Men in the Sun

A very prominent and interesting element that is present within Men in the Sun is nature. The story starts with the image of the earth beating, “the earth began to throb under him with tired heartbeats” (21). The heart is an essential aspect to life and therefore during this scene the earth represents life. Later on in the story the sun and heat play a key role. The heat is so bad that the characters compare it to Hell. “This is the Hell that I have heard of” (65). Hell has always been viewed as a punishment. It is extremely hot and unbearable. In this scene nature is punishing those traveling in the heat. It is not an element of life anymore. Eventually this element kills the three men locked in the water tank. The story ends with another element of nature: darkness. This is the opposite of the sun and heat because it is the lack of sun. In the darkness Abul Khaizurn is able to “hide” from the horrible thing he has done. The darkness represents the hollowness that is left inside him after accidentally killing the three men. The guilt of his actions has eaten him to the point that he can no longer function properly.

Men in the Sun

The refugee camps in Ways of Dying are meant to unify a certain faction of society that doesn't necessarily fit into already established sectors. However, the reality of the refugee camps seems much different as murders take place within them among themselves. The most striking example is that of Noria's sons, Vutha the first and second, whom are both killed by people within the same faction of society. The first Vutha is killed by his own father, while the second Vutha is killed by the Young Tigers. These murders that take place within the camps serve as divisive events that actually seem to separate the refugee camps from one another; placing some inhabitants against others.

In Men in the Sun, the characters in the story are not brought together, rather they are forced to leave their homes in order to escape the political environment they live in. Although it would seem as if this would separate the inhabitants of a certain community, the political struggles actually bring the citizens closer to one another. In their efforts to escape, the characters are forced to rely on one another in order to have any chances of a successful escape to Kuwait. Their cooperation is shown in how quickly Abul acts in order to save the other three men, even though his life is not the one in danger, while the three men remain as quiet as possible in order to ensure Abul's safety. This sense of cooperation is much different than the divisive murders that take place in the refugee camps.

Politics & Refugees

In Ways of Dying, the political movement is trying to progress, and in doing so have displaced masses of people. The people end up establishing squatter towns as a result of their displacement and lack of money to relocate themselves. Even if the government establishes cheap new housing, the displaced will rebel and burn those structures down. There are three groups of people described in Ways of Dying. The first is the hostel workers, who probably live in the newly established buildings- who accept their status and lend support to the government. The second group: displaced squatters, such as Noria and Toloki and Noria's neighbors- whose houses get burned down in retaliation by the government who have displaced them to begin with. The third is a group within the squatter community itself, the Young Tigers, who oppose what has happened to them and fight anyone who is not on their side. These various factions within the refugee camps mirror the conflicting agenda of the political arena depicted in the novel. It all comes down to fights between the different factions of a community.

Men in the Sun describes an opposite displacement. Men seek refuge in the city of Kuwait. They displace themselves in order to reach the city and although the journey threatens them with death, they still try passage. The government in this short story is corrupt and self-serving. Officials have the benefit of having air-conditioned offices and care not for the rest of the population. Khaizuran, the middleman [like the Young Tigers in WOD], tries to help people into Kuwait, yet becomes burdened with the death of those he was trying to help [like how the Tigers killed Vutha] as a result of interference from the influence of the government.

Ways of Dying

Ways od Dying by Zakes Mda is centered around the post-apartheid era n South Africa. Death is a major theme in the book and is connected with the deaths resulting from the post apasthied era. Toloki is a professinal mourner. The book describes many cases where the people have been killed as consequences of the social conflicts of the village. Something that is confusing is the way the narrator refers itself as "We". Who is the narrator? Is the narrator speaking on behalf of the village?

Ways of Dying

The novel “Ways of Dying” revolves around the idea of death in everyday life. In the novel Toloki is a professional mourner and therefore sees death everyday. We can see that there is war in this society since most of the funerals he attends are brutal war related deaths. In one of the funerals he attends he meets an old friend whose name was Noria. Toloki always envied Noria because his father would always embrace Noria and reject him. Noria had lost her son and Toloki tries to console her. Death becomes a part of everyday life, Toloki needs death in his life to continue. "Death becomes me, it is a part of me. How will they know where to find me? How will my clients find me, Noria? (pg.115) I cannot live without death, Noria."(pg. 115) This sentence shows the importance of death in his life. He has earned to professionally mourn for others. It becomes him, making this his identity, death is the biggest part of his life that he can literally not live without it.

Ways of Dying

I wanted to bring up the question of who is the narrator in the novel? In both "Season of Migration to the North" and "Chronicles of a Death Foretold" the narrator is a character in the story. In "Untouchable" the narrator is all knowing. In "Ways of Dying", the narrator continuously refers to itself as "we". For example, on page 13, "We were happy when they were happy...In the beginning, there were times when we tried to get them together..." Throughout the rest of the book there are many moments where the narrator refers to itself as "we." My question is, could this "we" represent an entire community that knows the story of Toloki and Noria or is it something different altogether?

Ways of Dying

This novel is focused around the concept of death as being a part of everyday life. It begins with the death of Noria's boy, who is buried at the funeral where Toloki first meets her. This incident sets the foundation for the novel. I found it amazing that despite the violence that occurs daily, Toloki and Noria are optimistic and the novel does not dwell on the deaths. This quote stood out to me; "Death lives with us everyday. Indeed our ways of dying are our ways of living. or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying?" It shows how connected death is to their lives, and despite the fact that staying alive is a struggle, they still look forward to brighter days and a happy future. They allow their imaginations to take them to this happier place and often contemplate on how much better things could be, given their current conditions. Also, the fact that they have both endured so much in their lives, but yet in many ways are able to console each other, is in a way a representation of the nation of South Africa and the strength of its people. However, there is still hope for both the nation and Toloki and Noria.

Ways of Dying

Mda's novel titled Ways of Dying is a novel recounting about the the beginnings of post-apartheid transtion in South Africa. The story begins with as funeral where the main character Toloki reconnects with his close childhood friend Noria where he learns that the funeral is that of Noria's son. Similar to Marquez's novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the narrative of Mda's breaks away from the conventional structure of a novel as the story is told through flashbacks of Toloki's and Noria's childhoods.
Toloki and Noria are able to reconcile with their pasts by sharing their stories and no longer denying or resenting where they come from and who they are. This recurring theme of the novel of opposition between races, values, and ideas is also seen within the title as it is about death when in reality Toloki and Noria are struggling to live within the present time. In Toloki's words: "Death lives with us everyday. Indeed our ways of dying are our ways of living. Or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying." I think this was Mda's way of conveying his message to the people of South Africa and their struggle with their past in apartheid, Nelson Mandela, and present racist notions.

Ways of Dying

I believe Zakes Mda is trying to convey the message that life and death are inseparable from one another and must cohabit together. Life is symbolized through Noria, as her laughter and singing brings great pleasure to those who have heard them. Death is symbolized by Toloki, as he is a Professional Mourner that in a way celebrates death, and is constantly being described as someone that smells like death. As the novel progresses, Noria and Toloki become closer to one another emotionally and physically; indicating that life and death are getting closer to one another as well. The physical barriers that separated Toloki and Noria during childhood and adulthood begin to diminish, as they go from being in separate parts of the city, to the same shack, and eventually being as close as physically possible as they bathe one another. By showing this progression between Noria and Toloki, Mda portrays life and death as being inseparable from one another, just as Toloki and Noria were eventually separated as children and find themselves back together later in life.

Ways of Dying

Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda is a story that really only covers a small timeline, I believe it begins on Christmas and ends with New Year's Eve, however, during this relatively short span of time the main character, Toloki, undergoes very big changes in his life. This short timeline is interesting to me because it is a similar trait found in two previous novels we have read, those being Untouchable, by Mulk Raj Anand, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In Anand's work, the narrator tells the story of a single day in the life of Bakha, similarily Marquez attempts to reconstruct the murder of Santiago Nasar by piecing together stories of the day he was murdered in hopes of unraveling or retelling the true story of the murder. I think that is very interesting that the authors are able to reveal so much about the history and struggles taking place in the settings of these stories through the tiny time frame that they isolate to tell their story in.

Ways of Dying

This novel by Zakes Mda is, like our other readings, written in a non-linear format. The point of view in the account changes from third person (he, she) to first person (we) which makes it a little confusing to read. From whose point of view are readers vieweing the "we"? It is certainly not from Toloki or Noria's point of view, maybe from the objective others?

pg. 98 - "Death lives with us everyday. Indeed our ways of dyinf are our ways of living. Or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying?"

pg. 115 - "Death becomes me, it is a part of me. How will they know where to find me? How will my clients find me, Noria? I cannot live without death, Noria."

pg. 133 - "Death was therefore profitable. He made up his mind that he too was going to benefit from death."

Toloki is a professional mourner, who, as a by-product of his profession, becomes an expert at how people have come to die. Death becomes integrated into his life as something that he cann0t live without. Noria's two sons, Vutha, become a repetition and provides more insight into how (one) existence has multiple ways in which it can die.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold Perspecive

Im so sorry I posted this so late....

On the perspective of Santiago Nasar's foretold death from the perspective of Victoria Guzman, his cook, and Divina Flor, the cooks daughter... Victoria remembered the day being a rainy one and had in fact been that way for the whole month of February. Both of them knew that Santiago Nasar would be killed by the two twins. Divina Flor has always felt like she was destined to be with Santiao, even though she hates him for all the unjust things he has done. They would do anything to justify Santiago's death. In a way, they felt he deserved nothing less than death. I don't think their story adds up. They claimed to not know that he would be killed, yet they knew the door that would be leading to his death. Divina justifies her not letting him know by syaing that she was a frightened child at the time.

Placida Linero's perspective

One perspective the story is told from is Placida Linero, Santiago's mother. She was an interpreter of dreams and had a dream but failed to warn Santiago of his impending doom. This was the last time she saw her son alive. She remembers the day as being rainy and that Santiago was hung over from the night before, but that he still intended to see the bishop. She describes her son as marry, peaceful and open hearted. He was so sensitive that he had to wear unstarched shirts because of his delicate skin. His mother is a fairly unreliable narrator. She is automatically going to be biased when discussing her own son and she is also describing events that are 27 years old. 27 years is a long time to remember too much, especially since her story about the rain directly conflicts with others stories about it being sunny on that day.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold question 3

One of the many perspectives gathered by the narrator of the day Santiago was murdered was given by his mother, Placida Linero. Placida tells the narrator that a week before he was murdered, her son had dreamed he was in a tinfoil airplane flying through almond trees. Placida was known to be able to interpret dreams and she did not interpret any danger from her son's dream. The last time Placida saw Santiago he had been wearing all white and leaving the house to welcome the bishop to their village. Placida also recalled that the day Santiago died it had been raining. Later in the novel, after Victoria Guzman tells Placida that Santiago is going to be killed, Placida sees the Vicario brothers running towards the house and not having seen her son running in front of them, she shut the door seconds before Santiago was able to enter the house. Thinking her son was upstairs in his room shouting down to the Vicario brothers, Placida runs to his room and does not notice that her son has already been killed. The narrator gathered this information by interviewing Placida 27 years after the murder had taken place. Using Placida's memory, the narrator gathers this information and connects it to the memories of other individuals he has interviewed. This source could not be reliable because it is a source gathered from a 27 year old memory. While Placida remembers it was raining that day, several other people remember it being a sunny day, proving that not all memory is reliable. What Garcia Marquez is trying to shows through the use of these different perspectives is that memory is not always trustworthy.

Chronicle of a death foretold perspective

In pages 8-15 we see the narrative of Victoria Guzman and Divina Flor were the cook and her daughter working for Santiago Nasar. They both knew that the murder would take place before he had his morning coffee but had decided not to tell him because she didn’t believe the twins would actually do it. I believe this source is not reliable because years after his death they both realized that they felt rage towards this man for mistreating them. They knew the murder would take place and the motives but Victoria did not tell him because she wanted him to die because he had attempted to tame her daughter. Divina Flor on the other hand knew as well but she did not tell him either because she was too young and confused to make any decisions and he would molest her. In this case they both felt anger towards this man and would have done anything to place him in this situation so the source is not reliable. Memory in the book is questions and we learn that it is not a reliable source since the incident had happen over twenty years before it was investigated. The murder is not supported by truth it is the narrator who has to keep searching interviewing other people in order to form his “chronicle” of the death of Santiago Nasar.

Chronicle of a death foretold perspective

In pages 8-15 we see the narrative of Victoria Guzman and Divina Flor were the cook and her daughter working for Santiago Nasar. They both knew that the murder would take place before he had his morning coffee but had decided not to tell him because she didn’t believe the twins would actually do it. I believe this source is not reliable because years after his death they both realized that they felt rage towards this man for mistreating them. They knew the murder would take place and the motives but Victoria did not tell him because she wanted him to die because he had attempted to tame her daughter. Divina Flor on the other hand knew as well but she did not tell him either because she was too young and confused to make any decisions and he would molest her. In this case they both felt anger towards this man and would have done anything to place him in this situation so the source is not reliable. Memory in the book is questions and we learn that it is not a reliable source since the incident had happen over twenty years before it was investigated. The murder is not supported by truth it is the narrator who has to keep searching interviewing other people in order to form his “chronicle” of the death of Santiago Nasar.

Chronicle of a death foretold perspective

In pages 8-15 we see the narrative of Victoria Guzman and Divina Flor were the cook and her daughter working for Santiago Nasar. They both knew that the murder would take place before he had his morning coffee but had decided not to tell him because she didn’t believe the twins would actually do it. I believe this source is not reliable because years after his death they both realized that they felt rage towards this man for mistreating them. They knew the murder would take place and the motives but Victoria did not tell him because she wanted him to die because he had attempted to tame her daughter. Divina Flor on the other hand knew as well but she did not tell him either because she was too young and confused to make any decisions and he would molest her. In this case they both felt anger towards this man and would have done anything to place him in this situation so the source is not reliable. Memory in the book is questions and we learn that it is not a reliable source since the incident had happen over twenty years before it was investigated. The murder is not supported by truth it is the narrator who has to keep searching interviewing other people in order to form his “chronicle” of the death of Santiago Nasar.

Chronicle of a death foretold perspective

In pages 8-15 we see the narrative of Victoria Guzman and Divina Flor were the cook and her daughter working for Santiago Nasar. They both knew that the murder would take place before he had his morning coffee but had decided not to tell him because she didn’t believe the twins would actually do it. I believe this source is not reliable because years after his death they both realized that they felt rage towards this man for mistreating them. They knew the murder would take place and the motives but Victoria did not tell him because she wanted him to die because he had attempted to tame her daughter. Divina Flor on the other hand knew as well but she did not tell him either because she was too young and confused to make any decisions and he would molest her. In this case they both felt anger towards this man and would have done anything to place him in this situation so the source is not reliable. Memory in the book is questions and we learn that it is not a reliable source since the incident had happen over twenty years before it was investigated. The murder is not supported by truth it is the narrator who has to keep searching interviewing other people in order to form his “chronicle” of the death of Santiago Nasar.

Chronicle of a death foretold perspective

In pages 8-15 we see the narrative of Victoria Guzman and Divina Flor were the cook and her daughter working for Santiago Nasar. They both knew that the murder would take place before he had his morning coffee but had decided not to tell him because she didn’t believe the twins would actually do it. I believe this source is not reliable because years after his death they both realized that they felt rage towards this man for mistreating them. They knew the murder would take place and the motives but Victoria did not tell him because she wanted him to die because he had attempted to tame her daughter. Divina Flor on the other hand knew as well but she did not tell him either because she was too young and confused to make any decisions and he would molest her. In this case they both felt anger towards this man and would have done anything to place him in this situation so the source is not reliable. Memory in the book is questions and we learn that it is not a reliable source since the incident had happen over twenty years before it was investigated. The murder is not supported by truth it is the narrator who has to keep searching interviewing other people in order to form his “chronicle” of the death of Santiago Nasar.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold perspective

One perspective we get of someone who knew about the murder and did absolutely nothing to stop it is from Victoria Guzman, the cook of Santiago Nasar's family. She confesses to the narrator that she had known about the murder before Santiago had come down for his morning coffee, but decided not to tell him because she believed "it was drunkards' talk" (13). She describes Santiago's horror at the inhumane way in which she fed the rabbits' guts to the dogs, telling the narrator that looking back on it, she sees the horrible coincidence in the way in which Santiago was killed and the possible foreshadowing that was occuring even in Santiago's mind of the way in which he would die. She also describes Santiago very poorly, stating that "he always got up with a face of a bad night" (9). By saying this, she is setting up his long-determined death and justifying why it was okay for her to do nothing to prevent it. Victoria had a biased, hateful view of Santiago because she had sore feelings about the way in which his father had treated her. This is probably why she doesn't warn Santiago and does absolutely nothing to prevent his death. Later we learn from her daughter that her mother secretely wanted Santiago dead. This proves that yet another oral account of the murder is not supported by truth and is clouded by a baised opinion of the victim.

Chronicle od a Death Foretold Perspective of Clotilde Armenta

Clotilde Armenta is an important source in the crime. Since her shop was the only one open that early in the morning the twins looked for Santiago there hoping that he would show up sooner or later. Clotilde gave them cane liquor. She saw them wait for Santiago and saw the butcher knives. The twins also confessed to her that they were going to kill Santiago. Clotilde warned her husband about the events in thier shop but her husband brushed it off. She then returned to the store where she saw Officer Leandro Pornoy speaking to the twins. Clotilde then saw Colonel Aponte take the knives away and send the twins home. A while later she saw the twins come back with different knives. Cleotilde then gives the twins a bottle of rotgut rum to ge them drunk.

It is clear that clotilde told her perspective of the crime to the narrator because she is qouted saying so. (pgs 53-63) I feel like this source, for the most part, could be trusted but then again the concept of memory is questioned in the book. The narrator himself has to search in other peoples memories to construct his own memory of the crime.

Narrative Response, Author's Perspective

From the beginning of the novel, the author illustrates the events of the death of Santiago Nasar in a first-person point of view. This narration is not like the conventional first person pov as the author provides a variety of viewpoints as he is able to narrate character's thoughts. He describes the events of Santiago's death by reconstructing the events of the day he dies. The author also narrates his death by using symbolism throughout the novel such as similes and metaphors to demonstrate how his death is foreshadowed (through dreams and reminiscent events). The author provides very vivid information to which the reader can outline a series of events in a non-linear method. Furthermore, the author provides information for the reader to understand how Santiago dies.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Perspective

One individual that we learn about the events from is Angela Vicario. Much of this information the narrator receives from her 23 years after the incident. The narrator says, she “answered my questions with very good judgment and a sense of humor” (pg.89). Angela answered everyone question asked by the narrator. She told about what happened to her after she was returned to her family. She also told the narrator how she wrote to Bayardo until he returned to her, 17 years later. This is also the source by which the narrator learns how the Vicario twins believed the perpetrator to be Santiago. The narrator though believes that Angela is not telling the truth due to honor for herself and her brothers. He says, she “was protecting someone who really loved her and she had chosen Santiago Nasar’s name because she thought her brothers would never dare go against him” (pg.90). The narrator believes that Angela is a reliable source for what happened to her that day. She is not a reliable source though about whom she really lost her virginity too. This information is told to the narrator directly from the source. Therefore faults in this information would come from her lying or from a faulty memory because it is 23 years later.

One perspective - Chronicle of a Death Foretold

One perspective from which we learn about the murder is through Prudencia Cotes, who is Pablo Vicario's fiancee. She states to the narrator, "'I knew what they were up to,' ... 'and i didn't only agree, I never would have married him if he hadn't done what a man should do'" (62). The narrator is able to get this information by asking her about what occurred as the brothers came into her home early in the morning before the actual murder took place. She simply recalls her thought process at the time, and states her beliefs on the matter. Although this statement is a personal account of what happened, it is only somewhat reliable as this information is received many years after the murder. In that time period, Prudencia may have been able to formulate an opinion other than the one she originally had in order to support, and protect her future husband. Thus, she may be justifying Pablo's past actions that are in question, and not providing an accurate account of what she really felt about the matter at that time.

Time Line

*August - Bayardo San Roman arrives to the town 6 months before the where he spent two months courting and 4 months planning the wedding with Angela Vicario.

*February- some Sunday is when the wedding takes place. The formal events end by six in the evening and at midnight the wedding becomes public.

*Sometime between ten at night on Sunday and three in the morning Monday, Bayardo returns Angela where her mother then beats her and she tells them it was Santiago.

*4:10 in the morning – Vicario twins arrive at the milk shop and received alcohol instead.

*4:30- Santiago goes to bed after finally leaving the wedding.

*5:30 a.m. – Santiago wakes up and gets dressed to see the bishop

*6:05 a.m.- Santiago leaves his house with the intentions to go over to Flora, his fiancé’s house.

* Bishop arrives

*6:25 a.m.- Santiago leaves with Cristo Bedoya to discuss the final figures for the cost of the wedding and he promises to have breakfast with narrator’s family which never happens.

*6:45 a.m.- Santiago visits his fiancé

*6:55 or 7 a.m.- Santiago leaves fiancés house and is chased by Vicario twins.

*7:05 a.m.- Santiago is murdered by the twins.

Wed - Witness Statements

Clotilde Armenta plays a crucial role in the development of the narrator's view of the murder.
The narrator gets her account of what happened, and readers are given what seems to be her account directly through the narrator's perspective.
Not all the accounts the narrator receives from the townspeople can be trusted. The town can not even agree on what the weather was like, how can a person trust them to correctly recount the details of what happened on the day of the murder. In addition to that, the narrator is collecting these statements months, maybe years after the event has occurred.
Even if the source is not reliable, it is seemingly the best account of the actions of the brothers.
It is Armenta who seemingly tries the best to prevent the crime from happening, getting the brothers
drunk and telling all who pass into her store to go and warn Santiago Nasar, his friends, and the authorities.

Chronicle of a death foretold

Bayardo san Roman didn’t enter, but softly pushed his wife into his house without speaking a word. Then he kissed Pura Vicario on the cheek and spoke to her in a very deep dejected voice, but with great tenderness. Thank you for everything, Mother,” he told her. (pg.46)

This is the scene where Bayardo was returning his wife after finding out she was not a virgin. He pushed her softly without entering because this was a great disgrace to him because a woman’s honor, which is her virginity, is all she has. Without her virginity he no longer wanted her. He then thanked the mother for everything as he gave the daughter back. The daughter was severely beaten because in this story all that matters was her virginity and this becomes central to the story. Virginity in this culture plays a big role because women were said to have to save themselves for their husbands and defying this meant defying society.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

In the novel,"Chronicle of a Death Foretold", Angela's virginity and honor become central to the story. To protect her honor, the Vicario twins, Angela's brothers, plan to kill Santiago the man who Angela said took her virginity. Knowing that Santiago is going to be killed, the whole town does nothing to stop the twins. A quote that stuck out to me was on page 61, " So he put the knife in his hand and dragged him off almost by force in search of their lost sister's honor. 'There's no way out of this,' he told him. 'It's as if it had already happened." I believe this quote shows that it was, in a sense, mandatory for the Vicario brothers to kill Santiago. Honor was important to this family and to the society. A couple of lines later, Pablo's fiancee states that if he had never killed Santiago she would not have married him. In this society, honor must be upheld and in order to uphold it, it becomes acceptable to kill a person. .;\

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

"She got married with that illusion. Bayardo San Roman, for his part, must have got married with the illusion of buying happiness..." page 38

In the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez this quote stuck out to me. it is in the scene where she tells her mother that she is not a virgin, which comes to a surprise to everyone that knows her. She says that she got married with the illusion that she was in fact a virgin and Bayardo San Roman would be the man to take her virginity away. Also, he would be getting married to the illusion that she would be happy with him. In a way he bought her love, except she doesn't even love him. Their relationship is based a lie, yet they are still going through with the wedding.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

In the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A polar axis of love versus hate is ever present within the text. This can be seen in the line, "Mistress of her fate for the first time, Angela Vicario then discovered that hate and love are reciprocal passions" (pg.93). The term "passion: describes these ideas and emotions as being strong and powerful. They are almost all encompassing with the Vicario twins. Love and hatred drive both of them to kill Santiago Nasar due to honor. Honor to those they loved, their sister, and hatred to those that destroyed the honor, Santiago. Angela Vicario also experiences this polar axis with her "lost" husband Bayardo San Roman. She loves him for who he is, but hates him for leaving her. "Mistress of her fate" means that she is incapable of avoiding this. She is bound to her "fate" like a lover is bound to those they love, the "mistress". This binding also indicates the all encompassing abilities of this relationship. This struggling relationship between love and hatred is present through the novel. This relationship is what drives the actions of the "drama".

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

"The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements… my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. 'They're perfect,' she was frequently heard to say. 'Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer.'"

This excerpt shows the severity of the lives women lead in the reserved Colombian culture of the town. The narrator describes the upbringing of Angela Vicario and her siblings. Their lives are bounded on all sides by tradition and the expectation to get married and have families. All of the chores they are taught to do-washing, making flowers-are household chores. The idea that the woman in a marriage is expected to suffer is significant becaause it says that no woman enters marriage expecting to be happiness unless she is fortunate enough to love whichever man decides to court her.It is believed that the best way a woman could improve her life was to marry a husband who would provide for her well. Angela Vicario protested to her parents that she did not love Bayardo, but her mother dismissed that idea, telling her that love could be learned.The strictness of the gender roles become clear when it is discovered that Angela is not a virgin when she married, not only is Angela abandoned by her husband, but she is beaten by her mother. The double standards of her culture are highlighted by the fact that the narrator, Santiago, Luis Enrique, and Cristo are all at a whorehouse doing whatever they please.
The sexism is clear when Bayardo san Roman is seen as the victim after losing his wife. Even though Angela Vicario loses a husband, is beaten by her mother, and is dishonored for having premarital sex, she does not receive the same consideration as Bayardo.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

"The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to be married... my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. 'They're perfect,' she was frequently heard to say. Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer.'" Page 37

I chose this quote because I identified with the very strict, traditional ways of Colombian culture. As a first generation Eritrean, I grew up around these ideals of what consitutes a man and woman, and certain things that each had to do to prove their masculinity/femininity. Although it was not as extreme, I grew up having to know how to cook, make tea/coffee, great guests, do a lot of housework, etc. because I needed to be "prepared" for when I had a family of my own. Fortunately for myself, I was able to pursue my own educational dreams and still allowed a lot of freedom in comparison to Angela and her sisters. Their lives and upbringing all revolved around the concept of them raising families and being the ideal mothers and wives to their future husbands. Their worth was determined by their abilities to do domestic work and physical beauty. Another theme that stuck out to me was that in their culture, marriage was not based on love and sentimental feelings, and women were expected to be miserable in their marriages.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"'They're perfect' she was frequently heard to say. 'Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer."

This quote from the novel The Chronicles of a Death Foretold further illustrates the reoccurring theme of the class relating to the colonizer/colonized and the core/periphery. In this excerpt and throughout the novel mothers serve as the "colonizer" as they continue to impose the reserved Columbian traditions on their daughters. This quote illustrates the difference in gender roles and how daughters are brought up to be wives and not not women. These differences in gender upbringings further bounds the daughters to the traditions of culture as the woman's worth is measured according to her ability to become a desired wife. This further illustrates the purpose of marriage in the traditional Columbian culture
as it is a courtship, or an agreement that is not based on love.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

"She only took the time necessary to say the name. She looked for it in the shadows, she found it at first sight among the many, many easily confused names from this world and the other, and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written. 'Santiago Nasar,' she said" (47).

I chose this quote because I think it embodies a little bit of the magic realism theme that Professor Mufti was discussing in lecture. So here we have Angela Vicario telling her twin brothers the name of the man that stole her honor, or virginity, from her. The image of the butterfly nailed to the wall is emblematic of both Angela’s and Santiago Nasar’s doomed fate. With the accusation that Santiago was her perpetrator, Angela forced the hand of the community to allow, whether by sheer negligence, coincidence, or the actual act of killing, for his death to occur based on the community’s cultural moral values that give the defense of honor as a just means to kill a man. Angela represents the butterfly as well because if she doesn’t say a name, then her family will be furious at her for allowing the taker of her honor to roam the streets. Her culture views women to be creatures of servitude and to openly ignore the question that her brothers asked her about her perpetrator's name would be frowned open indubitably.

Another interesting aspect of this quote is the way in which Marquez describes Angela’s thought process as she reaches for Santiago's name to tell her brothers. He says that “many, many easily confused names” came to her mind from both the world of the living and the dead. This image now created of a butterfly harmonizing with this suggestion of both living and dead names floating around in Angela’s psyche is kind of magical. This use of magic realism seems to work against the journalistic style of the novel and blurs what is actually happening. Just how we don’t really know the whole story of Santiago’s death and why everyone thought it was unnecessary to warn him, we also get this dreamlike version of Angela’s thought process when she’s trying to accuse her offender, so we never find out if her story is true. This scene reveals the distractive haziness of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s literary techniques that can be seen throughout the novel.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

It seems like many of the marriages that take place within this society are for utilitarian reasons rather than for love, which in a way reinforces gender roles. These gender roles include the husband acting "manly", and the wife accepting her fate as a wife and accepting the marriage whether they would like to or not. Prudencia Cotes, Pablo Vicarios' future wife, says: "I never would have married him if he hadn't done what a man should do" (62). This statement shows that Pablo was expected to retrieve his sister's honor and kill Santiago if he wanted to be seen as a "man".

The idea that the woman is marrying solely for the purpose of being married whether they want to or not is further reinforced by the brief marriage between Bayardo and Angela, "From the moment he finally appeared in frock coat and top hat until he fled the dance with the creature of his torment" (41). Angela is described as "the creature of his torment", implying that the marriage is more of a torturous experience for Angela, rather than an enjoyable one.

The only marriage that seems to have occurred out of love rather than utilitarian purposes is the marriage of the widower Xius. Xius declares the difference between his marriage and that of the younger generations to Bayardo by stating, "you young people dont understand the motives of the heart" as he attempts to keep his house from being sold to Bayardo (36). Xius was trying to explain that the house held sentimental value and contained memories of his deceased wife that he loved, however the house is ultimately sold to Bayardo for a large sum of money that drove Xius to tears of rage that he should have to choose between love for his wife and the utilitarian purposes of money. By choosing to accept the money, it is ultimately seen that marriage for utilitarian purposes prove to be more important than marriage for love.

Chronicles

"'They looked like two children,' she told me. And that frightened her, because she'd always felt that only children were capable of everything." [55]

This line really intrigues me. Clotilde Armenta comments that Pablo and Pedro Vicario seemed like two children while they drink and openly plan a murder in her store. Children are capable of everything because people believe they are innocent and do not have the capacity of hurting something or someone intentionally. Children are seen as innocent and oblivious, and they are thus capable of getting away with the things they do. The fact that Armenta sees the two brothers as children make it clear that she sees them as capable of committing the crime and getting away with it.

In a way, the whole town can be seen as being childlike. They all are conceived to be innocent of the crime, and oblivious as to the events that are happening. Caught up in the events of the day, the whole town lets a man die. All are caught up in believing that the crime would never occur. It is this naivete of the town that allows events become unclear and perpetuates the death of Santiago Nasar.

Season

I'm not sure if we're supposed to post today or not so I guess I will say some more about "Season of Migration to the North." I think another interesting binary in the novel was that of hot and cold, or more specifically "ice" and "warmth." Salih repeats the word "ice" throughout the entire novel. This represents the North and he contrasts this coldness of the North with the warmth of the South. Mustafa longs for the North while the women he seduces seem to possess a natural longing for the wild, warmth of the South. This is just another binary that I found in the novel and wanted to point out.

moretti

Moretti notes

• studies canon

core and periphery

• ex: novel: style is core (western influence), content is periphery (foreign)
• Nation/state developed the same time in europe.

one unequal (english language vs other laguages, European western influences on the east)

• Dominance of english literature leads to a decrease of other languages

Divsion of labor (Marxist term)= Capital

• Relations of power unevenly distributed in literature terms = symbolic Capital

Tree VS. Wave

• Tree is symbol for diversuty. Branches in tree grow out representing unity.
• Wave symbol for assimilation. Waves vertake other things. (larger power)

Season

One of the interesting ideas that I want to discuss is the theme of colonization in this novel. I think that Mustafa's choice to describe himself as the colonizer and the women he seduces as the colonized as particularly intriguing. For one, there is obvious irony here because in reality, Mustafa is the one who has been colonized, or educated, by the English, yet he claims to be a colonizer. Also, the fact that he desribes these horrible actions against women by relating them to colonization reveals his view, and possibly the author's view, on colonization as being directly relatable to the violence he is committing. Then, there is the fact that the lawyers and jurors in England who are trying Mustafa are on his side and are defending him over the girls of their country. My interpretation of this action is that the people in the court are not necessarily supporting Mustafa as an African person, but as a direct representation of colonization. As in, they are supporting their own system of colonization, since Mustafa is a protege of English colonization. In essence, they are just supporting their beliefs in colonizing nations and people, not necessarily his actions.