Death Foretold Irony

Thesis: In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez creates irony in the (specific) events leading up to the murder to demonstrate that humans, like Santiago Nasar, have a set fate. Marquez portrays having a set fate as a bad thing through the frustration that results from his irony. (I need to integrate the second part somehow) Numerous events (improve) could have gotten in the way of the Vicario brothers carrying out the murder, however Marquez creates ironic coincidences that allow the deed to be done. For example, when Colonel Aponte sees the brothers in Clotilde Armenta’s shop, he believes they are bluffing about murdering Nasar, and “…took away their knives and sent them off to sleep” (65). The narrator states that after

Marquez also uses this irony to creates frustration at Nasar’s inability to avoid his destiny and express that having a set destiny is not a positive thing. After the murder, Cristo Bedoya remarks that while he was looking for Nasar when Santiago was in Flora Miguel’s house, “‘It didn’t occur to me that he could be there, …because those people never got up before noon’” (131). Marquez characterizes this family as one that does not rise early in order to show that Nasar cannot avoid his set fate. The repeated events that almost prevent the murder build frustration that emphasizes the theme of destiny. Marquez characterizes this family as one that does not rise early to create a reason for Bedoya to not check there. Without this characterization, this is a house Nasar could easily enter and Flora Miguel is his fiancee. It would make sense for Bedoya to check this house as Flora Miguel is Santiago’s fiancée, but he does not due to Marquez’s characterization. The repeated events that almost prevent the murder build frustration that emphasizes the theme of destiny. In addition, “The investigating magistrate looked for a single person who'd seen him, and he did so with as much persistence as I, but it was impossible to find one… Fatality makes us invisible. The fact is that Santiago Nasar went in through the main door, in full view of everyone, and without doing anything not to

While Nasar is in Flora Miguel’s house, her father speaks to him in Arabic. He describes, ’From the first moment I understood that he didn’t have the slightest idea of what I was saying,’ he told me. Then he asked him outright if he knew that the Vicario brothers were looking for him to kill him, ‘He turned pale and lost control in such a way that it was impossible to think that he was pretending,’ he told me. He agreed that his manner reflected not so much fear as confusion” (135) This contrasts sharply to when Santiago’s father was alive and “They spoke Arabic between themselves” (6). Also, just earlier that day Nasar “said something in Arabic to Yamil Shaium” (122). (Nasar, who has spoken Arabic since childhood, ironically cannot understand Flora’s father at a moment critical to his survival. Marquez uses situational irony in this situation to create false hope that Nasar can understand and stay safe in the house, but due to his predetermined fate, he cannot.) or (Marquez uses situational irony to create false hope that Nasar can understand Flora’s father and hide safely in the house. Marquez instead characterizes that Nasar does not understand Nahir Miguel’s Arabic, a language he has known since childhood and has spoken earlier that day.) I need to pick one of the things in