The novel "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is set in the 1950s in a small Colombian village near the sea. The narrator is investigating the murder of Santiago Nasar, a rich Arab. He was murdered by the Vicario brothers, who believed he had taken their sister's virginity, but there is insufficient evidence of this. The book is written in a journalistic style, as the narrator always mentions the full name of each person he interviews and always offers as many perspectives as possible. An emerging theme in the novel is the theme of religion and in particular the Catholic religion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first encounter the reader has with religion occurs in the first chapter, where the villagers await the arrival of the bishop. They made numerous preparations to honor the bishop, hoping that this year he would get off the boat. Their hopes were dashed, as once again he did not come down to greet them and appreciate the gifts. The bishop's moves on the boat are described as "mechanical", showing his indifference towards the town. This goes against the Catholic religion's beliefs of love and forgiveness. Furthermore, Márquez foreshadows Santiago's fate, since, as he states, "the people were too excited about the bishop's visit to worry about any other news", meaning that even though most of the villagers knew of their brother Vicar's intentions, they were too busy preparing for the bishop's arrival, hoping he would prevent this murder from happening. The second religious figure in the novel is Father Carmen Amador, whose role is very ironic. He chooses not to intervene and stop the two brothers, despite being aware of the entire plan. Later he even forgets to warn Santiago because he is distracted by the bishop's arrival. Father Amador even says that the Vicario brothers are "innocent... before God." His name is ironic, since in Spanish it means lover, however his name is very contradictory, since when he performs the autopsy on Santiago's corpse, he does it without any love, in a very violent way. Since his name means lover, he may have been the one who took Angela's virginity. This may be why he welcomed the Vicario brothers and forgave them in the name of God after the murder. Furthermore, being Angela's lover may have been the reason why she didn't warn Santiago or perform such a violent autopsy on his body. One of the most striking portrayals of religion in the novel is Santiago's resemblance to Jesus Christ. First of all, Márquez chose Santiago's name very carefully, because in Spanish Santo can be translated as "Holy", immediately linking his death to Christ. Furthermore, Nasar seems similar to Nazareth, the birthplace of Jesus. Being Arab, Santiago was seen as an outsider to the Colombian society around him, like Jesus. Some parts of the novel seem similar to the story of Christ according to the Bible, e.g. the roosters starting to crow in their baskets. This is similar to the roosters crowing three times before Jesus' death. According to the title, Santiago's death was predicted, which is similar to Jesus' prediction of his own death. Another way that makes Santiago comparable to Jesus is through his death, as it resembles the crucifixion of Christ. Pedro Vicario mentions “we killed him openly”, this is a similarity between the two, as Jesus was also killed openly. Even if the murder of Santiago did not happen in front of everyone, it can still correspond to Jesus, since the whole town knew about the murder, they were all spectators, but no one waswilling to act to defend Santiago. The most direct connection to Jesus is where it is mentioned that “he had a deep stab wound in his right hand, it looked like a stigma of the crucified Christ.” Another similarity between the crucifixion of Christ and it is precisely about Nasar's death that Marquez speaks: “the knife passed through the palm of his right hand and then sank into his side up to the hilt. Everyone heard his cry of pain,” this is very similar to the moment when the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross. Furthermore, when the two brothers were attacking Santiago, it is said that the knife he was being attacked with kept coming out clean, which is an example of magical realism that shows Santiago's magical talents. Santiago was "wounded to death three times", the number three can be linked to religion as it could symbolize the three times Jesus was denied by Saint Peter. In this case, Saint Peter would be the person who refused to stop the Vicario brothers. Another interpretation of the symbolism behind the number three and religion is that the devil tempted Jesus three times. Angela may be the devil, as she may have tempted Santiago to take her virginity, indicating that perhaps he is ultimately guilty. During the murder, Santiago looked as if he was nailed to the wooden door, this is closely related to the nailing of Christ to the wooden cross. Many people heard Jesus' last words on the cross and realized their wrong actions, similarly many people heard Santiago's screams and realized their mistake of being impassive. Furthermore, both Christ and Santiago showed no resistance during their deaths. Pedro Vicario also mentions that Santiago knew why they would kill him, which makes his death parallel that of Jesus, as he also knew why he would be killed. Furthermore, Márquez points out that Santiago had a magical talent, similar to the talent of Jesus. Another similarity between the two is that they both wore white on the day of their deaths. This symbolizes purity and may suggest that Santiago, similar to Jesus, was ultimately not guilty and was simply paying for the sins of others. Santiago died for Angela's sin and Christ for the sins of the people. This is a criticism of the two brothers' decision, as they refused to investigate Angela's claims further and were only concerned with the honor brought by their family name. In the novel it is ironic how all the citizens are very respectful towards religion and that it plays an important role in their lives. First, Angela's name means angelic, which is ironic given that she wasn't an angel. She was the reason for Santiago's murder. Most of his qualities, especially the fact that he had premarital sex, prove that he was the opposite. This connects to the interpretation of the Bible for the creation of the world, where Eve is tempted by the serpent, in this case Angela may have been tempted by Santiago to have premarital sexual relations. Furthermore, it is ironic how the way the Vicario brothers restore their honor is through murder, as they are breaking one of the Ten Commandments which states, "Thou shalt not kill." Immediately after the murder the two brothers run to church to confess, justifying their act with a question of honor and the Church accepts it, therefore it does not see that one of the Ten Commandments by which they live is broken. This shows that honor is so important in their society that they fail to act morally and according to God. Keep in mind: this is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To conclude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses various examples.