Death Foretold

During the 1980s, the Latin American lifestyle revolved around obeying the religious commands set forth in the bible. In the novel “Chronicles of a Death Foretold”, the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses symbolism to establish the connection between the Colombian culture and the Catholic religion. Symbolism can be defined as the way in which an object, number, shape, etc. represents a topic or idea without doing so in a direct manner. The author uses the number three, and the events of Santiago’s death to relate back to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ along with the Holy Trinity. In doing so, he criticizes the ways in which the society upholds the beliefs of their culture while contradicting their religious beliefs.

The Colombian culture

Machismo deals with the superiority of men in society and how they were forced to preserve their authority over women to maintain their honor. On the contrary, 1980 beliefs state that there is no gender superiority; therefore, everyone is equal. The sense of machismo is a prevalent topic that occurs throughout the novel through the unraveling of the events leading to Santiago Nasar’s death. Santiago was accused, by the members of the town, for stealing the virginity of the beloved Angela Vicario. This accusation lead to Angela’s twin brothers, Pedro and Pablo Vicario, to kill Santiago for his committed sin. Marquez describes Santiago’s death in a way that is similar to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. For example, the novel states that the twins had used “sacrificial tools” (page 50) from their pigsty bin in the murder of Santiago. The use of the diction gives out a negative connotation in reference to religion. It pertains to a Christ-like word that is constantly repeated in the bible. Marquez points out the sacrifice behind his death to show how he is a victim to the wrong ways

He uses the correlation between both people in order to opinionate on the way the society functions. He comments on the true principles of the culture and how it massively contradicts the actions they have taken. He uses the character of Santiago Nasar to portray this hypocrisy in their town. The symbolism works to tie in all of the religious aspects of Santiago with the Colombian cultural customs and values. This then acts as a catalyst to allow the reader to understand the corruption back then and how over time the culture, along with their lifestyle, has shifted to fit more current principles. To conclude, the author was able to successfully provide his comment on the Colombian culture at the time and was able to give everyone a sense of consciousness about the crookedness behind their