The Chronicle of A Death Foretold and Other Activities
The Chronicle of A Death Foretold and Other Activities
The Chronicle of A Death Foretold and Other Activities
In Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses the device of an un-
named shadowy narrator visiting the scene of a killing and beginning an investigation
into the past. From the beginning of the text, the author sets up a dialogue between
the past and the present. García Má rquez does not assert that the truth exists
objectively in the world and present a version of this reality to the passive reader as
fact. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold the narrator and reader are forced to choose
between contradictory versions of what constitutes the truth. His narrator is not all-
knowing, but a shadowy detective figure who actively invites the reader's
participation in the detective process. Juxtaposing viewpoints, making the most of the
uncertainties of memory, García Má rquez's questioning narrator is perfectly suited for
a non-fiction narrative where the murderer or murderers are unknown. Where the
truth is not straightforward. Working quietly as a detective in partnership with the
reader he tries to reconstruct from the words and documents of others a true fiction,
of what ‘really’ happened. For this work is an investigation not only of the past and a
small Colombian community, but also a work which explores the dominant narrative
in the lives of all human beings: the chronicle of a death that cannot be escaped, and
which will bring every individual narrative to an end.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs
Literary Analysis: Using Elements of Literature
Read and analyze the definitions given below for the terms used to make literary
analysis and use them to move through your literary piece. You must justify your
answers without merely choosing among the different options provided, on the
contrary, you must support your answer adequately.
Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself what the
function and significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon the
character's history, what the reader is told (and not told), and what other characters say about
themselves and others.
II. Figurative language - the use of words to express meaning beyond the literal
meaning of the words themselves
III. Plot - the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story
Foreshadowing - When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually
occur in the story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised).
Suspense - The tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the
unknown
Conflict - Struggle between opposing forces.
Exposition - Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot.
Rising Action - The process the story follows as it builds to its main conflict
Crisis - A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end
Resolution/Denouement - The way the story turns out.
IV. Point of View - pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. The point of view of a
story can sometimes indirectly establish the author's intentions.
Narrator - The person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the
story.
First-person - Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited
knowledge/vision.
Second person - Narrator addresses the reader directly as though she is part of the
story. (i.e. “You walk into your bedroom. You see clutter everywhere and…”)
Third Person (Objective) - Narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer).
Does not assume character's perspective and is not a character in the story. The
narrator reports on events and lets the reader supply the meaning.
Omniscient - All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator knows what
each character is thinking and feeling, not just what they are doing throughout the
story. This type of narrator usually jumps around within the text, following one
character for a few pages or chapters, and then switching to another character for a
few pages, chapters, etc. Omniscient narrators also sometimes step out of a particular
character’s mind to evaluate him or her in some meaningful way.
V. Setting - the place or location of the action. The setting provides the historical and
cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state of
characters. Example – In Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the crumbling old
mansion reflects the decaying state of both the family and the narrator’s mind. We also
see this type of emphasis on setting in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice.
VI. Symbolism - when an object is meant to be representative of something or an idea
greater than the object itself.
https://www.roanestate.edu/owl/elementslit.html
LITERARY ANALYSIS CHART
Verb
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Noun
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Adjective
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PERSONAL VOCABULARY BANK
Pronoun
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Preposition
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Example(s):
Word