Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold proves itself as a book with a surplus of bystanders. Each member of the town that fails to report the murderous intentions of the Vicario brothers adds to the list of people that failed to do the same. These people are taking part in a social behavior known as the bystander effect. The bystander effect occurs when the presence of other people discourages an individual from acting during an emergency situation. In Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the townspeople act as bystanders and the planned murder of Santiago Nasar forms the emergency situation. The action the townspeople chose, or chose not, to take impacts the result of the murderous intentions of the Vicario
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Darley and Dr. Latane conducted their series of experiments on the bystander effect, they had sought the reason the subjects felt they did not take action. In one experiment, subjects were told to complete a questionnaire. Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane then proceeded to gradually fill the room with smoke. Subjects were placed either alone, with three other subjects, or with a single subject placed in the room to act as what Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane refer to as a Confederate. These Confederates, placed intentionally, hold awareness of the experimental nature of the scenario. The Confederates operate under instructions to not take action. When Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane left each subject with the Confederate, only 10% of the tested subjects reported the smoke. When asked why they failed to report the smoke, most subjects stated that they did not feel the smoke was dangerous and therefore failed to report it (Latane, B., and J. Darley. Latane and Darley: Bystander Apathy) In the novel, Victoria Guzman attributed her lack of action to a similar reason. Victoria Guzman, the Nasar’s cook, claimed “I didn’t warn him because I thought it was drunkards’ talk” (Garcia-Marquez 13). Likewise, Don Rogelio de la Flor also did not believe Santiago Nasar was truly in danger. In the novel, Don Rogelio de la Flor dismisses the concern of his wife, Clotilde Armenta, when he says “Don’t be silly. Those two aren’t about to kill anybody, much less someone rich” (Garcia-Marquez 63). If a …show more content…
Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane analyzed this in another experiment in which they separated the subjects from another room with a curtain. A 130 second recording of a person calling for help was played. 61% of subjects pulled back the curtain, while 14% entered the room through another door. 24% of subjects did not move, but did call out. While each of the subjects did take action, not a single subject made an effort to formally report the accident (Latane, B., and J. Darley. Latane and Darley: Bystander Apathy). Certain characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold chose to at least attempt action. Luisa Santiaga, the narrator’s mother, sets off to warn Santiago’s mother the moment Margot tells her of the murder plot. She leaves her home stating that “It isn’t right that everyone should know they’re going to kill her son and she the only one who doesn’t” (Garcia-Marquez 25). Luisa chooses to take the route of an active bystander, as opposed to remaining in her home, and was not alone in her efforts to warn the Nasar family. Cristo Bedoya spent the end of the novel running around the town to warn Santiago Nasar. Likewise, Yamil Shaium, who told Bedoya of the murder plot, did not report the rumors of murder to the police, but he did take action when he informed Cristo Bedoya. Despite not formally reporting the rumors of murder or
Darley and Dr. Latane conducted their series of experiments on the bystander effect, they had sought the reason the subjects felt they did not take action. In one experiment, subjects were told to complete a questionnaire. Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane then proceeded to gradually fill the room with smoke. Subjects were placed either alone, with three other subjects, or with a single subject placed in the room to act as what Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane refer to as a Confederate. These Confederates, placed intentionally, hold awareness of the experimental nature of the scenario. The Confederates operate under instructions to not take action. When Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane left each subject with the Confederate, only 10% of the tested subjects reported the smoke. When asked why they failed to report the smoke, most subjects stated that they did not feel the smoke was dangerous and therefore failed to report it (Latane, B., and J. Darley. Latane and Darley: Bystander Apathy) In the novel, Victoria Guzman attributed her lack of action to a similar reason. Victoria Guzman, the Nasar’s cook, claimed “I didn’t warn him because I thought it was drunkards’ talk” (Garcia-Marquez 13). Likewise, Don Rogelio de la Flor also did not believe Santiago Nasar was truly in danger. In the novel, Don Rogelio de la Flor dismisses the concern of his wife, Clotilde Armenta, when he says “Don’t be silly. Those two aren’t about to kill anybody, much less someone rich” (Garcia-Marquez 63). If a …show more content…
Dr. Darley and Dr. Latane analyzed this in another experiment in which they separated the subjects from another room with a curtain. A 130 second recording of a person calling for help was played. 61% of subjects pulled back the curtain, while 14% entered the room through another door. 24% of subjects did not move, but did call out. While each of the subjects did take action, not a single subject made an effort to formally report the accident (Latane, B., and J. Darley. Latane and Darley: Bystander Apathy). Certain characters in Chronicle of a Death Foretold chose to at least attempt action. Luisa Santiaga, the narrator’s mother, sets off to warn Santiago’s mother the moment Margot tells her of the murder plot. She leaves her home stating that “It isn’t right that everyone should know they’re going to kill her son and she the only one who doesn’t” (Garcia-Marquez 25). Luisa chooses to take the route of an active bystander, as opposed to remaining in her home, and was not alone in her efforts to warn the Nasar family. Cristo Bedoya spent the end of the novel running around the town to warn Santiago Nasar. Likewise, Yamil Shaium, who told Bedoya of the murder plot, did not report the rumors of murder to the police, but he did take action when he informed Cristo Bedoya. Despite not formally reporting the rumors of murder or