Analysis of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Fatality Makes Us Invisible
Marquez is hinting at fate being certain and unflinching. The impending doom that is about to embrace the town is given a clear path to its goal. The twins Pablo and Pedro were braggish on their slow methodical quest towards the killing of Nasar. Pedro shouted "Cristobal, tell Santiago Nasar that we're waiting for him here to kill him" (108). There are several instances of this while the brothers waited for their intended victim. All the informed people assumed Santiago Nasar had known of his impending death or that the brothers were drunk, which the brothers were by the time the two committed the crime.
Nasar wakes after an hour of sleep and heads out to greet the bishop who for years has never stopped in the town. Santiago Nasar dresses in his best clothes and as a result heads out the "The Fatal Door" that was used for special occasions and festivities (12). The bishop not stopping at the town signifies that not even religion can stand in the way of fate, rendering Santiago Nasar invisible to even god while fatality creeps towards its victim.
The final blow came when invisibility struck at Nasar's household. Placida Linero mistakenly believed Santiago to be in the house when he was entering through the front door. "She was putting up the bar when she heard Santiago Nasar's shouts, and she heard the terrified pounding on the door, but she though he was upstairs, insulting the Vicario brothers from the balcony in his room. (117). Placida sealed Santiago's fate by barring the door shut. The door being barred is only part of the incident; an unopened letter lay mere feet away from Nasar's bitter battle with the brothers on the other side of the door. This letter contained a warning and in addition "the note revealed the place, the motive, and other precise details of the plot" (14). With so much knowledge of the tragic event floating around it seems impossible for Santiago Nasar not to prevent his own foretold death.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez most definitely believed in foretold futures. His novel represents all the clues found in life that cause so much grief after a tragic event seemed preventable. When people look back at events that shaped the final moments of a person's life they will wonder to themselves and search for words to express their confusion. These words were italicized in Marquez's modern novel, these words answer all the questions in seemingly random experiences; "Fatality makes us invisible" (113).
Works Cited
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Random House Inc.:
New York, 1983
Published by Erik M. Dell
Erik Dell is a an experienced writer with articles published on Associated Content, Helium, and Yahoo! Sports. A member of the prestigious Fantasy Sports Writers Association. If it deals with fantasy footb... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentIs it possible that this writer is confusing fate with fatality?
You are absolutely, 100% wrong. This book is about the way we create rituals, superstitions, etc. in order to allow ourselves to believe fate controls us. That is, after all, easier than accepting the burden of responsibility for your own actions.
You cite "the fatal door" as evidence that Garcia Marquez is writing about a fated event. But if you read the whole paragraph, you see that it goes on to say the real explanation for Santiago Nasar going out the door he did has nothing to do with fate. It is explained as a simple coincidence.
And so goes the whole book. Every instance of "fate" is contradicted. There is no fate, only the choices we make. Unfortunately for Santiago Nasar, everyone around him is too afraid to admit it.