only one who doesn't."

Everyone in the town is aware of the plan to kill Santiago except himself and his mother - irony = the two people who would be most invested in his safety are left in the dark until its too late

“Angela Vicario, the beautiful girl who'd gotten married the day before, had been returned to the house of her parents, because her husband had discovered that she wasn't a virgin.”

exposes how these rigid expectations of female purity are central to the idea of marianismo.  While women like Angela are expected to embody saintly purity, men like Santiago Nasar and Bayardo San Román operate under a different set of rules.

”The only thing they knew for sure was that Angela Vicario's brothers were waiting for him to kill him.”

Machismo places a strong emphasis on male honor and the use of violence to defend it, especially when it comes to perceived violations involving women’s sexual purity. This rigid code compels men to act aggressively to restore their honor, and the community’s tolerance of such actions is deeply rooted in these cultural norms.

“On the day they were going to kill him”

Opening line of the book - sets tone of inevitability and fatalism, emphasizes circular structure of the book