Chronicle of a Death Foretold

In the murder scene, Marquez uses specific words to heighten the reader’s imagination. The actual murder is described in a very detailed manner. He also uses various structural techniques to highlight this section of the novel. One structural technique he uses is alliteration, ‘…hallucination, holding his hanging intestines in his hands.’ (p.121). When one reads this out loud, it is almost as if they are panting just like Santiago is. It also speeds the reading up, creating excitement and tension within the reader. This creates a connection between the reader and Santiago, which makes his death all the more tragic. This highlights the brutality of the murder. ‘…all his intestines exploded out.’ (p.121). The word ‘exploded’ stands out in the quotation. It is a very strong, shocking word to use. His intestines most likely didn’t explode out. Because though it is an exaggeration, the intensity of the situation is further emphasized.

In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez uses suspense/tension to keep the reader engaged in the murder scene. It is worth noting that this is very hard to achieve as the reader already knows the outcome. In order for the reader to be truly shocked and excited, Marquez needs to have quite a notable death scene. Suspense and tension evolve into confusion within the reader in this scene. It is through confusion that tension is built. Divina Flor claims she saw Santiago ‘wearing a white suit…[carrying] a bouquet of roses.’ At this point, the tension and suspense evolve into frustration. This does not happen in real life, it happens in Divina’s head. If she had no claimed she saw him, Placida would never have locked the door and Santiago would not have died. The reader views Santiago as the main protagonist in the novel as the whole novel revolves around his death and the reasons he died. We do not want him to die, even though we know he does, so we get frustrated when we find out that there could have been a chance for survival. Before it is revealed that this is a vision, the reader is unsure whether or not it is a vision. This creates suspense as we read on. In this vision that she has, Marquez incorporates the theme of magical realism. This aspect of the novel creates suspense as the line between reality and magic gets quite blurred. The reader is unsure of what is real and what isn’t which creates tension. The narrator claims that Victora Guzman ‘lied honestly…’ (p.118). This is a contradiction as it is impossible to lie honestly. This keeps the reader interested and eager to read on to find an explanation for this. This also reflects on the irony of Santiago’s death. It could have easily been stopped, which creates frustration for the reader, but death is inevitable for Santiago as his death is set from the beginning. The whiteness of the suit reflects the theme of purity. It is purity that is his downfall in the end. The Vicario twins think that Santiago took Angela’s purity, her virginity. The reader is unsure about whether or not he actually took her virginity. This causes confusion and tension in turn. The red flowers could represent blood. This foreshadows the unpleasant events to come, creating suspense. The note that is left on the floor is something that would have prevented Santiago’s death. However, no one thinks to pick it up. ‘Placida Linero then saw the paper on the floor, but she didn’t think to pick it up…’ (p.118). This creates frustration in the reader because we are hoping for her, for anyone, to pick it up in order to avoid the death that is about to come. This creates tension because the reader is waiting for someone to realize that Santiago is going to be murdered and try and stop it. On page 119, Santiago lets out a cry of pain that ‘everybody heard’. This portrays just how painful it was as everyone heard. This, of course, is an exaggeration but still creates suspense nonetheless. When he screams for his mother, ‘ “Oh, mother of mine!” ’ (p.119), it is quite ironic. Indirectly, his mother is the reason he dies because she locks the door.

Because the reader experiences the story through the narrator and the narrator was Santiago’s best friend, we form a connection with Santiago. However; the narrator does not seem that emotionally involved in Santiago’s death even though he’s supposed to care for him a great deal. This could be because it has been such a long time since the death and he has moved on. It is slightly strange that he isn’t very connected with the emotional side of his best friend’s death. This, again, creates confusion in the reader, building tension.

The murder scene is probably the most prominent section of the novel. It provides the climax and the anti-climax. Through Marquez’s use of suspense, bathos, word choice and other techniques, the reader feels the effect of the murder. The reader views the ending as quite tragic as we have a bond with Santiago. This scene evokes many feelings in the reader including empathy and succeeds in making this scene very important.