The Dual Nature of Humanity in "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" Anonymous 11th Grade

In the novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a narrator chronicles the events leading up to a murder and explores the mystery surrounding the victim’s innocence or guilt. In the book, Bayardo San Roman, a wealthy foreigner, returns Angela Vicario to her parents just a few hours after marrying her because she is not a virgin. After Angela names Santiago Nasar as her first lover, her identical twin brothers decide to murder Santiago. Through imagery of Santiago as an innocent victim and as a perpetrator, imagery of Angela as both pure and culpable, the role of Victoria Guzman as a protector and avenger, and the role of the narrator as Santiago’s friend, Garcia Marquez leaves Santiago’s innocence or guilt unclear in order to convey the two-sided nature of individuals. This novella thus makes it difficult to establish the truth in individual and collective memory in order to serve complete justice.

The identity of Angela’s perpetrator is difficult to establish due to the privacy of sexual relationships and the duality of human nature. Angela is a paradigm of the complex human nature surrounding the events leading up to the murder. When she is found to be non-virginal and returned, she is forced to reveal...