Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Key Facts

full title ·  Chronicle of a Death Foretold

author · Gabriel García Márquez

type of work · Novel

genre · Fiction

language · originally written in Spanish; translated into English

time and place written: · Colombia, 1981.

date of first publication · Bogota, Colombia, 1981

publisher · Editorial La Oveja Negra Ltda., Bogota

narrator · Unnamed

climax · The killing of Santiago Nasar

protagonist · Santiago Nasar

antagonist · Angela Vicario

setting (time) · 1950s

setting (place) · A small Colombian coastal town

point of view · First person

falling action · In this book, because many different views of the death are shown before the death itself, the falling action precedes the climax of the death at the end of the novel.

tense · Past tense

tone · Surreal and repetitive; journalistic and investigative

themes · Ritual, powerlessness of women, importance of cultural traditions like honor

motifs · Magic realism

symbols · Dreams; the weather