Narrative Techniques in Gabriel García Márquez's Novel

Contextualization of the Work

This piece is excerpted from the second chapter of the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, written by Gabriel García Márquez (Aracataca, Colombia, 1928) in 1981. This author was one of the initiators of the Latin American Boom of the narrative of the 60s. Among the highlights of this literary moment observed in the text, we find magical realism (the best left behind with twenty strokes back and forth across the river and in the exaggerated description of the virtues of a character).

Characteristics of the Literary Genre

Another feature of the novel which appears in this fragment is the constant change of narrative perspective. The facts are presented from an omniscient position, recounting the events in the third person. Although the narrator, in many parts, becomes a character witness to be included in the story using first-person pronouns ("My mother wrote me, telling me..."). We note that the mother also becomes a storyteller over time, and through the direct style, she gives her view of events.

Temporal Linearity and Setting

Within the narrative, we see the breakdown of temporal linearity, a feature present throughout the novel, with continuous leaps in time. This scene recalls events that occurred before the death of Santiago Nasar, specifically when Bayardo San Román comes to town.

Virtually the entire play takes place in the same place: the town. This passage puts us in several places: the school where the narrator was, the film about his life that Bayardo mentioned, and the river where he challenged the narrators.

Key Characters and Narrative Techniques

As a final narrative technique, the characters that appear are:

• Bayardo San Román: Portrayed as cultured, gallant, and rich. In the excerpt, we see through the memories of a character the stir his presence caused in town.
• The Narrator: Who, as we know, becomes a character witness.
• Luisa Santiago: The mother of the narrator and the deceased's godmother.

Finally, it should be noted that although he does not appear in this section, the undisputed star of the play is Santiago Nasar, who is remembered through the delineations of the other characters.