final response... until 3 more months- gabriella

Why do Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where the elements of magic are acceptable, or unremarkable? What is their intention in this design?

I think that both authors create this alternate universe to remain the Latin American culture in their stories. in Latin American writing magical realism is seen a lot and is used to create a sense of native roots and gives you more of a sense of who the characters are in the stories. i think to them it is unremarkable and "normal" because this way of telling stories is actually used in real life situations in latin american culture. since both authors are from latin american backgrounds they have grown up around this culture and magical realism has actually become their "reality". i think their intentions is to create a different experience for the reader, by making the reader accept this magic and feel more connected to the characters almost in a way initializing the reader into becoming one of the natives.

Final Blog Response - Toby

Why do Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where the elements of magic are acceptable, or unremarkable? What is their intention in this design?

Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez create an environment in which the elements of magic are not considered out of the ordinary in their respective novels House of the Spirits and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. In HOS, the magical elements of the story are present in Clara's involvement with the spirit world, for example her encounter with the spirit of Ferula, as well as Pedro Garcia's method of dealing with the infestation of ants at Tres Marias. In CODF, magic can be seen in the way that Santiago Nasar manages to walk several hundred feet, desperately trying to keep his guts from falling out of his open wounds. In each of the stories, the author presents the events in a calm tone that causes the reader to accept them as truth, despite the unreasonable nature of some of them. Allende and Marquez do this in order to make other, more important parts of the novels, seem reasonable in comparison. By doing this, the authors allow readers to be more comfortable accepting the validity of the rest of the novel.

The authors of these novels present concepts that are foreign to readers unfamiliar with the setting of the novel. If readers were to question some of these essential aspects of the novels, it may take away from the overall meaning of the novel. HOS, for example, takes place in Chile in the throes of political revolution. The setting has such a large influence on the rest of the novel that if a reader were to question the legitimacy of it, the political statement being made by Allende would be weakened. A reader unfamiliar with Chilean history might be reluctant to believe many of the details about the military coup given by Allende. However, in relation to the clairvoyant nature of Clara that is present throughout the novel before the military coup, the retelling of the events of the revolution is easily accepted by the average reader. A similar method is used by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in CODF. The social commentary that Marquez makes within the novel is reliant on the role of characters. As Marquez describes events such as a man walking several hundred feet immediately after being repeatedly stabbed before collapsing, other events become more believable in comparison. Specific to CODF, it is believable that a town full of people would neglect to inform Santiago Nasar that he is about to be killed when this sort of magical realism plays such a prominent role in the novel. Thus, by creating this sort of setting, the authors of these novels highlight their own beliefs.

Final Blog-Emily

I believe Allende is creating an alternative reality through magical realism to show the juxtaposition between the more "magical" South American society and the orderly European society. In The House of The Spirits Clara symbolizes the spiritual/magical aspect of Chile while Esteban Trueba represents the orderly European influence on the country. This is shown when Esteban builds the big house on the corner according to European standards. Clara then proceeds to transform the house into a labyrinth of passageways and disorder. The house soon fills with magical spirits after Clara moves in. The transformation of the house exemplifies how in the Chilean society , the order of the European influence can never stand on its own and will always be influenced by Chilean culture.

In Chronicle of a Death Foretold , Marquez uses an alternate reality of magical realism to exemplify the how the whole book is a collection of memories. Marquez uses magical realism to switch various details of the same event to portray the passing of time.

final blog question

There are several reasons that Marquez and Allende choose to write outside of this tangible, "real" realm that we live in. In these made up worlds they can make something that is thought to be nonsensical to be a real, almost normal occurrence. It is possible to compare this to children, they are in their own worlds that they create. Children believe in magic and fantastical things that we used to dream of when we were younger and may still dream of. This belief is taken away from us by the world in which we live, by the rules we must abide by and the hard times we must withstand. magic almost makes it disappear and the reader gets sucked into this realm and can live there believing it. This magic that is created by the words of Marquez and Allende opens the readers brain to a new level of creativity while at the same time showing the truth of what was going on in Chile at the time. Not only are these novels to shed light into an unseen world they are to show a dark history and how it slowly changes into something better. A more straight forward answer would be to say that they write like that to hide the true meanings of their words. Hiding the fact that these are commentaries on the dictators and the patriarchal society.

Estrella's Response

I disagree that Allende creates an alternative universe to express elements of magic.  I think that Allende uses the universe we live in and expresses magical elements through magical realism, but makes them seem like real magical events. Allende describes events in which they seem like it is simply magic and it is true. She does that by creating the magic in our universe.  It is easier for us to believe because we believe things when we experience it. The thing we share is the universe so the way she describes magic is believable and can possibly be true.  She does this because she wants us to feel the magic. Her intention is for us to experience a three-legged table or a dog as big as camel.  I think Allende is successful in making us believe.

 On the other hand, I do believe that Marquez creates an alternative universe. This is accepted because I think the idea of magic is widely accepted in Latin American culture, and can be seen as a way of life. I think more than on what he intended, magic sub--consciously happened. It is just so common and expected that magic is something that comes natural in Latin America. Just like Allende, Marquez wanted us to accept or feel just as comfortable with magic.

Isabelle Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez create an alternate universe with magical realism as a means to casually foreshadow or foretell events in the plot and to maintain a steady plot structure. Clare in House of the Spirits is clairvoyant; numerous times through out the novel Clare will have premonitions enabling her to make proper decisions. One of the first times we see Clare's clairvoyancy is when she decides, after seeing her own destiny, to "marry without love". Also, once again Clare uses her clairvoyant ability to foresee, and announce the occurrence of an earthquake. Ferula setting a curse on Esteban, stating that he will shrivel and die alone like a dog, is also an example of magical elements casually happening unquestioningly. These three examples all use magical realism to foreshadow a later event or occurrence in the novel.
Chronicle of a Death foretold also use magically realistic elements which correlate with some sort of foreshadow, or premonition to a later occurrence. An example of this is Santiago Nasar's mother who is a dream reader. She first interprets Santiago's dream of timber trees, gentle drizzle, and bird shit not as anything to be worried about. Later she understands this dream to be an omen. Santiago later leaves his house after the dream dressed in his white satin which gives off the ghostly visage of an already dead man. This foreshadows Santiago's near death.

Final Blog

I believe that Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Isabel Allende use "magical realism" to create an alternative universe, due to the fact that religion is so strong in Latin American literature. Magic is acceptable because many Latin Americans believe that they can reach a sense of spiraturlaity through praying and magic. This then leads them to a better feeling of hope through prayer, and guide them through their hard times. For one of the main characters Clara she exsperences magic at first hand. "It was then that she began her first serious attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial beings... (Allende 210). Clara also exsprences later on in this page that magic is not always in her head, but in objects such as a three legged chair or pendulum. I believe that the authors add magical realism to their novels because magical realism can have a steady movement through a fiction novel that has so much religion involved. I also think that the authors add magical realism to make a point about how religion can open new doors and later on lead to a better decisions for some people. With magic the characters can exsprence warning before it happens for instance when Clara can sense the earthquake about to occur. Without magic in these novels, it would destory a sense of thought that a fiction novel should have, it keeps the reader thinking about what is gong to happen, and educates Latin American society.

Magical Realism

Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez use magical realism to express that real life can often be surreal to the point of seeming magical. Both of these stories chronicle bizarre stories that are based on real life events. The House of the Spirits follows a family through a huge earthquake, torture, and an uprising of a new political group. These real life events are so unusual that they themselves can seem magical. Allende is commenting on the oddness of these events by having magic and spirits be normal occurrences. To create the wonder of these real-life events more obvious Allende even has characters conquering their “fear of the ghosts Clara would invoke…but earthquakes [shake them] to the bones” (Allende 131). She is pointing out the oddness of the “real” events by making them seem abnormal in comparison to magic. Marquez also uses some magical realism for a similar effect. The death of Santiago in A Chronicle of a Death Foretold seems extremely foreign and unreal to many other cultures that do not view murder, society, and honor in this way. The addition of magic, such as reading dreams, helps the reader to notice the oddity of the events. The reader sees magical events and than notices that the event that happened is just as odd. Allende and Marquez are using magical realism to point out the strangeness and magic that happens in the world we live in.

Final Response - Elliot

In Allende's "The House of the Spirits" and Marquez's "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" the use of magical realism serves multiple purposes. The two main results, that I saw, from magical realism was acting as a dividing characteristic and create an environment for the reader in which magic is accepted as normal. In "The House of the Spirits" most characters believe in Clara's clairvoyant abilities and other magical aspects. Esteban Trueban, and Clara's parents did not support Clara's psychic abilities. This created a division amongst the characters. Since Clara's parents die early on it is difficult to see the results of this division, but I believe that it causes Esteban to lose his mind. Since magical realism allows the possibility for people to shrink, the reader accepts this, but Esteban searches for a scientific explanation. This rejection of magic contributes to Esteban's discontent. Also the magical realism allows for a completely different reading experience where Barrabas is able to be the size of a camel and where people can talk to spirits and see the future. Not only does it make the reading more "fantastical," it allows for a larger literary license. This license results in easier opportunities to foreshadow using Clara's abilities or having character diversity with Rosa's beauty and mermaid like qualities. Overall the use of magical realism creates an entirely different experience for the reader because the novel and the reader begin to accept magic as reality.

final reflection

Marquez and Allende choose to integrate magic into the mundane societies of their novels in order to further plot development as well as imitate Latin-American society and tradition. Neither "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"'s society nor that of "The House of the Spirits" allows for any form of "atheistic, practical, functional doctrine" (Allende 307), and both novels reveal the strong hold that the surreal maintains on Latin-American society. Catholicism as a reflection of culture is prevalent in both novels, making a magical influence inevitable. In Allende's "House of the Spirits", Clara conducts the energy and magic of both the house on the corner and the town. Allende manipulates her character to develop the novel's plot, instilling in Clara a mirror that reflects the mood and stability of Chile. When Clara dies, the magic dies with her and the town and country fall to turmoil, undergoing a coup and dictatorship. Allende creates ghosts to replace "the spirits...[and] luminous gaiety that had always been present because [Clara] did not believe that the world was a vale of tears" (Allende 295), establishing a sentiment of loss in both her novel and readers. The magic becomes a means for measuring the nation's stability. Marquez, meanwhile, chooses to emphasize the importance of honor and emotion over practicality in a Latin American community. His novel, set in a colorful yet tradition-ruled society, traces a murder commited for the sake of honor. Fate controls the course of both the plot and Santiago's life. Marquez's use of symbolism surrounding death, from dying from a broken heart to death by moral pain, culminates in Santiago Nasar's symbolic passing.

Final Reflection

Isabel Allende and Gabriel Marquez both use magical realism in their respective novels to achieve different goals. Allende creates an alternate universe where magic is accepted as normal as a technique to empower women. She gives nearly all of the female characters some link to the supernatural world and magical ability to exaggerate their power over men. The women are the only characters who have the ability to communicate with this other world. Gabriel Marquez uses magical realism as a means to create a supernatural realm that separates Latin American society from all other parts of the world.

Final Reflection

In one of her interviews, Isabelle Allende asks, "What's truer than truth? Answer: The story." Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where elements of magic are acceptable in order to create a stronger emotional truth. Creating a new universe where magic is accepted makes the magic true. Like Tim O'Brien, these authors are creating their own emotional truth, where the story is the truth, past actual fact.

However, culturally, they may not even be creating a "alternate" universe. In both books, magic seems to be accepted by the society and the authors really don't need to create anything. As opposed to making the new universe in their writing, they're just making the settings of their books based on that of Latin American society. Allende even addresses the fact that supernatural characteristics, such as Clara's clairvoyance, Rosa's mermaid appearance, and Barrabas's size, are valued in Latin America when she writes why Marxism won't succeed saying, "Don't you know it doesn't allow for the magical side of things?" (306). In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez doesn't the same thing. He makes Nasar's mother able to see the future in her dreams, and puts value you on that by making her popular for this. Instead of creating an alternate universe, Allende and Marquez seem to be merely stating the value of magical elements in different Latin American societies.

Marquez and Allende's Intentions

Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabelle Allende both create an alternate universe where magical elements exist. Their intentions of creating this factor in the novel is to deepen the readers connection into their books. Chronicle of a Death Foretold uses magical realism elements as a way to connect the reader on an emotional level that one could never have without the use of these elements. For example, the widower who owned the house that Bayardo San Roman was buying, ended up dying after he won the house from him. It was specified that he died of a broken heart, when in reality, people never physically "die" of a broken heart. Although it was a subtle use of a magical realism element, it still connected the reader to Marquez's storyline. In The House of The Spirits, Allende uses more obvious elements of magic such as Clara's ability to see into the future, which is an element of foreshadowing. Allende uses this element especially to connect the reader further into her novel, like Marquez.

Sophie's Response

Response to Final Blog Question, Sophie Keller
The fact that we are asking this question suggests that Marquez and Allende use magical realism to make their readers question the world around them. Many people prefer read without dissecting the book they are reading. However, Allende and Marquez want none of that. When Clara is speechless, Nivea tells her outrageous, magical stories. “She [nourishes] the hope that if she [keeps] putting ideas into Clara’s head, sooner or later [Clara will] ask a question and regain her speech” (Allende 79). Similarly, Allende and Marquez put strange and magical ideas into their readers’ heads so that their readers will regain their speech, and actively question and dissect their books. By creating obvious un-truths and straying far from the path of reality, the authors hope to draw attention to the many strange occurrences which happen outside the pages of their novels. However, this creates a conflict. If they want the reader to notice the oddities in their stories (and hence, be aware of the oddities in their own world), why do Allende and Marquez slip surreal elements into their stories so seamlessly? Each author creates a novel in which magic is such a part of the characters’ universe that half the time the reader must make an effort to even notice its inclusion. Allende and Marquez are making the point that extraordinary and unusual events exist in peoples’ everyday lives more often than they are aware of. Perhaps many are unaware of this fact because these events are often so seamlessly integrated, and on a much smaller scale than the happenings in House of the Spirits and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Therefore, Allende and Marquez include magic in their novels on a much grander scale. When made large, the reader sees and questions and perhaps becomes aware of eccentricities in their own lives.

Is it still magic?

The creation of a alternate universe by both authors is used to establish a truth that would otherwise be lost. Much like Tim O'brian made stories to provoke emotion and therefor a truth in his book, Allende and Marquez use magical realism to provoke a emotion that would be lost or less effective if they were to use rational in their stories. the magical realism allows for the stories to take up new levels, and new explanations. in house of spirits the character of Barabas would not be as memorable and significant without his size of a horse, he would not be as important to the readers. without Esteban shrinking would his fate truly be portrayed as effectively to the reader, and of course what would the house on the corner be without the spirits whispering into Clara's ear? and as for Chronicle of a death foretold, although the magical realism is less blatant it is through the beautiful detail and attention to ordinary events, the events then take on a more significant value to them. these descriptions are seen through the descriptions of Bayanardo and his activities in the church as well as raising the best swimmers in the village also when the poor widower dies of a broken heart. conclusively, the creation of a universe with magic is to illustrate all those things in life that logic cannot fully account for. Allende and Marquez are acknowledging that humans have a capacity to believe in the simple beauty in things and sometimes thats all it takes. and because of this truth that is seen in both novels, the magic ceases to become magic but instead, the simple reality.

Final Reflection

I think in the case of Isabel Allende's novel, elements of magical realism, like Clara's clairvoyance and Pedro Garcia's ant-eliminating strategy, are used because Allende herself lives in a magical world herself. In the interview that we listened to, she admits that Clara was based on her own grandmother. Allende believes that her grandmother had a sixth sense, and she was used to the presence of "spirits" in her household, although they were not necessarily the types of spirits that we usually think of - ghosts. Rather, they were shades of events and emotions past, remnants of the memories of past generations that remained with the household, like the spirits in the Big House on the Corner. For Allende, magical realism is simply realism.

I think Marquez uses elements of magical realism to distract from the supposedly journalistic style that an account of a murder case should be written in. For example, the interpretation of his dream in the beginning of the book seems like it should have some significance later in the book, but it really doesn't, except for Placido Linero's statement that she misinterpreted the symbols in his dream to be lucky, instead of unlucky. Let's face it, it wouldn't have mattered if she interpreted the symbols as unlucky. It wouldn't have prevented his death, or altered his course of action on the day of the murder. Magical realism is used to further cloud the memory of the day of the murder to an extent that not one of witness's or narrator's account can be trusted. Faulty memory, I think, can also attribute to images that resemble magical realism in retrospect.

Final Reflection

Marquez and Allende use the element of magical realism throughout their novels for several evident reasons. Of course magical realism seems to fit into the society both the authors live and write in: the Latin American culture. The use of magical realism represents the attitudes and personalities of the characters, the set beliefs and traditions, gender roles, and settings in both novels. Additionally, I believe the authors use magical realism in order to support their choices to write their novels as fictional. To a degree, both of these novels could be written as nonfictional books. Allende’s novel becomes evidentially at least partially true, following historical records for the most part, and in that there is an incorporation of Allende and her family’s true experiences. Marquez’s story line could follow a general sense of truth, as this book is written in the form of recorded information from one individual based on many different interpretations of a murder. Had this story been true, or a story following such a story line, Marquez could have easily translated it to nonfiction. The authors chose to write these novels in the form of fiction however, and the use of magical realism is crucial to their stories. Because both authors have story lines which could be labeled realistic, they need to use magical realism to make it obvious that the novels are in fact fictitious. For example, in an interview of Allende, she stated her grandmother (whom Clara is inspired from), could in fact predict certain future occurrences, just as Clara is able to throughout the novel. In an American culture, the book would have been regarded as unbelievable had Allende incorporated this characterization in a non fictitious novel. Allende chose to make the novel fictitious, and thus was able to over exaggerate the magical element in other circumstances so the novel would successfully represent the Latin American culture and the characteristics of her family. In the case of Marquez, he is able to represent the belief system of the town in his novel. The reader may focus more on the pure significance of honor in the town (hence an important theme throughout the book), rather than the odd magical elements. The book is fictitious and so the magical realism was needed in order for the reader to view the novels true significance and not question certain unfamiliar aspects.

A Universe Unseen: Final Reflection

The authors of the novels House of the Spirits and Chronicle of a Death Foretold create their own universe where magic is acceptable in order to further represent Latin America as a whole. Magical realism is used in these two books as a literary technique to explain how Allende and Marquez perceive their own culture. They create an alternate universe so that the reader can get a glimpse of what Latin American culture is like. The universes created by the authors represent something that is not seen by other cultures, and the way in which they are perceived is unlike any other. In these two novels magic is made something so normal that it comes to the reader as strange and unusual. However, for a Latin American person it is how they live their life and it's the way they view things. Allende and Marquez use these two books to bring us into a world that is not seen by man but very well known to man; a world where magic is life, sin is nature, and feminism is the key to success.

Final Reflection - Megan B.

Both Chronicle of a Death Foretold and House of the Spirits include many magical elements throughout. This is used as a literary technique by the respective authors to further the stories and provide opportunities to communicate themes and other elements.
Foreshadowing comes into play in both books, and the use of magical realism makes this far more reasonable and realistic to the reader. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, for example, some of the foreshadowing of Nasar's death is given through dreams, which virtually require a magical element to seem like credible sources. The fact of this foreshadowing occurring within the story rather than within the narrative also reinforces the idea of a "foretold" death. In House of the Spirits, meanwhile, Clara's clairvoyance provides much of the foreshadowing present in the book.
In addition, I believe both authors wish to make a point about Latin American culture through this use of magical realism. Isabel Allende in particular is trying to reinforce the idea that magic plays a large role in Latin American culture. The example where Pedro Garcia gets the ants away from Tres Marias by merely asking them to leave, while the gringo couldn't do a thing with all his technology, shows that they trust magic perhaps even more than technology. Allende even says that "Marxism doesn't stand a chance in Latin America" because it "doesn't allow for the magical side of things" (306-7), showing how important magic is to the society.

Marquez and Allende's Use of Magical Realism

Why do Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where the elements of magic are acceptable, or unremarkable? What is their intention in this design?

Both authors create a magical alternate universe in their novels to conform to traditional latin american writing. I believe "magical realism" is a writing style and a way to tell stories deriving from the latin american culture that has been analyzed and given a name and therefore is simply a different way to tell a story with an interesting twist. In an interview, Allende says there are elements of imagination,hyperbole,exaggeration,a recurrent use of premonition, and a coincidence of things that happen in her fiction novels that wouldn't seem to happen in real life,but if you pay attention, they may happen often enough. In that sense there are elements of magical realism in her novels. I believe Marquez adheres to this belief as well.

The Allende and Marquez Universe

Why do Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where the elements of magic are acceptable, or unremarkable? What is their intention in this design? Answer in a full paragraph that explains your position

Allende and Marquez create this universe completely unique to Latin American literature. They do this by using magical realism to make something that could never happen in the world we know. This transports the reader into Allende and Marquez's world. It is important to move the reader into this universe in order make them experience new things and become more vulnerable and open to the characters and plot. There is no other way that people who are not from Latin America can see what Allende and Marquez know as fact; this is what needs to happen to transport t he reader into the universe of Allende and Marquez.

Ariana’s Final Reflection on House of The Spirits

Allende’s intent on using an alternate universe with elements of magic is very clear. As a feminist she uses magically gifted women in exaggeration to show that women have a natural intuition and should be proud of this. Other feminist authors such as Eve Ensler, state that women have a natural intuition very bluntly. However Allende’s method is more effective because of how natural it is in the novel, where as other others state it as otherworldly, exaggerated and silly. I believe Marquez just uses magical realism as a literary technique.

Final Reflection on House of the Spirits

Here's a question: Why do Marquez and Allende choose to create an alternate universe where the elements of magic are acceptable, or unremarkable? What is their intention in this design? Answer in a full paragraph that explains your position.

Socratic Seminar - This Friday (4/15) and next Tuesday (4/19)

All,

Here are the questions for this Friday/Next Tuesday's Socratic Seminar:

1. What is the symbolic significance of Barrabas and his death? How does he manifest Allende's intentions in the novel?

2. How is Alba an example of hybridity? Explain.

3. How does the situation of Clara's death create a problematic binary or conflict?

4. What's significant about Allende's description of the house in ch. 10?

5. Why do we get a sense of the absurd surrounding Nicolas and the protests?

6. Why can't "marxism succeed" in this country (ch. 10)?

7. Does Allende shift one's perception of prostitution? How so?

8. Why is ch. 11 called "The Awakening"?

9. Describe the propaganda encountered in this chapter; what are these images attempting to convey?

The Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The title “The Chronicle of a Death Foretold” can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. A chronicle is defined as a series of events; clearly this does not connect with the concept of death seeing as a death would end the chronicle. Also the concept of foretelling switches around chronology; this does not work with a chronicle because a chronicle is chronological. One way to interpret this title is to see it as the chronicle of how a death is being foretold, or a story about how someone’s death is predicted. Another way to view it is as a chronicle of the past events about a person who has already died. The final way to see it is as a chronicle of how a death happened which was already foretold. Because this title is so abstract it reflects that the story itself also will be interpreted in a number of ways by the characters in the novel.

Chronicles of a death foretold

at first glance the title of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez almost makes sense. Its the story of death that occurred that was foretold. But on deeper analysis, when one starts to break down each words meaning, the title begins to contradict itself. this is done through the word choice. first of all the word chronicle entail a story that had already happened was a series of events, while the foretelling is meaning that it was already seen in the future. the most significant word in the contradiction of the title, however, is Death. Death in the context is singular, meaning in could not of had a chronicle. the title would almost make more sense with a different word ordering, such as the the chronicles of the foretelling of a death (less catchy, but gets the point across clearly). conclusively, the title of the novel suggests that the "death" has yet to occur...

how Chronical of a death fortold is illogical

The title of Gabriel Garcia's novel seems to be illogical. A chronicle is detailed narrative record or report of ordered events, and to foretell is to tell of or indicate beforehand, or to predict. A chronicle is an ordered set of events leading up to a result, to foretell of what a chronicle leads up to skips the order in which the chronicle goes. knowing the result before it actually happens interferes with the order.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The "flaw" in this title is obvious at a first glance. The two words "chronicle" and "foretold" do not make sense in this context. This is why i am suspicious of any flaw in the first place. If indeed there is a flaw in the title , it was intentionally placed there by the author. Maybe the book is the chronicle of the foretelling of the death instead of a recount of the death itself . In this case the title would not be flawed at all. The title does not really clue the reader into whether this death has taken place or not but if this book is a chronicle of the foretelling of the death then it is probably safe to assume that the person has not died yet.

Chronicle of a death foretold

The title chronicle of a death foretold doesnt make any sense because its to opposite ideas in the same sentence making it an oxymoron. chronicle means in a specific order so for example days it goes " monday, tuesday wednesday..etc" . while the word foretold is the prediction of future events that are going to happen. and death meaning end so translated the title doesn't work because its the order of a end that already happened. this is a contradictory of itself because you cant have a foretelling of a chronicle. none of the words in the title agree with each other.

A Turn of Phrase

The problem with the title of this book is that it is an oxymoron. A chronicle is a series that come in a specific order (such as 1, 2, 3, 4...) and can not be altered and still make sense (2,78,6,100...). By saying the death is fore told, it is skipping ahead, taking information, and then bringing it back to an earlier point and continuing on (for example going to 1, 2, 77 [being the death in this example], 3, 4, 5...). It is an oxymoron because it breaks the idea of staying in chronological order. Another flaw within this title is that death is one single moment in time, and there isn't any way you can chronologically record a single moment, because its only one one moment where a chronicle is multiple moments in a certain order.

"Chronicle of a Death Foretold"- Estrella

The word 'chronicle' means a description of past events.  The word 'foretold' is the prediction or the known outcome of something.  With 'chronicle' you have the past, but with 'foretold' you have the future.  The two words do not agree with each other in the title. By the title incorporating 'death', as in a death has already occurred, you can not have a fortelling. You can have a chronicle though based off the events leading to or already happened to cause the death. You also can have a foretelling of a death, but not a 'chronicle of a death foretold.'  The two words, 'chronicle and foretold' do not agree with each other when the word 'death'  is the word in between.  I do agree though, that in order to have a future; "a foretelling", you need  a past; "a chronicle."

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

The problem with the title The Chronicle Of A Death Foretold is that the novel doesn't actually follow any chronological sequence. The reason Gabriel Garcia Marquez chose this title is because it is an account of a murder. When a traumatic incident occurs, each witness to that event sees the occurrence in different ways. This means that there is no eye witness story that is identical to the next. By naming this story a "chronicle", Marquez is telling the sequences in the order that they occurred to the witness.

Logic in CoDF

The flaw with the logic of the title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is that it creates a sort of contradiction of tenses. While "chronicle" implys a list of events in the past, foretold implys that the death has not yet happened. However, the story follows with the title, regardless of logical error. The reason for this is that the author places the events in the story as they are happening in the present. Thus, although the story did in fact happen 27 years earlier, the death in the novel's time line, has yet to happen.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Marquez allows for multiple interpretations of his title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold." If one isolates the first few pages of this novel, hence assuming the perception that Marquez's novel is a chronicle of a fated death, then the title contradicts itself in that the first page begins at the end. A chronicle must document events in precise chronological order, a rule that Marquez ignores in the first sentence of his novel. Before even opening the cover, however, the title appears inherently amiss. The first word, 'chronicle', defies the final 'foretold'. If the reader is to know that an event is fated, they must know this from the start of a novel, before the commencing the plot that will explain the event. Because a chronicle is restricted to time's logical progression, a book is not a chronicle if it begins with the ultimate conclusion of a tale.

Logical flaw in CODF -Toby

The word "chronicle," by definition, suggests to the reader that the story is an account of a series of events that has already happened. Despite this, the word "foretold" is also included in the title. By definition, the use of this word suggests to the reader that the events in the novel had yet to be written when they were written about in the novel. This creates contradiction. From the perspective of a chronological flow of time, the title in logically flawed. Something cannot be foretold if it has already happened. This contradiction in the title, in turn, suggests to the reader that the story will be an anachronism.

Now, what intent would Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author, have through creating this contradiction in the title of the novel? Marquez creates antithesis in the title to portray the scope of the ideas and events in the novel.

-Toby

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

Garcia Marquez's, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, centers around a murder investigation that takes place 27 years subsequent to the death of Santiago Nasar. The title disregards logic in the juxtaposition of "chronicle" and "foretold". Chronicle implies that events will be presented in the order in which they occured whereas foretold implies that these events will be revealed prior to their occurrence within the story. However, since this is a Latin American Boom author the title makes perfect sense as Boom authors avoid following an established form and aim to evoke a feeling of great confusion in the reader.

RE: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

A chronicle is a telling of events or a story in a chronological order. Chronological means in order of time. In the first few pages of the novel it is discovered that a man has returned to a town where a murder had happened 27 years in the past. This word is already in defiance of itself by starting 27 years after the matter as apposed to from the beginning. It seems as though it would be best to start at the end rather than the start, though confusing, this backwards method can help to unravel mysteries hidden to a chronological eye. Marquez did this to imbue the mysterious attributes of the story into the title and confuse the reader as much as the protagonist.

Colombians are just tricky

Gabriel Garcia Marquez manages to arrange the title Chronicle of a Death Foretold to interest the reader. I believe Marquez does this to argue the way the future works. The future only appears if a series of events occurs in a certain amount of time, which is known as a Chronicle. Foretelling is already predicting the future, so the title Chronicle of a Death Foretold defies the principles of how the words chronicle and foretold work. Marquez, due to his knowledge of the importance of a title of a novel, keeps interest in the reader until the end of the novel. Marquez's title is not wrong; he's just doing his job. That is why I think Marquez chose these particular words in the title.

Response: "What is wrong with the title 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold'?"

At first glance, the title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" seems to be contradictory, as the word chronicle generally refers to a chronological account of an event which already happened, while 'foretold' seems to suggest that the event hasn't happened yet as the word refers to the predicting of the future. However, the title could easily be interpreted as meaning a chronicle of how a death was foretold or, alternately, a chronicle of a death which had been foretold. If this is to be the case, the confusion presented through the title is merely a result of lack of clarification, as either possibility named above is logically sound on its own. However, in the context of the book itself there is still an issue with either interpretation, as the events within the book are not presented in chronological order. 'Chronicle' can sometimes be used less formally to simply mean a detailed record of events, though, so the issue is a minor one.

Despite the fact that the contradictions present in the title can be cleared up by simply using a different interpretation, there is still the issue of why such an easily misinterpreted and confusing title was chosen in the first place. Most likely, this was used to generate interest in the book, as the contradictory title catches one's eye and makes one curious about what the title could possibly mean and what the book could be about. In addition, the title is quite in line with the apparent nature of literature from the Latin American Boom, as the deconstruction of traditional narratives, which often involves messing with chronological order, is a common theme.

Marquez's title Chronicle of a Death Foretold defies logic because chronological means that the story would be told in the order that time passes, and foretold means that an event is indicated in the story before it happens. These two concepts contradict each other because something can not be told before it happens and remain chronological. If Marquez would have hinted that Santiago Nazar was going to be killed, and had not started the book with "on the day they were going to kill him" (Marquez 3), the book would no longer be foretold. Since Marquez consistently adds in comments from people that were made after the death of Santiago Nazar, before he was dead, the novella can not be a chronicle.

I think that Marquez chose to title her novella as she did for several reasons. The title catches ones attention because it does not make sense. Then, as you begin to read it, you see that because the story is being told after the events have taken place, maybe the title could make sense on some obscure way even though logically it contradicts itself.

Contradictory words in the title.

The title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" defies logic because a chronicle is a record of past events. That means the death should have already occurred. Because it's foretold, meaning it is being foreshadowed, that indicates the death hasn't occurred yet, making the title contradictory to itself. Also, the title is logically flawed with respects to the book itself because the book is not in chronological order, making it not a chronicle.

The arrangement of words is significant because it is reveals the book to be controversial. Marquez chose this particular arrangement to emphasize ambiguity and contradiction of the book.

Title of "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

The title of the book “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is logically flawed due to the contradictory words in the title. ‘Chronicle’ is defined as: “To record in, or in the form of, a chronicle, a chronological record of events” (chronological being “in order of time of occurrence”). Foretold or to foretell is defined as: “to tell of or indicate beforehand; prophecy; predict”. Assuming one interpretation of this title, a ‘chronicle’ of events may happen in the present, but the events must have happened in the past in order for chronologically ordered occurrences to be told. However a foretelling of events is expressed merely as occurrences that have not happened yet, so therefore perspectives of what those occurrences could be. Henceforth the two words counteract each other, expressing the telling of a both past and future death. Additionally, the title is flawed because the book is not told in the “order of time of occurrence”, so therefore does not fit the definition of chronicle. In my point of view, I believe the title to be interpreted as the chronicle of a death that happened in the past, and of the predictions of the death prior to the actual murder. The man who is murdered in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is named Santiago Nasar. The narrator of the book describes several characters that believe or know of Santiago Nasar’s death, so this description is the ‘foretelling’ of Santiago’s murder. However, the narrator also describes two characters in particular, who both had a gift of predicting future circumstances, but both failed to see this particular occurrence of death coming. This fact again flaws the title, because it seems Gabriel Garcia Marquez is implying there in fact was an inability to foretell of the death of Santiago.

"Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

Gabriel Garcia Marquez titles his book "Chronicle of a Death Foretold." The wording of this title leaves the reader guessing, as it cab be interpreted as (chronicle of a death) (foretold) or (chronicle of) (a death foretold).

If an event is foretold, it is predicted or known that the event will occur before the event actually happens.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "chronicle" as "an extended account in prose or verse of historical events...presented in chronological order and without authorial interpretation or comment."
So, if one interprets the title as a (chronicle of a death) (foretold), the title contains no flaw in logic within itsself (Assuming, of course, that it is possible for events to be foretold). The title simply means that the book is a chronicle of a death, and that someone foretold that the book would be written before Marquez wrote it.
If one interprets the title as a (chronicle of) (a death foretold), the title itsself is still logically sound. It means that Marquez has written a chronicle about a death which was foretold.

However, the title is logically flawed in relation to the book because Marquez does not write in chronological order (Perhaps because the death which he writes about is already known, and/or because he writes the book prior to the event's occurrence).
It is also ironic (and perhaps a smidgen logically flawed, if one is cynical) that the book is so popular if one relies on it's title as an indication to what the story contains. Why would one wish to read a story in which the assumed "main event" is already revealed to them in the title? I believe it is because it adds an element of intrigue, which is why Marquez chose it.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The arrangement of the words is key if one was to determine what the plot of the book is. If to take the words literally,I could assume the story is of a chronicle that has been written of somebody's death and how it was known, before the death occurred, that it would take place. My assumed plot thus brings a questionable story that would defy logic. First, No one knows when they are going to die, and therefore the future knowledge of a death is bizarre and could possibly be known from a fortune teller, or from a doctor if the main character was ill. Secondly, a death is a single moment and can not be put into a chronicle unless it took many steps to carry, leading me to believe Marquez writes of a murder. A known murder that the main character was never told of by the holder or holders of this information.

This book is no chronicle!

The title of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a misnomer, if the dictionary definition of the word "chronicle" is considered. A chronicle is defined as "an historical account of events arranged in order of time usually without analysis or interpretation". Marquez's novel is not a chronicle in the conventional sense, primarily because the witness accounts of the time surrounding Santiago Nasar's murder are not in chronological order. The witness accounts are reflections of events that happened decades ago, and are told in a way that dates and times of these witness's stories are bound to overlap. The details of the accounts, especially those regarding time, are also bound to be muddled or forgotten by memory, so the novel can not be a linear chronicle. Also, Chronicle of a Death Foretold cannot be a traditional chronicle because (I'm assuming) it revolves around the narrator's interpretation and analyses of the many disorganized witness accounts in order to put the case of Santiago Nasar's murder to rest decades after it happened. A chronicle just states the facts, without interpretation.

I think Marquez used the title because the narrator is attempting organize the scattered details reported to him by the witnesses into more of a timeline, or a chronicle, so that the murder case is easier to solve. The chronicle is his first step to solving the case, then analyses and interpretation come into play.

Irony behind the title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

The title of the book "Chronicle of a Death Foretold", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is full of ironic ideas. What's ironic about this title is that, it's almost as if Marquez wrote this book to predict a death. He is writing how and why this death will happen in this story. Another ironic thing about this title is that the death that will happen has already been foretold. If the book based itself in the present, the title would better off be "Chronicle of Foretelling a Death". Since this death has already been foretold Marquez is only writing a story about this foretold death.

I think that the reason why Marquez gave this book such an ironic title was so that it would match the irony of the story that will eventually unfold.

Annie's Idea

Chronicle of a Death Foretold sounds like a continuation of something that has already ended in the past. It was predicted, and is currently a death and cannot be continued (necessarily...). If I were to make sense of it I'd guess it was a prolonged death as opposed to an instant event, for one single event cannot contain chronology. It could also be going back in time before this death and accounting for the events that led up to it.

The Ironic Title "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

The title, "The Chronicle of a Death Foretold," is ironic because of Marquez's word choice. A chronicle is defined as a sequential record of events and to foretell is the act of predicting the future. The two words contradict one another because records of history cannot exist before the events that create that history occur. This title can also be seen as the unfolding of a prophecy. The death foretold being the prophecy and the chronicle being how the events unfolded. I see both possibilities in this title, but also I interpret chronicle to be multiple events, not just one. This is another contradictory aspect of the title. A death happens in a single moment, therefore a chronicle of a death is not possible in the sense that it is not a string of events.

-Elliot

New Question: What is wrong with the title Chronicle of a Death Foretold?

How does this title defy logic? Why do you think Marquez chose this particular arrangement of words?

Due: 1/10-11