Garcia Marquez' Chronicle of a Death Fortold- Intrinsically Wrong, or Relatively Legal

A detailed Summary of Garcia Marquez' Chronicle of a Death Fortold- Intrinsically Wrong, or Relatively Legal

Garcia Marquez-- Intrinsically Wrong, Or Relatively Legal?

The following passage is taken from Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, pp. 55-56:

The lawyer stood by the thesis of homicide in legitimate defense of honor, which was upheld by the court in good faith, and the twins declared at the end of the trial that they would have done it again a thousand times over for the same reason. It was they who gave a hint of the direction the defense would take as soon as they surrendered to their church a few minutes after the crime.

They burst panting into the parish house, closely pursued by a group of roused-up Arabs, and they laid the knives, with clean blades, on Father Amador's desk. Both were exhausted from the barbarous work of death, and their clothes and arms were soaked and their faces smeared with sweat and still living blood, but the priest recalled the surrender as an act of great dignity.

"We killed him openly," Pedro Vicario said, "but we're innocent."

"Perhaps before God," said Father Amador.

"Before God and before men," Pablo Vicario said. "It was a matter of honor."

If a man cries out in a forest, and no one around him cares, does he make a sound

? In his Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez raises that very question, the question of whether the desires of society can overshadow the needs of an individual. In his Chronicle, two brothers, Pablo and Pedro Vicario, arbitrarily murder a young man named Santiago Nasar. Marquez' presented conflict, however, is the reason that the brothers give to justify their crime: honor. Marquez' point is that societal values, such as honor, have become more important than the intrinsic good of human life. Marquez, though, does not openly portray this message; instead, he uses satirical literary devices. In this passage, for instance, he uses an apathetic tone and a satirical allusion to religion to invoke his point in his audience.

Within his objective style lies an even more powerful tool, satire, which he uses to elicit the emotional response of scorn; in this passage, the main satire is Marquez' portrayal of God and religion. For instance, when Pedro declares "we killed him openly... but we're innocent" (Marquez 55), the priest's response is "perhaps before God" (56). There is obviously a discrepancy. God, according to common belief, is the source of all good, but this crime, as demonstrated above, is intrinsically evil. This is an example of society using the idea of God to justify their actions. Marquez' hidden comment here is that society has corrupted the idea of God, molding it to support their societal values. Yet, the manner in which Marquez conveys this theme is the same as the manner in which he portrays the aforementioned theme of the in

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Approximate Word count = 1065
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English