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Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Character Analysis

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The role and importance of the apathy in society in the
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Pooja Parashar Word Count: 1492 (not inclusive of titles and references)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold follows the protagonist Santiago Nasar and the story of his death of which we are introduced to from the very start. Nasar is accused of taking Angela Vicario’s (a distant cousin of the narrator) virginity ultimately leading to his death as her two brothers seek revenge in the name of honour. Marquez stretches time, moving back and forth until the full murder story is revealed. The inhabitants of the small Colombian town are all aware of the plan to kill Santiago but fail to help him exhibiting their lack of concern. This apathy of the townspeople is perhaps one of the most important concepts that allow the cunning yet obvious unfolding of Santiago Nasar’s murder. Marquez critiques this indifference through the employment of symbolism and imagery, distorted morals and religious hypocrisy.

Although aware of the threat to Santiago’s life, the townspeople show an acceptance of violent behaviour and the majority of the residents display a reluctance to aid Santiago. Imagery and symbolism plays a major role in understanding the viewpoint of the townspeople and the reasons behind their choice to be uninvolved in preventing such a ruthless murder.
The violent animalistic imagery used to describe the slaughtering of the rabbits, by Victoria Guzman and her
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