Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Essay

Gabriel García Márquez satirizes the role that both religious and political leaders play in Latin society in his novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, which situates itself in a developing Colombian society. These authorities were seen as sources of inspiration, knowledge, and the light to guide in the darkest of times. However, in the wake of La Violencia and the structural & institutional conflicts that followed, Márquez identified these leaders as sources of corruption and failure. Márquez’s use of characters such as Father Carmen Amador, the Bishop, as well as Colonel Lázaro Aponte highlight the failure of these authorities in addressing the problems society faced—namely the murder of Santiago Nasar. Márquez supports his claims by …show more content…
Despite being a former military commander and having an air of refine and protocol, Aponte was held in a negative light by the townspeople. As Father Carmen Amador describes to the narrator, any “order from the mayor, and orders from the barbarian, stupid as they might have been, had to be obeyed” (83). Although he was the leading authority in the town, one of the most influential voices for leadership and guidance, Aponte is ironically not considered respected nor entirely acknowledged by the townspeople. Márquez demonstrates here that not even the high-ranking members of society respected the mayor, which reflects the feelings held by individuals during La Violencia. This is furthered by Aponte’s lack of desire to stop the Vicarios from killing Santiago, as “he promised to take care of it at once, but he went into the social club to check on a date for dominoes that night, and when he came out again the crime had already been committed” (130). Therefore, in summation, Márquez demonstrates how political figures in Colombian society especially around the time of La Violencia led to his claim that they could not be trusted due to their lies to the people, which adds more to their mistrust of