Religion in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Anonymous 12th Grade

The novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” takes place in the 1950s in a small Colombian village near the sea. The narrator is investigating the murder of Santiago Nasar, a rich Arab. He was murdered by the Vicario brothers, who believed took away the virginity of their sister, however there is not enough evidence of this. The book is written in journalistic style, as the narrator always mentions the full name of each person he is interviewing and always offers as many points of view as possible. An emerging theme in the novel is the theme of religion and specifically the Catholic religion.

The first encounter the reader has with religion is in the first chapter, where the villagers are awaiting for the bishop’s arrival. They made numerous preparations to honor the bishop, hoping he would get off the boat this year. Their hopes were crushed, as once again he did not get off to greet them and appreciate the gifts. The bishop’s moves while on the boat are described as “mechanic”, showing his indifference towards the small town. This goes against the beliefs of love and forgiveness of the Catholic religion. Moreover, Marquez foreshadows the fate of Santiago, as he mentions, “the people were too excited with the bishop’s visit to...