The novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” takes place in the 1950s in a small Colombian village near the sea The narrator investigates the murder of Santiago Nasar, a rich Arab. He was murdered by the Vicario brothers, who believed they had taken their sister's virginity, but there is not enough evidence of this. The book is written in a journalistic style, as the narrator always mentions the full name of each person he interviews and always offers as many points of view as possible. An emerging theme of the novel is the theme of religion and more specifically the Catholic religion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The first encounter the reader has with religion takes place in the first chapter, where the villagers await the arrival of the bishop. They made many preparations to honor the bishop, hoping that he would get off the boat this year. Their hopes were dashed because, once again, he did not come down to greet them and appreciate the gifts. The bishop's actions on the boat are described as "mechanical", demonstrating his indifference towards the small town. This goes against the Catholic religion's beliefs of love and forgiveness. Additionally, Márquez foreshadows Santiago's fate, as he says that "the people were too excited by the bishop's visit to worry about any other news", meaning that even though most of the villagers knew the intentions of Brother Vicario, they were too busy. preparing for the arrival of the bishop, hoping that he would prevent this murder. The second religious figure in the novel is Father Carmen Amador, whose role is very ironic. He chose not to intervene and arrest the two brothers, even though he knew about the entire plan. Later, he even forgets to warn Santiago, because he was distracted by the bishop's arrival. Father Amador even says that the Vicario brothers are “innocent… before God”. His name is ironic, because in Spanish it means lover, but his name is very contradictory, because when he does the autopsy on Santiago's corpse, he does it without any love, in a very violent way. Since his name means lover, he could have been the one who took Angela's virginity. Perhaps this is why he welcomed the Vicario brothers and forgave them in the name of God after the murder. Additionally, being Angela's lover could be the reason why he didn't warn Santiago or why he performed such a violent autopsy on her body. One of the most striking depictions of religion in the novel is Santiago's similarity to Jesus Christ. First of all, Marquez chose the name Santiago very thoughtfully, because in Spanish Santo can be translated as "Saint", immediately establishing the first connection between his death and Christ. Additionally, Nasar resembles Nazareth, the birthplace of Jesus. Santiago being Arab, he was considered an outsider to the Colombian society around him, like Jesus. Parts of the novel seem similar to the biblical story of Christ, such as the roosters crowing in their baskets. This is similar to the roosters that crowed three times before Jesus died. According to the title, Santiago's death was predicted, which is similar to Jesus' prediction of his own death. Another way that makes Santiago comparable to Jesus is his death, because it resembles the crucifixion of Christ. Pedro Vicario mentions "we killed him openly", this is a similarity between the two, since Jesus was also killed openly. Even though Santiago's murder did not take place in front of everyone, it could stillmatch Jesus, because the whole town knew about the murder, they were all spectators, but no one was willing to act to defend Santiago. The most direct connection with Jesus is the one where it is mentioned that “He had received a deep blow in the right hand, it looked like a stigmata of Christ crucified”. Another similarity between the crucifixion of Christ and it is to the death of Nasar that Marquez mentions: “the knife passed through the palm of his right hand then buried itself in his side up to the hilt. Everyone heard his cry of pain,” it sounds a lot like the moment when the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross. Additionally, when the two brothers were attacking Santiago, it is mentioned that the knife he was attacked with remained clean, which is an example of magical realism that shows Santiago's magical talents. Santiago was “mortally wounded three times”, the number three can be linked to religion because it could symbolize the three times Jesus was denied by Saint Peter. In this case, Saint Peter would be the people who refused to arrest the Vicario brothers. Another interpretation of the symbolism behind the number three and religion is that the devil tempted Jesus three times. Angela could be the devil, as she could have tempted Santiago to take her virginity, indicating that he may be guilty after all. During the murder, Santiago looked like he was nailed to the wooden door, which is closely related to Christ's nailing to the wooden cross. Many people heard Jesus' last words on the cross and realized their evil deeds, in the same way many people heard Santiago's cries and realized their mistake of being impassive. Furthermore, neither Christ nor Santiago showed any resistance during their death. Pedro Vicario also mentions that Santiago knew why they were going to kill him, which makes his death parallel to that of Jesus, because he also knew why he was going to be killed. Additionally, Marquez points out that Santiago had magical talent, similar to that of Jesus. Another similarity between the two is that they both wore white on the day they died. This symbolizes purity and may suggest that Santiago, like Jesus, was ultimately not guilty and was simply paying for the sins of others. Santiago died for the sin of Angela and Christ for the sins of the people. This is a criticism of the two brothers' decision, as they refused to investigate Angela's claim further and only cared about the honor their family name carries. In the novel, it is ironic that all the people in the town are very respectful towards religion and it plays a big role in their lives. First, Angela's name means angelic, which is ironic because she was not an angel. She was the cause of Santiago's murder. Most of her qualities, including the fact that she had sex before marriage, show that she was the opposite. This ties into the interpretation of the Bible for the creation of the world, where Eve is tempted by the serpent, in this case Angela may have been tempted by Santiago to have premarital sex. Additionally, it is ironic how the Vicario brothers' way of restoring their honor is through murder, as they are breaking one of the Ten Commandments which states, "Thou shalt not kill." Right after the murder, the two brothers run to the church to confess, justifying their act as a matter of honor and the Church accepts it, therefore not seeing that one of the ten commandments by which they live is violated. This shows that honor is so important in their society that they fail to act morally and godly. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get an article now.