Cultural Values In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle Of A Death Fortold

Cultural Values in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Throughout the world, there are many different cultures, most of which have evolved over time. One of an author’s jobs is to capture the culture of the novel’s setting, and allow the readers to experience it. Gabriel Garcia Marquez does an excellent job of recreating Colombia’s culture in his novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by using each of his characters to portray one aspect of the culture. This novel, although not explicitly stated, most likely takes place in Colombia, after the Thousand Days civil war for independence. After this war, many Arabs immigrated to Colombia, including Santiago’s father. Since Chronicle of a Death Foretold takes place in a small town, its inhabitants are extremely conservative. They adhere to strict gender roles, they prefer Colombians to immigrants, and they take family and personal honor very seriously. Gender roles are greatly emphasized in this novel. While men are expected to work and establish their own identity, women were expected to be docile, innocent, and delicate. Their only roles were to get married and raise families. It’s clear that this idea is generally accepted by society, as the narrator explains, “The brothers were

He shows how a society’s cultural beliefs can lead to a murder that people think is alright, all because a woman lost her virginity before marriage. What’s even more astounding is that the Vicario brothers committed murder even though they didn’t want to and they didn’t have sufficient proof. By using Maria Alejandrina Cervantes to show the importance of gender roles and honor in society, Marquez effectively shows how an independent woman can defy cultural and social expectations, while still being a decent human being. He shows how although Maria is looked down upon by society for being a prostitute, she is still a good person without following society’s