Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Symbols

The following academic paper highlights the up-to-date issues and questions of Chronicle Of A Death Foretold Symbols. This sample provides just some ideas on how this topic can be analyzed and discussed.

Often, a person’s home is a physical representation of his or her psyche. The implication of this is that the characters of a novel are involved in a symbolic relationship with their dwellings. More specifically, the symbolic meanings of the doors and windows in that character’s home provide a conduit into a character’s intentions or thoughts.

As said in Dom Casmurro by Bentinho Santiago “Our souls, as you know, are laid out like houses, often with windows on every side” (107). The literary material gathered through looking specifically at these aspects of a novel can then be used to strengthen the reader’s perceptions of unspoken character relationships. Throughout this paper I will compare how the authors Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis and Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez use certain doors and windows as a subtle and condensed form of symbolizing and revealing character relationships in their novels Dom Casmurro and Chronicle of a Death Foretold respectively.

The passages in which doors and windows are mentioned in a significant way are few in number but we can see major themes of the novel compacted into just a few passages. The smallest gestures towards doors and windows on the part of any character can influence a reader’s perceptions of the story in profound ways because of the potency of the actions portrayed.

Get quality help now

Marrie pro writer

Verified

Proficient in: Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

5 (204)

“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Both architectural features are representations of the nature of character relationships in Dom Casmurro and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. In Dom Casmurro we can see the change in the relationship between the self proclaimed protagonist Bentinho Santiago – Bento, a young man promised to a seminary before his birth by his mother and Capitolina P�dua – Capitu, his neighbor, girlfriend and eventual wife. We can see these changes occur in several short excerpts concerning doors and windows. From the beginning of Bento’s recollections, the strong affections between Capitu and himself are evident. Arguably the most effective symbol of their relationship is a small door that connects both their homes when they are young.

Doors Symbols

“This door has no lock or latch; it was opened by pushing on one side or pulling on the other […] It was almost exclusively for our use” (26). This passage shows the intimate and trusting relationship Capitu and Bento have as children. Through the fact that there is no lock or latch, the author conveys the unabashed confidence in each other between the two children. Whilst mentioning how the door is capable of opening from both sides emphasizes that the affection is mutual. The fact that the door is for their use exclusively, underscores the significance of the relationship as exclusive and unique. Extrapolating this topic, the introduction of Ezequiel de Sousa Escobar as a crucial person in Bento’s life is conveyed in a similar fashion. Bento writes of how Escobar pushes himself into Bento’s life.

[…] since the doors had neither keys nor locks, all that was needed was to push them, and Escobar pushed and entered. I found him inside, and here he stayed, (107)

The image of a door with no locks or keys represents the unconditional nature of the characters’ relationships and is used solely for Capitu and Escobar. Although Machado de Assis uses a physical door in Capitu’s case and a metaphorical door in Escobar’s case the common image reaffirms the importance of these two characters in Bento’s life.

While doors can represent the strength and trust of a relationship they can also represent the failings of a relationship. The eventual dissolution of Capitu and Bento’s bond can be seen in their lack of trust and secrecy shown in an instance when Escobar comes to visit and Capitu hides in the shadows. Bento’s interpretation of Capitu’s behavior in this instance is suggests that Capitu hiding from him and spying on him. “It was Capitu, who had been watching us for some time from behind the shutters, and now had opened the window and appeared” (134). We can also see additional instances of Bento’s contribution to the eventual disintegration of their relationship as he was “standing beneath Capitu’s window and seeing a man on horseback pass, a dandy as we said at the time […] Others had passed by, and others would come later” (135). Bento is standing beneath Capitu’s window and although his presence is still there, he is beyond her range of sight, spying on her just as she on him previously with Escobar. In this case, the window represents the relationship’s communication or the lack there of, between the two characters. As Bento is concealing himself while observing Capitu, the communication is not reciprocated and thus the relationship is not fully functional.

In addition to the way that Machado de Assis uses doors and windows to communicate, Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez uses these elements to convey the relationship between an individual and a group of people. He also uses the objects as symbolic barriers or entrances, primarily as a means of escaping or an obstacle preventing escape.

I would see her again year after year during my Christmas vacations, and every time she seemed more destitute in the window of her house, (32)

Angela Vicario is trapped inside her home, staring out the window – a symbol of her captivity – the irony is that she can see the outside world as the window is transparent, but she can not join that world. The window is not only a physical barrier to the world outside Angela’s room, it is also a symbolic barrier for Angela’s constricted and controlled life. As well, the relationship between Angela and the town can be represented by how her room is not on the ground floor, creating a situation where she is constantly looking down upon the outside world, removed and alone. The fact that she is constantly at this window, signifies her desire to be free of this barrier. However, instead she is treated as if she were a delicate creature in a cage, being handed from one person to another. After the discovery that she is not a virgin on their wedding night, Bayardo takes Angela home to her family however,

Bayardo San Rom�n didn’t enter, but softly pushed his wife into the house with 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. (46)

It is evident in this excerpt that Bayardo does not make Angela a priority, instead, he holds her family in higher regard, objectifying Angela.

As well, in Chronicle of a Death Foretold the doors and windows are used to represent the intentions and thoughts of a group of individuals.

Someone who was never identified had shoved an envelope under the door with a piece of paper warning Santiago Nasar that they were waiting for him to kill him. (14)

This segment shows how the town has knowledge of the upcoming murder but never puts a substantial effort into preventing it. With this small mentioning of an envelope of warning, the reader is aware of the town’s thoughts and intentions in general without actual testimony from any townspeople. This passive act of sliding the note under the door symbolizes the town’s reluctance to take any significant action to prevent the murder, although an intention to aide Santiago existed. Without going delving into each individual townsperson’s mind, the author has managed to give the reader a strong impression of the town’s intentions using simple passages incorporating doors and windows.

In addition, in no other event does a door play such a pivotal roll in the resulting action in a novel than the most important event of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the stabbing of Santiago Nasar. “Then she ran to the door and slammed it shut. […] she thought he was upstairs […] in his room. She went to help him” (117). Throughout the novel, the townspeople have been turning their backs to the situation of Santiago Nasar and now finally the inadvertent actions of his own mother who in an effort to save him, literally closes the door on him, which results ultimately in his death. This is the ultimate betrayal, however unintentional. Even after Santiago is stabbed, he manages to stumble to the kitchen door, the one he regularly uses, to finally die there. The actions of Pl�cida Linero reflect her relationship with Santiago – as an inauthoritative mother figure who has good intentions and means well but her actions do not end as well.

The inclusion of one character’s or a group of characters’ interactions utilizing doors and windows are a powerful addition to understanding character relationships and a character’s inner thoughts and intentions. There are numerous ways in which this pattern of symbolism through architectural elements can be used to effectively convey character relationships and thoughts. After examining the various instances where doors and windows are featured in Dom Casmurro and Chronicle of a Death Foretold it can be stated that content in Dom Casmurro emphasizes the individual relationships whereas in Chronicle of a Death Foretold there is a tendency towards symbolizing groups of people. Although there are also other methods in which a reader may chose to acquire their impressions on character relationships, the importance of doors and windows may often be overlooked and underestimated for their significance as symbols in literature.