Death Foretold Symbolism Death

Chronicle of a Death Foretold starts with the Narrator describing Santiago’s routine and demeanor on the Monday that the Vicario brothers killed him. The Vicario brothers want to kill him to restore their sister; Angela’s, lost honor. Angela’s honor is lost when her husband returns her for not being a virgin; she names Santiago Nasar as her perpetrator. On that Monday morning the Vicario brothers tell the entire town their intention to kill Santiago. Many of the people chalk it up to just talk, but others believe it is the Vicario brother’s duty to restore their sister’s honor. Years after Santiago’s murder the town is unable to move past it. The symbolic nature of death, the motif of conformity to duty, and the motif of Santiago’s death being inescapable illustrates that the town has only the façade of honor.
The symbolic nature of death reveals the idea that those who threaten the traditions of the town face punishment. This idea of facing punishment illustrates the severity with which honor holds. For instance, on the same night that Angela marries Bayardo she returns, without her honor, to her family home.
The symbolic nature of death acknowledges that traditions Angela, Santiago, and Bayardo break the town’s traditions, but their deaths keep up the façade. The motif of conformity to duty reveals that the brothers kill Santiago to keep the illusion that they maintain tradition. The motif of Santiago’s death being inescapable ensures that the town can continue to believe that they are a place where traditional values still holds true. Being that the town only maintains honor for its own gain the honor is simply an illusion. Even more, the knowledge that the honor is only an illusion reveals how meaningless Santiago’s death is as his death does not produce anything real or