Chronicle of a Death Foretold Themes

Description

Gabriel García Márquez is one of the most important and representative writers of the so-called "boom" of the Latin American novel. In these flashcards we will analyse the themes of "Chronicle of a death foretold", a literary story that mixes elements of the journalistic chronicle, the detective novel and magical realism.
Andrea Pan
Flashcards by Andrea Pan, updated more than 1 year ago
Andrea Pan
Created by Andrea Pan almost 2 years ago
36
0

Resource summary

Question Answer
Fate Death as an irrevocable destiny. In this fate there are a series of circumstances and coincidences that combine to make the murder take place. Many of them are related to human clumsiness or weakness.
Honour Directly related to violence as the only way to restore it. The defence of the family's honour falls to men. In this case, a requirement of patriarchal society: a woman must be a virgin at marriage. Honour has a public quality: what is serious is not that an act of dishonour has been committed, but that it is publicly known.
Religion It is approached in the book in a burlesque and ironic way. The treatment of the bishop's visit and the expectations it generates in the village are viewed critically. This religiosity contrasts with the superstitious mentality of many of the characters: Santiago's mother interprets dreams, Luis Santiago possesses the art of divination, and so on.
Society The novel depicts a society strongly stratified into social classes, where the powerful seem to have the right to everything as opposed to the poorest.
The truth One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is that it shows the impossibility of accessing knowledge of the truth.
Love and sexuality. The whole novel is full of amorous passions, always accompanied by sexist connotations. The men live a life full of sex, either with the women in María Alejandra Cervantes' house of pleasure or in the abuse of women who, because of their social situation, cannot defend themselves against the men's desires.
Institutional power There is a criticism of institutional power: Bayardo San Román's father, a decorated soldier, is described unattractively; Colonel Aponte, the mayor, does not act with due diligence in the case; the autopsy is not carried out in the proper conditions due to lack of resources. Only the judge, in his investigation, seems to be very conscientious, and yet he sprinkles the case file with subjective and literary annotations.
Show full summary Hide full summary

Similar

A Level: English language and literature technique = Dramatic terms
Jessica 'JessieB
English Literary Terminology
Fionnghuala Malone
To Kill A Mockingbird GCSE English
naomisargent
Animal Farm Chapter Overview
10jgorman
To Kill a Mockingbird -Analysis of Major Characters
sungiemarie
Greek Drama
williamus11
Blake Quotes
soozi fullstop
ch3 Baroque literature
Ayla de Klerk
An Inspector Calls: Mr Arthur Birling
Rattan Bhorjee
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
K d
Characters in "An Inspector Calls"
Esme Gillen