Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses a non-omniscient first-person narrator in his novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold which immediately stifles the flow of potential points of view the reader may take right through the novel. Marquez not only limits the chances
Chronicles of a Death Foretold
The specific method an author chooses to structure the narrative voice of a literary work has one particular purpose which is to provide perspective. However, when an author chooses to vary the methods of which he structures the narrative voice , its effect may significantly alter any developed meaning throughout the novel. When altering the narrative structure of a literary work, the author possesses the power to limit and manipulate the information presented to the reader. When investigating how Gabriel Garcia Marquez crafts the narrative structure in his novel, Chronicle of Death Foretold, evidence shows to evoke more than pure perspective.
Returning to his home village, the unidentified narrator is destined to bring upon the reader a failed attempt to investigate the murder of his friend, Santiago Nasar, occurring decades before. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses a non-omniscient first-person narrator in his novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold which immediately stifles the flow of potential points of view the reader may take right through the novel. Marquez not only limits the chances for the reader to hold different perspectives on what is to happen, but he even sets the narrator out to assume the voice of an investigator who is incapable of recalling events with any accuracy whatsoever. "No one was certain [of anything the day of Santiago's murder]"(Marquez, 2) nor does the narrator provide any descriptions with matching statements. The constant contradictions and even ironic events surrounding the morning of Santiago Nasar's murder instantly deplete any sense of reliability the reader may have. For example, the mother misinterprets the omens in his dream while being known as an "accurate interpreter of other people's dreams," (Marquez, 1). Already, from the introductory pages of the novel, Marquez throws the reader into a mind of bewilderment and questioning of the reliability of the information provided. Furthermore, the frustrating feeling of confusion and unanswered questions is not soothed in any way by the fact that the narrator recalls the story after nights of celebration and the excessive consumption of alcohol. While the narrator fails, Marquez clearly is successful in drowning the reader in contradicting statements and possible irritation with the narrator's failure of providing reliable information. Thus, he leaves much to be questioned by the reader.
The specific method an author chooses to structure the narrative voice of a literary work has one particular purpose which is to provide perspective. However, when an author chooses to vary the methods of which he structures the narrative voice , its effect may significantly alter any developed meaning throughout the novel. When altering the narrative structure of a literary work, the author possesses the power to limit and manipulate the information presented to the reader. When investigating how Gabriel Garcia Marquez crafts the narrative structure in his novel, Chronicle of Death Foretold, evidence shows to evoke more than pure perspective.
Returning to his home village, the unidentified narrator is destined to bring upon the reader a failed attempt to investigate the murder of his friend, Santiago Nasar, occurring decades before. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses a non-omniscient first-person narrator in his novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold which immediately stifles the flow of potential points of view the reader may take right through the novel. Marquez not only limits the chances for the reader to hold different perspectives on what is to happen, but he even sets the narrator out to assume the voice of an investigator who is incapable of recalling events with any accuracy whatsoever. "No one was certain [of anything the day of Santiago's murder]"(Marquez, 2) nor does the narrator provide any descriptions with matching statements. The constant contradictions and even ironic events surrounding the morning of Santiago Nasar's murder instantly deplete any sense of reliability the reader may have. For example, the mother misinterprets the omens in his dream while being known as an "accurate interpreter of other people's dreams," (Marquez, 1). Already, from the introductory pages of the novel, Marquez throws the reader into a mind of bewilderment and questioning of the reliability of the information provided. Furthermore, the frustrating feeling of confusion and unanswered questions is not soothed in any way by the fact that the narrator recalls the story after nights of celebration and the excessive consumption of alcohol. While the narrator fails, Marquez clearly is successful in drowning the reader in contradicting statements and possible irritation with the narrator's failure of providing reliable information. Thus, he leaves much to be questioned by the reader.
