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Created with Fabric.js 1.4.5 The Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez A common theme throughout the novel is that "love can be learned." This is a quote by Angela Vicario's mother when Angela reveals that she is not in love with Bayardo San Roman. Angela feels so passionately about not marrying him that she said, "The only thing I prayed to God for was to give me the courage to kill myself, but he didn't give it to me." But despite how strongly she feels, in this community and in this time period, love is not as important as status. Seemingly everyone in the town has married for some other reason than love including Santiago Nasar's parent who married for "convenience." And because this is such commonplace, it has desensitized those who live in the town. For example, when Bayardo wants to buy the widower's house, he does not understand that the items in the house were priceless because of how much he loved his wife. All of this shows, not just how much more important status is than love, but also the impact it has had on the people in the town. Honor is something that is extremely important to the town. The entire book revolves around the Vicario brothers hoping to get back their family's honor. By Santiago Nasar taking Angela's virginity, Pedro and Pablo knew that the people of the town would think of them less if they did not act. Obviously, the fact that they felt that they had to kill a man to gain respect from people shows how different this community is from ours. Another sign that honor is crucial in this town is that people who heard that the Vicarios were going to kill Santiago did not take it seriously because they knew and trusted them. If someone else who had a lesser reputation in the town had made this threat, they most likely would have been jailed or killed before they could commit the crime. This book consistently shows that honor is, to a fault, crucial to the town and its people. As in any Spanish town, religion is held in very high regard. On the day of the murder, the Bishop was coming to bless the townspeople and most were very excited. So excited, that they neglected to realize a series of events that led to a murder. Also, as people began to sin, they were then punished for what they had done. This is most obvious in the hardships that Pedro and Pablo face after killing Santiago. The author deliberately makes their punishment not one of the law because they were not sentenced, but instead it is a punishment by God as they have many internal problems after. Some of them were reminiscent of the Plague of the Pharaoh as they were small and very annoying things that kept happening to them. Finally, the murder of Santiago is explained in excruciating detail, much like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Bible which is done to show how important his death is. His dead body is even described as "a stigma of the crucified Christ." Throughout the book, religious is an overarching theme that influences many events and decisions. A common theme throughout the novel is that "love can be learned." This is a quote by Angela Vicario's mother when Angela reveals that she is not in love with Bayardo San Roman. Angela feels so passionately about not marrying him that she said, "The only thing I prayed to God for was to give me the courage to kill myself, but he didn't give it to me." But despite how strongly she feels, in this community and in this time period, love is not as important as status. Seemingly everyone in the town has married for some other reason than love including Santiago Nasar's parent who married for "convenience." And because this is such commonplace, it has desensitized those who live in the town. For example, when Bayardo wants to buy the widower's house, he does not understand that the items in the house were priceless because of how much he loved his wife. All of this shows, not just how much more important status is than love, but also the impact it has had on the people in the town. "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is named for the way the story is told. The first few words of the book are "On the day they were going to kill him..." Right from the start the reader knows that someone is going to die. It is not much later that Márquez reveals the victim and the murderer. And with that small, but crucial knowledge, he continues to give more and more details until the story is complete. Not only is this the way the story was told, but also how the event took place. The Vicario brothers told many people their plans to kill Santiago. They said several times that he was "already dead." Having foretold his death, Pedro and Pablo carried out the murder much like Márquez wrote his book. What's in a name? Honor Love Religion
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