Chronicle of a Death Foretold Essay Chronicle of a Death Foretold tells the story of Santiago Nasar's murder and how it came to be. Many people in the town play a significant part in his death, from his own mother to the local priest. Soon after a girl named Angela is married to Bayardo San Román, he returns her to her family because she is not a virgin. She is beaten by her mother and questioned by her brothers, Pedro and Pablo, as to who the "culprit" was. After Angela gives Santiago's name, the twins set out to uphold their family's honor by killing Santiago. They carry out the plan not because they want to, but because they feel pressure to, thanks to machismo culture. Their society does not approve of women losing their virginity premaritally,
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In Chronicle, the fact that Angela is not a virgin is so terrible she has to be returned to her family. Because Angela is not a virgin, she is seen as lesser and impure, and though Bayardo is likely not a virgin either, Angela is the only one reprimanded for her actions. Bayardo was not socially "punished" for this because machismo culture places men on a pedestal for having sex while Angela is beaten by her mother and accused of damaging her family's honor. The town feels sorry for Bayardo because of Angela. She has brought humiliation to Bayardo because she is not a virgin. Machismo validates Angela's shame because she is supposed to be "pure" for her husband. The night she is returned to her family by Bayarado, he brothers sit her on the kitchen counter and say, "'All right, girl,' he said to her, trembling with rage, 'tell us who it was'" (Márquez 47). Her brothers felt the only way to restore the family honor was to murder whoever took her virginity. It is unclear whether Angela was telling the truth or just gave Santiago's name to protect her true lover, but either way she felt threatened by her brothers because she knew the importance of upholding family honor and how important it is to machismo culture. The brothers reluctantly set out to kill Santiago, telling everyone they say what they are about to do. Pedro and Pablo hope someone will stop them, but no one does because of machismo. They place restoring family honor over the life of an innocent
In Chronicle, the fact that Angela is not a virgin is so terrible she has to be returned to her family. Because Angela is not a virgin, she is seen as lesser and impure, and though Bayardo is likely not a virgin either, Angela is the only one reprimanded for her actions. Bayardo was not socially "punished" for this because machismo culture places men on a pedestal for having sex while Angela is beaten by her mother and accused of damaging her family's honor. The town feels sorry for Bayardo because of Angela. She has brought humiliation to Bayardo because she is not a virgin. Machismo validates Angela's shame because she is supposed to be "pure" for her husband. The night she is returned to her family by Bayarado, he brothers sit her on the kitchen counter and say, "'All right, girl,' he said to her, trembling with rage, 'tell us who it was'" (Márquez 47). Her brothers felt the only way to restore the family honor was to murder whoever took her virginity. It is unclear whether Angela was telling the truth or just gave Santiago's name to protect her true lover, but either way she felt threatened by her brothers because she knew the importance of upholding family honor and how important it is to machismo culture. The brothers reluctantly set out to kill Santiago, telling everyone they say what they are about to do. Pedro and Pablo hope someone will stop them, but no one does because of machismo. They place restoring family honor over the life of an innocent