Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 5

The Pursuit of Love is Like Falconry (Epigraph)

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I have to admit, I did not foresee the events in Chapter Five....it was all simply unexpected. I think the narrator purposefully  starts at the surface of the murder and then gradually reveals the deeper and haunting details of Nasar's death. I used to think that the narrator was being redundant and simply restating whatever had happened, but really, he's always shedding the events of the murder in a different light. This reminds me of the kaleidoscope-like technique used in The House of Spirits because of the different perspectives that are revealed to us throughout the novel. I never expected that Santiago would be lost in confusion during the last moments of his death; the controversial honor killing just labeled him as the town's most wanted man. Keeping in mind of the huge plot twist during the last moments of Nasar's murder, I want to retrace and analyze the chapter through the quote in the epigraph.

The pursuit of falconry seems dangerous and it's generally the process of taming a wild creature. In order to fit the metaphor of falconry to the context of the novel, I feel like love is the creature that one attempts to tame. This brings me back to the idea of l'amor fou or mad love, personifying love as mad and untamed. Angela's short marriage to Bayardo San Roman demonstrates how although Bayardo San Roman went to great lengths to please Angela, her lost virginity stood in the way of his ideal perception of love. The remains of their short-lasting marriage led to Angela's punishment from her mother but an even bigger punishment for Santiago Nasar. Her brothers felt that it was their duty to kill Nasar in order to reclaim Angela's virginity. The root of this murder is really the wild creature of love. Furthermore, as revealed in this chapter, there were so many coincidences which determined Nasar's ultimate murder by the Vicario twins.

"The investigating magistrate looked for a single person who'd seen him...but it was impossible to find one. In folio 382 of the brief, he wrote another marginal pronouncement in red ink: Fatality makes us invisible." (113) This quote certainly applies to Nasar's case as Cristo Bedoya was searching endlessly for Nasar but failed to locate him. He was on the way to Flora Miguel's house, his fiance, but no one would have expected him to visit her at such early hours. People were confused as to why he was not at home or in the town square walking with Bedoya. Another reference to the danger of falconry as related to the pursuit of love is Flora Miguel's irrational jealousy towards Angela and Nasar. When Flora heard the news that Santiago was responsible for Angela's lost honor, she assumed that Angela would be forced to marry Santiago. No one had told her otherwise. She was so angry to the point that she told him, "And I hope they kill you" (113). When I was reading this, I was shocked at how cruel she treated him during the last moments of Nasar's life. It's terrible because soon enough, she gets her wish and he does get killed. It's tragic how misunderstandings and lack of communication can result in a bizarre ending. It reminds me of the verbatim, be careful what you wish for.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 4

How credible is Nasar's murder investigation?

As the novel progresses, I'm certainly bombarded with more questions on what seemed to be a "murder mystery". The narrator took the role of pseudo-investigator by trying to put the broken pieces together of the mystery. In this chapter, I noticed numerous flaws in this-so-called investigation and it makes me think of how low the credibility of the conducted investigation on Nasar's murder.

First of all, the narrator has mentioned several times in the previous chapter that the appointed investigator of Nasar's murder failed to give a comprehensive report and lacked evidence and contained flaws in his autopsy and other relevant aspects of the murder. Then in chapter four the narrator introduces that Father Carmen Amador, a priest, was forced to perform the autopsy in the absence of Dr. Dionsio Iguaran. Why in the world would you assign such a task on a priest with no prior medical experience? Apparently it was the mayor who assigned the obligation to him and the mayor himself "was a former troop commander with no experience in matters of law" and on top of that, "he was too conceited to ask anyone where he should begin". (73)

This really frustrates me because this is not the first time in the novel where someone simply doesn't know how he/she should take action because they're just not experienced in such situations or they don't have the courage to go out of their way and contribute a difference (referencing to Father Amador in the previous chapter).  The narrator even goes on to note that "the mayor knew that his autopsy would have no legal standing" (74) but suspiciously enough "Father Amador's report seemed in order and the investigator incorporated it in the brief as a useful piece of evidence." (75) That doesn't only make me angry at the mayor and the priest, but also questioning once again the credibility of the investigator. If he decided to use the "massacre" autopsy as evidence for Nasar's case, then just imagine how flawed all other pieces of "evidence" are to the investigation.

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All of these flaws in the investigation of course would also question the credibility of the real cause of the murder, reclaiming Angela Vicario's honor. As Juliana had brought up in our last Socratic seminar, it hasn't been proven that Santiago Nasar was the one who stole her virginity. In fact, the narrator even states that Angela "on the contrary, she would recount it in all its detailed to anyone who wanted to hear it, except for one item that would never be cleared up: who was the real cause of her damage, and how and why, because no one believed that it had really been Santiago Nasar." (89) Furthermore, there's an explanation of how "they belonged to two completely different worlds", therefore it was highly unlikely for Nasar to be the culprit.

WHY DIDN'T THE NARRATOR MENTION THIS EARLIER? Well, it might have been that he recounts the chronicle of Nasar's death the same way as everyone else had experienced this compelling mystery. People never considered that thought in the first place, but only thought of Santiago Nasar as a dirty rich man and the Vicario twins proving their status as men by reclaiming the honor of their sister. However, after everything has settled down, people begin to take a rational perspective on this whole "mystery".

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 3

Defending Honor

Chapter three begins with the quote, "The lawyer stood by the thesis of homicide in legitimate defense of honor, which was upheld by the court in good faith, and the twins declared at the end of the trial that they would have done it again a thousand times over for the same reason." (48) I noticed that in this chapter there was a great amount of repetition of events and themes from the previous two chapters but only projected in different perspectives and additional clarity on the occurrence of events leading up to Santiago Nasar's death. Many of the evidence offered in this chapter seemed redundant and made me come to a conclusion that this novel isn't as mysterious as what I've preconceived in the beginning. It was perhaps only a mystery in the first chapter, but soon enough the narrator throws pieces of the mystery here and there.  The focus of this chapter shifts from Bayardo San Roman to the Vicario twins after their sister found the strength to name Santiago Nasar as the man who stole her honor.

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In Colombian culture, but certainly not limited to that region, honor is a monumental symbol of a one's dignity and status, especially female virginity and innocence. The Vicario twins have justified their committed murder as defending the honor of their family and the dignity of their sister's loss virginity. I included a gif of flowers dying to represent the frequently referenced metaphor of flowers representing a female's innocence and purity, when Bayardo San Roman found out she was no longer a virgin, her honor died just as how flowers lose their bloom and start to wilt into dead flowers.

The narrator also gives further insight into the Vicario twins' personalities, perhaps for us to understand them a little more and their intentions? Pedro was the twin who declared the decision to kill but did not want to continue once the mayor had taken away their knives but Pablo insisted to continue with the murder.

"Pedro Vicario, according to his own declaration, was the one who made the decision to kill Santiago Nasar, and at first his brother only followed along. But he was also the one who considered his duty fulfilled when the mayor disarmed them, and then it was Pablo Vicario who assumed command." (60)

I also noticed how their sister's lost honor and innocence has been personified and Santiago Nasar became the symbol of the disgrace and dishonor. Since honor has taken a literal form, it explains why Pablo is determined to continue with the murder. The last part of the quote, "it's as if it had already happen" definitely  draws allusions to the title of the novel and how in their minds, Santiago Nasar's death was certainly foretold.

"So he put the knife in his hand and dragged him off almost by force in search of their sister's lost honor. "There's no way out of this", he told him. "It's as if it had already happened." (61)

Another interesting passage in chapter three was the introduction of Maria Alejandrina Cervantes. I found that there was an obvious double standard in the matters of honor because a man's virginity was not as prized or as protected as a female's virginity and honor. Both the narrator and Santiago Nasar seem infatuated by her charm and attraction which sort of reminds me of Bayardo San Roman. There was certainly no one planning to murder her!

Maria Alejandrina Cervantes
"It was she who did away with my generation's virginity. She taught us much more than we should have learned, but she taught us about all that there's no place in life sadder than an empty bed." (65)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 2

Bayardo San Roman, Charming or Dangerous?

Chapter one basically sets up the whole case of the murder mystery of Santiago Nasar, but it's surprising how in chapter two, Marquez delves into as much or even more depth into the character of Bayardo San Roman, indicating his key role in the novel. I was relieved that more time was spent explaining his looks, personality, and his past through the dialogue and perspectives of numerous characters because I was getting tired of having to keep up with the constant shift of characters and their roles. I found a similar pattern between the narrator's portrayal of Nasar and Bayardo San Roman, at first he gives a positive and attractive first impression but then reveals the darker side of the character proving that you can never trust your first impression of anyone. Here are the two prominent examples of how a flowery and charming first impression eventually turns into the realization of something darker:

Magdalena Oliver
"He looked like a fairy," she told me. "And it was a pity, because I could have buttered him and eaten him alive." She wasn't the only one who thought so, nor was she the last to realize that Bayardo San Roman was not a man to be known at first sight." (26)

Narrator's Mother
"Only a long time after the unfortunate wedding did she confess to me that she actually knew him when it was already too late to correct the October letter, and that his golden eyes had caused the shudder of a fear in her." (28)

DISNEY EXAMPLE OF "CHARMING"

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Besides charming first impressions taking a darker turn, I've also noticed how the narrator often compared the act of playing a game of cards as dealing the cards which destiny gives you in life. The Colombian culture of superstitions and divine prophecies which reflect the title itself, Chronicle of a Death Foretold does reflect the nature of playing a game of cards and how you rely on your fate and destiny, some even argue luck also plays an important role in determining your prophecy.

Life as a game of cards (41):

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"My mother was the only one who appreciated as an act of courage the fact that she had played out her marked cards to the final consequences."

"But no one knew what cards Bayardo San Roman was playing."

"Nor was it known what cards Santiago Nasar was playing."

What other cards will be dealt later on in the novel and who else will be joining the game?
I'm actually looking forward to the next chapter and inspecting other clues that the narrator will reveal to us in order to piece this shattered mystery back together. It's clear that Bayardo San Roman is no man to be fooled with but does he have another role in this mystery besides just being the wealthy man who can buy anything to get what he wants including a wife (whom he returned upon knowing she was no longer a virgin)? Is Santiago Nasar also somehow tangled in this dark mystery?

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 1

Reading the first chapter of Chronicle of a Death Foretold left me confused and I can't quite make up my mind on what my feelings are for the novel. When I read the first few pages, the author, Marquez, had a clear and detailed writing technique which is heavily influenced by his career as a journalist.  Although it was seemingly black-and-white, the more details that were given, I began to have more questions on the author's intention. I realized that even though it was a mystery novel, the crime itself is already thoroughly explained but the real mystery was why hadn't anyone stopped Santiago Nassar from being killed if they knew the murder was already planned. 

Going back to the novel itself, Santiago Nassar is what I perceive is the main character but it remains a mystery what exactly the connection is between the narrator and Santiago. The narrator always formally refers to him as Santiago Nassar, perhaps portraying the formality of Journalism. There are also precise descriptions of the rooms and different areas and where exactly they're located in relations with each other. Numbers and precise time is included in the first chapter which is what Marquez describes as a literary trick in making the text more realistic and causing us as the readers to believe in fiction literature. The first chapter is definitely believable and it is easy to follow along with the plot because one event smoothly leads to the other.

However, the introduction of numerous minor characters along with their surname made it really hard for me to absorb all the names and their roles in relation to the main character. I was forced to re-read each minor character and it also forced me to try to put together the puzzle pieces in order to gain a better understanding of the whole picture. I think Marquez intended for us to become investigators ourselves and try to figure out the bigger picture of the crime and why it holds a greater significance. The event of the crime itself isn't explicitly revealed to us yet but instead the author has went into great detail on the wedding, the arrival of the bishop, and the mixed opinions from the minor characters on what they perceived of Santiago Nassar and whether they cared for his murder.