Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, and Chronicle of A Death Foretold by
Gabriel García Márquez
Works Cited Not Included
Religion is supremacy, perfection and spirituality. A typical Latin
American religious community heavily relies on religion to provide a
moral framework to guide and protect its citizens. However, projecting
religion in the light of perfection is superficial. In actuality, it
often contains flaws underneath its idealistic teachings. The
inadequacy in maintaining the idealistic doctrines is deeply rooted in
society. Such notion is reflected and commented upon in the novels Dom
Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis and Chronicle of A Death
Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In both novels, the authors
effectively criticize religion through their satiric portrayal of
religious authorities and other characters' attitudes towards
religion.
The two novels reveal the practical result of religion in a critical
light. The ideal doctrine of religion adjusts itself to the imperfect
world in ways that some times do not command respect. The actual
practice of the doctrine allows flexibility, which is often abused. In
Dom Casmurro, Bento and Jose Dias imagine that a journey to see the
Pope will undo Dona Gloria's promise to God. Eventually they settle
the matter much more conveniently by resorting to the local church. As
shown in Escobar's speech, the characters are constantly manipulating
with the power of the religious authorities: "Consult the protonotary
about it and if he hesitates, we'll speak to the bishop" (171). This
implies that the people often seek and take advantages of the plot
holes in religion.
The concept of religion as an obligation becomes obvious through...
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...o to mirror the Church's failure to
uphold high moral standards and use their authority effectively and
seriously.
Through the subtle and detailed portrayals of the characters in the
novels Chronicle of A Death Foretold and Dom Casmurro shed a
criticizing light on the hypocritical Church present in the community.
Bento's repulsion to be religiously devoted bluntly reveals the
blemishes in the practical result of religion hidden underneath
seemingly deep devotion. The tragedy of Santiago Nasar explores the
other defects of religion, one that is present in the Church itself,
and how failure to uphold moral standards in Church upsets the
community. Of course the authors do not write solely to condemn
religion, they also bring forth the concept that people must adjust
their attitudes toward religion and then irrational, old values set by
the past Church.
Mark Danner, an editor for the New York Times magazine, recounts in The Massacre at El Mozote a horrific crime against humanity committed by a branch of the Salvadorian army. He gives multiple points of views and cites numerous eye witnesses to try and piece together something that has been tucked away by the government at the time. In December, of 1981, news reports were leaked to major newspapers in the united states about an atrocity committed and a total massacre of a hamlet in El Salvador, known as El Mozote, or the Thicket. At first, the account was of over a thousand civilians, women men and children with no guerrilla affiliation were massacred. Danner pieces together the testimonies of the survivors, and interviews with officers in the Salvadorian army.
Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. "The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca" University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written by Edgar Allen Poe in the 18th century. Both of these stories are primarily focused on the mysterious and dark ways of the narrator. Since these stories were written by the same author, they tend to have several similarities such as the mood and narrative, but they also have a few differences. For instance, the characteristics of both narrators are different, but both stories portray the same idea of the narrator being obsessive over a certain thing.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins. 9th ed. vol. 1. New York: McGraw, 1998.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death” Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. ED. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. Boston, Longman: 2012. 516-519.
literature, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, and No One Writes To the Colonel by Gabriel
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque Of The Red Death." Bridges: Literature across Cultures. Eds. Gilbert H. Muller and John A. Williams. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 495-498.
Gabriel García Márquez story, Big Mama's Funeral, is a story filled with fantastical scenes and events much in line with Don Quixote and Candide. The introductory paragraphs of Big Mama's Funeral and Candide sound so similar in voice the two authors could be mistaken for the same. In Candide, one finds a series of episodes that are so far from the truth and yet perfectly explainable. The story of the fate of Dr. Pangloss, the death and resurrection of Cunegund and of her Jesuit brother, and the story of the old woman with one buttock are farcical in the same way as the episodes in Big Mama's Funeral. In Don Quixote, we find a man, for the most part average, who wishes to become a knight-errant. In his quest is as series of happenings so ridiculous they are nothing short of tabloid-style sensationalism, or drug induced hallucinations.
Sanchez, Reymundo (2000). My Bloody Life: The Making of the Latin King Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated.
Ending in death most foul, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” feature revenge and a painstaking cruelty. Pushed to the point of insanity and retribution sought over trivialities, the narrators tell each story by their own personal account. The delivery of their confessions gives a chilling depth to the crimes they have committed and to the men themselves. Both men are motivated by their egos and their obsessions with their offenders. Prompted by their own delusions, each man seeks a violent vengeance against his opposition in the form of precise, premeditated homicide.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Selected Tales, New York: Vintage Books,
In “The Fortune Teller,” a strange letter trembles the heart of the story’s protagonist, Camillo as he to understand the tone and meaning. The author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, attempts to make the reader believe that the letter is very ambiguous. This devious letter is a symbol of Camillo’s inability to realize that the treacherous deeds he has committed in the dark have finally come to light. This letter will ultimately change his life forever something he never expected. Not thinking of the large multitude of possible adverse outcomes, he reads the letter. Frightened that he has ruined what should have never been started, he broods over his decision to love a married woman. In light of this, Camillo continues his dubious love affair with his best friend’s wife, unconvinced that he will ever get caught. “The Fortune Teller” focuses on an intimate affair between three people that ends in death due to a letter, and Camillo will not understand what the true consequences that the letter entails until he is face to face with his best friend, Villela.
Poe and Hawthorne are two American writers who have defined literature as we know it today. Both brought the standards for short stories to a whole new level never seen before. Poe’s writing style sought out to leave the reader with a single effect and or message conveyed through the story. However Hawthorne placed more emphasis on the authors view of the world around him. These forward and evolutionary thoughts changed the way people today appreciate the languages present in the writings. Hawthorne and Poe were so evolutionary because of their use of different themes, symbols, characterization and most importantly the settings of the stories themselves. The coolest part about these authors is how they each uniquely presented romantic and gothic themes differently in the same short story format.
The biblical references throughout the Chronicle of a Death Foretold help identify the characters, Bayardo San Roman, Maria Cervantes, Divina Flor, and the Vicario children, and add depth to the death of Santiago. Without the many religious symbols such as, the Divine Face, the murder of Santiago, the cocks crowing, and the characters, there would be little weight placed on the reactions of the townspeople towards the knowledge of Santiago’s impending death. The religious symbols solidify the idea that Christ has come again in many different forms and ideas, yet dies to renew the people’s covenant with the Lord. “Give me prejudice and I will move the world” (Márquez 100).
Gabriel Garcia Collected Novellas: Chronicle of A Death Foretold. New York[:] Harper Collins Publishers, 1990.