The novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a Latin American work written by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. It is a penetrating exploration of the effect of collective guilt and collective memory. A small town is entrenched in misogynistic behavior manifested by male privilege and sexual discrimination which leads to the death of a prominent citizen, Santiago Nasar. The real reason the town feels guilty for the crime is because people do not take part in warning Nasar that he will be killed. This idea of collective guilt is an intrinsic result of his death. Collective memory is a main focus the author uses to interpret the remembrance and shape cultural identity. The author’s exploration of collective memory and collective guilt brings together a lesson
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A wedding and a murder takes place in one night, as a result. Angela Vicario, who marries Bayardo San Román, is returned to her parents’ home on her wedding night. “Angela Vicario, the beautiful girl who’d gotten married the day before, had been returned to the house of her parents, because her husband had discovered that she wasn’t a virgin.” (21). In this culture, women are shunned for having premarital sex. Bayardo’s action is seen as machismo and pride for returning Angela back to her home after holding an extravagant and expensive wedding. The twins are under the impression that Santiago took Angela’s virginity. “Pedro Vicario, the more forceful of the brothers, picked her up by the waist and sat her on the dining room table. ‘All right, girl,’ he said to her, trembling with rage. ‘Tell us who it was.’ She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly. ‘Santiago Nasar,’ she said.” (46). The twins murder Nasar so they can maintain honor in the …show more content…
When a person does not stop a crime from occurring or contributes to the madness, they feel guilty for not having acted to prevent it. In this same way, the Columbian townspeople, feel responsible for the murder because they do not warn Nasar. The Vicario twins keep telling the people in the town they are going to kill Nasar. Yet, no one believes them because they know the Vicario’s would not do such a thing. In this sense, collective guilt could come from the fact that they do not take this as a serious matter. There are very few people who attempt to stop the murder. One is Clotilde Armenta, who attempts to get the twins drunk in her milkshop, so as to keep them from remembering much. The plan backfires because they end up murdering Nasar anyway. “We thought it was drunkards’ baloney.” (4). The people of the town think the Vicario brothers are drunk when they go around saying they are to kill Nasar. This is ironic because they are generally seen as good people. Their reputation is so well-founded; no one pays any attention to
A wedding and a murder takes place in one night, as a result. Angela Vicario, who marries Bayardo San Román, is returned to her parents’ home on her wedding night. “Angela Vicario, the beautiful girl who’d gotten married the day before, had been returned to the house of her parents, because her husband had discovered that she wasn’t a virgin.” (21). In this culture, women are shunned for having premarital sex. Bayardo’s action is seen as machismo and pride for returning Angela back to her home after holding an extravagant and expensive wedding. The twins are under the impression that Santiago took Angela’s virginity. “Pedro Vicario, the more forceful of the brothers, picked her up by the waist and sat her on the dining room table. ‘All right, girl,’ he said to her, trembling with rage. ‘Tell us who it was.’ She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly. ‘Santiago Nasar,’ she said.” (46). The twins murder Nasar so they can maintain honor in the …show more content…
When a person does not stop a crime from occurring or contributes to the madness, they feel guilty for not having acted to prevent it. In this same way, the Columbian townspeople, feel responsible for the murder because they do not warn Nasar. The Vicario twins keep telling the people in the town they are going to kill Nasar. Yet, no one believes them because they know the Vicario’s would not do such a thing. In this sense, collective guilt could come from the fact that they do not take this as a serious matter. There are very few people who attempt to stop the murder. One is Clotilde Armenta, who attempts to get the twins drunk in her milkshop, so as to keep them from remembering much. The plan backfires because they end up murdering Nasar anyway. “We thought it was drunkards’ baloney.” (4). The people of the town think the Vicario brothers are drunk when they go around saying they are to kill Nasar. This is ironic because they are generally seen as good people. Their reputation is so well-founded; no one pays any attention to