Marquez Chronicle of a Death Foretold lit features PDF

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Marquez Chronicle of a Death Foretold lit features...

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Chronicle of a Death Foretold GUIDE (use in conjunction with your DNB) TOPICS to Consider at Some Point in Your DNB ●

Narrative Framework: This novel is divided into 5 parts. What is the binding topic / focus of each part? Why does he break the novel up like this? ○ What ideas do you have about how the novel is structured? What patterns emerge?

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We discussed in class what key elements a typical detective / murder mystery story would contain. What elements of that list does Marquez use and how does he subvert the typical detective story? Why does he do this? Why does the reader NOT get to sort out the mystery for her/himself? What’s the message here?

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There are also elements of a great romance story here… How does Marquez s ubvert the typical romance story?

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Consider Marquez’s reliance on an abundance of characters who provide useful and useless information in “solving” the crime. Choose one or more to focus on and consider: ○ to what extent are they useful/useless ○ the values do they represent ○ if they hold any important symbolic value

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Marquez typically uses magical realism in his writing, though in this book it’s pretty scarce... Where do you see hints of this style? Why is it important when magical realism IS used? What does it point to?

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What’s NOT scarce is Marquez’s use of irony. Where do you see examples of irony? What does this irony suggest about the characters involved in ironic situations? What does it suggest about Marquez’s tone regarding this entire situation? ○ Does he use an abundance of satirical elements: hyperbole, humor & irony, and stereotypes? Could this be considered a satire?

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What are the most important motifs in the novel? Why does Marquez keep repeating these ideas & symbols? ○ CONSIDER: time, miscommunication, birds, dreams, trees, guns, knives, blood, butchery, women being “in bloom”, marriage, money, clothes, letters, etc…

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Evaluate: how is the Colombia represented? To what extent is the depiction “true” to life? ○ How ideas about truth, facts, clues, information, informants, & research represented? WHY? ○ How are the characters related to power & the judicial system represented? WHY? ○ How are idea related to family and family honor represented? WHY? ○ How are Catholic values represented? WHY? ○ What cultural elements emerge in the novel? Which characters shed light on or are connected to these cultural elements? WHY?

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JOURNEYS: How are the physical and emotional journeys represented in the novel? [Consider a “journey” those who stay the village versus those who leave and come back to the village and those who leave and never come back to the village.]

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What is the significance of the title of novel?

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How is the class system (or social hierarchy) portrayed in the novel? What’s important about money? Those who have it and those who don’t? Any social commentary here?

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In what ways is POWER portrayed - and arguably, distorted - in the novel? How is violence portrayed? Is there a connection between the two?

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How are RELATIONSHIPS portrayed in the novel? Consider familial, romantic, and societal relationships.

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Machismo (overt, superior, male power) & marianismo  (female power, hyperfemininity) are Latin American idealized gender norms dictating how men and women should act. These social constructs are rooted in Spanish colonization and the Catholic Church, historically. Where do you see issues regarding these social constructs? ○ Men: how they wield their power, honor and honor killings ○ Roles and position of women ■ virgin / whore dichotomy ■ marriage and wedding rituals ■ suffering / piety / mourning / death

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How are generational conflicts portrayed in the novel?

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How are sex and love portrayed in the novel? What’s the message about this the difference between the two (as presented in the novel)?

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What is important about names in the novel? Literary Elements & Stylistic Devices You Might Reference in Your Analysis Keep it literary!

characterization ● 5 methods ● types of characters ● external traits ● internal traits ● objects of importance setting ● time ● place ● cultural context style ●

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diction ○ connotative ○ denotative tone mood atmosphere irony ○ verbal ○ dramatic ○ situational euphemism; dysphemism

external structure (of the novel) ● text types in the novel ● the architecture of the book ○ 5 untitled chapters

internal structure (of the narrative) ● antecedent action ● exposition ● rising action ● climax ● falling action ● resolution ● foreshadowing ● flashback / flash-forward ● catalyst ● epiphany ● point-of-view (in this novel) ○ 1st p. participant (on the day of the murder) ○ 1st p. observer (& collector of data) ○ dialogue and interviews ○ records Duality ● ● ● ● ● ●

foil allusion symbols binary binary opposition juxtaposition

➔ Another helpful LINK to an A  P English Glossary with lots of definitions :)

figurative language & tropes ● motif ● metaphor ● simile ● symbol ● allusion ● personification ● hyperbole ● metonymy ● synecdoche ● apostrophe ● meiosis ● litotes ● oxymoron metafictive stylistic devices ● intertextuality (bits of author’s life, loosely based on reality ● nonlinearity ● self-referentiality ● multiple perspectives ● irony & contradiction...