Plot in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

636 Words3 Pages
The non-linear story, narrated by an anonymous character, begins with the mourning of Santiago Nasar's death. He wakes up from an ostensibly meaningless dream of trees. The reader learns that Santiago lives with his mother, Placida Linero; the cook, Victoria Guzman, and the cook's daughter, Divina Flor. Santiago's father, Ibrahim, is dead; after Ibrahim's death, Santiago took over the successful family ranch. The day of Santiago Nasar's death also happens to be the day the Bishop plans to come by boat, to bless the marriage of Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman—though his blessings, as the reader learns later on, will be of no use. As the town prepares for the Bishop's arrival, Angela's twin brothers Pedro and Pablo sit in the local milk shop in order to watch for Santiago, so that they may carry out their plans to murder him. The reader gradually learns of Angela Vicario's story: her groom, Bayardo San Roman, was a foreigner who had come to town to find a bride. After finding Angela, Bayardo decided to marry her; his wealthy status compared with the relative poverty of the Vicarios left no choice for Angela's freedom, and thus they were planned to wed. The night before the wedding day, festivities in preparation for the wedding had taken place at a local whorehouse run by Maria Alejandrina Cervantes, where the narrator had partied with Santiago and the Vicario twins until the early morning. The Vicario twins had left and returned home to find that their sister had been quietly returned by Bayardo San Roman in disgrace, after he found that she was not a virgin as had been expected. When asked who was the man that deflowered her, Angela Vicario says that it was Santiago Nasar. Thus the twins, in the wake of their family's disgrace, began planning their murderous revenge. Once morning arrives, the twins set about town, repeatedly announcing their plans to
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