In Garcia Márquez's novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the different roles of men and women in 1950s Latin American society are highlighted by various personages. The perpetrator of a young bride is murdered to save the honor of the woman and her family. Apparently, in Colombia in the 1950s, men were expected to take care of the family and protect family dignity, while women were raised to marry and maintain the home. In this novel, Garcia Márquez uses his characters as tools to show cultural gender roles within the Chronicle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The men represented by Garcia Márquez are expected to defend the family's honor, no matter the cost. With this premise in mind, Garcia Márquez created the Vicario twins, Angela's brothers. Garcia Márquez highlights the theme of “twins” with the Vicario brothers to convey a motif of duality. This double-sided sense concerns the fact that there are two brothers (twins), but it also has a deeper meaning; kids have two ways of thinking about murder. On the one hand, they believe that killing Santiago is necessary to redeem their family's honor. On the other hand, the Vicario brothers don't really want to kill Santiago; the severity of the situation (determined by their cultural norms) practically forces them to do so. Clotilde remarks, “She was certain that the Vicario brothers were not so anxious to carry out the sentence as to find someone who would do them the favor of stopping them” (Márquez 57). The boys attempt to avoid killing Santiago on numerous occasions, first announcing at the market that they would actually carry out the murder (a ploy that could lead to preventing the murder). They also conveniently tell their plan to twenty-two people. Despite their struggle, defending her sister's honor is more important than going to prison for murder. The Vicarios are primarily concerned with matters of family reputation, while Pablo's fiancée and other members of society worry about being associated with them. Pedro Vicario, “the most energetic of the brothers” (28), almost refuses to carry out the plan to kill Santiago. Pablo, surprisingly, steps forward and convinces his brother to accept the plan: “So he put the knife in his hand and dragged him away almost by force to look for his sister's lost honor” (49). This shows that cultural norms come even before the emotional well-being of twins. In just this way, Garcia Márquez uses the Vicario brothers to exemplify the expectation of men to uphold honor in this society. Garcia Márquez also employs various other male characters to enact the theme of men dominating women. One of the most relevant characters here is Santiago Nasar, the protagonist of the story. While we never truly find out whether Santiago is guilty of deflowering Angela, his reputation doesn't help his case much. Santiago is known for his intrusive passes towards young women in the village, including Divina Flor. Divina's name is symbolic for her purity, which can be starkly juxtaposed with Santiago's aggressive sexuality. Indeed, Santiago's sexual advances towards women demonstrate the normality of men using women as objects in this society. Another important character in light of this theme is Bayardo San Roman. Bayardo practically forces Angela to marry him when the two don't even know each other. He buys his love with expensive things, but doesn't take the time to truly appreciate her; think his money and good lookswill be enough. This maneuver shows how men expected women to want to marry them just for wealth and looks, once again demonstrating a woman's expectation of marriage. There are other ways in which Garcia Márquez draws on the Vicariofamiglia as a primary example of gender roles. Angela Vicario is perhaps the character in Death Foretold who most clearly demonstrates the expectations on women in the community. Angela's name literally means "angel", which is extremely ironic given her situation. However, Angela's name is not simply a contradiction to her true self; she also reflects on the expectations of the people around her. The villagers assume that Angela is pure and angelic; one of the most important values ​​in this society is virginity. Women were expected to remain chaste until marriage, and this sacred idea held a crucial place in this city. The first example of the importance of virginity was Angela's discretion. Angela Vicario's name symbolizes the expected gender role assigned to young women in Chronicle society. Garcia Márquez also uses Pura Vicario to develop this theme. Pura has a social obligation to take care of her daughter and ensure that her family follows society's rules. Its name is also symbolic and means "pure". Of course, Pura's frustration and anger towards Angela could be based on how important purity is to her. Make it original! We will create a custom essay on “Gender Roles Described in “Chronicles of Death Foretold”” written to your specifications.Order Custom EssayGarcia Marquez uses various other somewhat more minor female characters to exemplify the theme of female virtue and its importance social. Another interesting character here is Prudencia Cotes. The name Prudencia means prudent, a quality that can certainly be applicable in her situation. Prudencia states during her interview with the narrator, “I would never have married him if he hadn't done what a man should do” (62). Prudencia's very name suggests that her faith is considered wise, cunning, and good-sense by the people of the city. This further emphasizes this society's confusing value in defending honor. It also further demonstrates the expectation of men to uphold honor. A final female character who exemplifies cultural gender roles is Clotilde Armenta. Clotilde shares ownership of a dairy with her husband. During the day, milk is the main product of the shop. Garcia Márquez uses milk to symbolize female education; Clotilde watches over the twins in a certain sense, telling them not to kill Santiago in front of the bishop, and confiding in the colonel that none of the boys really want to commit the murder. At night, the dairy turns into a bar, where alcohol is the main product. Alcohol generally symbolizes violence and turmoil and is known as a “man's drink”. Clotilde's shop symbolizes the contrast between men and women in this society. A third female character employed is Divina Flor, whose name actually means “Divine Flower”. Divina is another example of society's expectations of women; she is pure and chaste and rejects Santiago Nasar's aggressive advances. Through the use of female characters, Garcia Márquez demonstrates the cultural gender roles assigned to women. In almost all cultures, a series of fundamental gender roles have influenced the lives of ordinary people from youth; in some cultures, these rules are as concrete as the law. The culture represented by Garcia Márquez exemplifies the traditional roles of cooking, cleaning, and raising children that were performed by.