Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Chapter 1: Analysis Questions

While reading the introductory chapter, annotate for the common elements of craft and then
answer each of the following questions in at least 3-4 concise sentences.

DO NOT RESEARCH THESE ONLINE!

CHALLENGE YOUR INTELLECT AND DO THE WORK YOURSELF!

1. After having finished your Level-1 read of the novel, please identify at least seven main
themes that you will be annotating throughout your second, Level-2 reading. ​These should be in
the form of complete sentences that clearly express a lesson for the reader:
1. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez illustrates the bystander effect because of
disbelief, ignorance, jealousy/ bitterness between classes, or social class prejudices
showing that many individuals rely on others to do the right thing which brings
destruction and chaos.

2. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez demonstrates the skewed validity and ethics
of the different aspects of honor killing revealing that without honor you are nothing
through which is displayed through the killing of Santiago.

3. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez illustrates Fate vs Freewill through the events
leading up to the death of Santiago revealing that the freewill of others can lead someone
to a certain fate.

4. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez illuminates the destructive effects of guilt

through the Vicario brothers and their inability to sleep and eat due to the fact that could
not stop smelling blood.

5. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez illustrates the inferiority of women compared

to men(double standards of gender roles) through the fact that women are always
associated with white, flowers, and purity while men can do what ever they want.

6. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez the unreliableness of reconstructive

journalism is displayed though the revelation of the arbitrariness or memories which is
seen when people’s descriptions of the weather are contradicting.

7. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez reveals the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church
displayed through that fact that the Bishop wasted food and his favorite was rooster foot
as well as the fact that the priest desecrated the body of Sabtiago through teh autopsy.

8. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez reveals through the epigraph, that men try to
train women to always return back to them by comparing it to falconry where the person
trains the bird to bring something back.
2. There are two significant dreams simply in the first paragraph of the novel. Choose ONE of
them and analyze the meaning of the dream, any relevant symbolism, and its relevance to the
novel as a whole. Use direct quotes as necessary.
- The second dream of the book has many significant features. In his second dream,
Santiago dreamed that he was “alone in a tinfoil airplane and flying through the almond
trees, without bumping into anything” (4). There are many different symbols in this
dream. For example, the tinfoil can symbolize that he is a dead man, show that he has a
false sense of security, be used to symbolize his wealth, or demonstrate that on the
outside he looked stable, but he was actually in danger which can be interpreted through
the flimsiness of the tinfoil. The almond trees might symbolize purity and virginity and
the fact that he is flying through them without touching them can give the readers the
hint/foreshadow the fact that he did not take the virginity of the girl. The relevance to the
novel as a whole is to maybe display that he did not touch the young girl’s virginity and
that he was falsely accused.

3. Identify TWO examples in the chapter where the narrator seems to portray the church in a
negative light, using quotes for support, and then connect them to one of the main themes of the
novel:
1. One example is when the narrator basically blames the bishop for the death of Santiago
writing, “If it hadn’t been for the bishop’s arrival, he would have dressed in his khaki
outfit and the riding boots he wore on Mondays to go to the divine face” (5). This shows
that the only reason that Santiago was dressed nice and when through the front door was
to see the bishop and find fulfillment through him. This is ironic because since the bishop
does not even get off of the boat, Santiago never finds the fulfillment or receives the
blessing he was hoping to get. He skips going to the “divine face” which is the face of
God and still ends up seeing the face of god cause he dies. This relates to the theme of the
hypocrisy of the Catholic church because everyone puts hold or goes out of their way to
see the bishop and he can’t even make the effort to get off of the boat. His arrival leads to
the death of Santiago when it was supposed to be a blessing.

2. This is seen once again when it is revealed that the people had brought “crates of
well-fattened roosters they were bearing as gifts for the bishop because cockscomb soup
was his favorite” (16). Once again the church is portrayed in a negative light because the
bishop does not even have the decency to gather and thank the people for the gifts they
had worked so hard to offer to him. It also portrays the church in a negative light because
the bishop’s favorite thing was rooster soup, which means that he cuts the feet off and
throws the rest of the rooster away. This is very wasteful and shows how he is entitled to
everything. This once again goes with the theme of the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church
because the people worship the bishop and he seems to put no effort in toward them when
they do so much for him. He is ungrateful and is the total opposite of what a bishop
should be.
4. Discuss a specific example of Falconry in this novel, whether literal or figurative and explain
how it supports one of the main themes of the novel. Use a direct quote to support your example
and analysis.
- A specific example of falconry in this novel is seen in the epigraph. The epigraph states
that “the pursuit of love is like falcony.” This supports one of the main themes that men
are meant to train their wives to always return. This is because in falconry the man trains
the falcon to go get something and then return to him. This is very hard considering the
bird could just fly away. This is also interesting because birds are a symbol of freedom
and in falconry the birds are not free. Since the women are being compared to the birds in
falconry, it can be assumed that the narrator in implying that women are not free and are
always controlled by the man. This reveals that theme that women are inferior to men
because the men always seem to be in control to them and women are trained ot do
everything to be perfect for the man, while the mans reputation does not really matter.

5. Identify at least THREE significant aspects of Santiago’s characterization in this chapter and
make a case for their significance in the novel as a whole. Use a direct quote in support of each:
1. One significant aspect of his characterization is that “he always slept the way his father
had slept, with a weapon hidden in the pillowcase” (5). This shows how Santiago did not
feel safe in his own home because he was always in fear that someone was going to steal
or do something to them because they were higher up in the social class. This is
significant for the whole novel because it shows how many people were going to be
happy with his death because they were jealous or did not like him. It reveals that his
death was inevitable and that he in a way kind of expected it.

2. Another significant aspect of characterization is that Santiago is said to be “merry and

peaceful, and open-hearted” (8). This helps to clarify why some people were so
distraught about his death. He was a nice man with a good personality and he had not
done anything to make the whole town hate him. This is significant because it helps to
exemplify that one of the main reasons that people wanted him dead was mainly because
he was wealthier than others. People were jealous of him, it’s not like they actually hated
him, himself. They just hated seeing him succeed and used this as a way to justify his
death.

3. A third significant aspect of characterization is that he sexually harrassed Divina Flor.

This is illustrated when she states that she could not “avoid his butcher hawk hand” and
that “ it was what he always did when he caught her in some corner of the house” (13).
This reveals that Santiago did carry out sexual acts on a child and that he was not as great
as he seemed on the outside. This is significant for the rest of the novel because he was
accused of rape and this scenario given by Divina Flor makes it seem like it was possible
that he actually was guilty. It creates disgust in the reader and leads them to feel less
sympathy toward Santiago. This could also be why people believed the wife when she
said it was him.
6. Examine TWO key symbols within the chapter that have not already been discussed in the
previous questions. Briefly discuss the context of each symbol, and then analyze their meaning
and how they support a main idea in the novel:
1. There is the recurring symbol of the cocks crowing. The cocks crowing is symbolic
because it is an allusion to the bible where the cocks crow before the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus was an innocent man that was wrongfully killed so the cocks crowing could
symbolize how Santiago was actually innocent and was being wrongfully killed. The
cocks are mentioned multiple times before the death of Santiago and many people seem
to distinctly remember the sound of their crowing. Cocks can symbolize sexuality and
Santiago was being accused of doing sexual acts on Vicario’s sister. This could help
support the main idea of the novel that Santiago is innocent because throughout the whole
thing it seems as if the narrator is trying to figure out who actually was guilty of taking
the virginity of Vicario’s sister.

2. Another key symbol within the chapter is Alcohol. Throughout the whole chapter,
numerous people are portrayed as being either drunk, hungover, or still drinking at the
moment. Since alcohol symbolizes the dissolution of hierarchy and spontaneity it can
support the main idea of the novel because Santiago was of higher class and he got killed
so this shows how the hierarchy was being destroyed. It also shows that the Vicario twins
were spontaneous in their kill. They were hungover and drunk and did not think of the
consequences. This supports the main idea of the novel that Santiago was not meant to be
killed because the twins feel immense guilt in prison and are unable to eat and sleep. This
shows how they know deep down that they brutally murdered an innocent man.