Chronicle of a Death Foretold  

AoE: Time & Space  
The purpose of this assignment is to increase your schema in order to help you understand the nuances 
of the historical and cultural allusions and context within the novel. Your goal is to explore each topic 
through online articles and videos as a form of background research.   
 

#1:   
Novel 
Genres  Genre #1: Magical Realism  
 
In addition to being considered a part of the postmodern 
genre of literature, ​Chronicle​ also falls within two other 
completely different genres! The first one is called Magical 
Realism. Based on simply the title of the genre, make an 
inference​ as to what this writing style may involve:  
- I think that this writing style may involve realistic 
elements as well as false elements that make it seem 
magical. For example, maybe they might overdramatize 
a real event to make it more enjoyable. I think it is 
mixing real elements with false elements. 
Next, check out this short 5-minute ​video​ to learn more about 
the genre:   
 
1. Briefly explain the difference between magical realism 
and surrealism:  
- Magical realism focuses on the mysterious nature of 
commonplace objects and occurrences while surrealism 
depicts the psychologically internal and subconscious 
realities.  
2. Bullet-point FOUR characteristics of Magical Realism: 
● Stories often contain authorial retinas in which the 
author or narrator withholds certain information and 
detail in order to create a more natural and realistic 
narrative  
● Depicts a world that is realistic and our own yet 
contains supernatural elements. more fantastic elements 
were incorporated 
● The narrator and those subjected to the magic are 
never surprised by the fantastic elements which 
surround them  
● reader listener or viewer accepts them as well because 
they are not surprised. 
3. Briefly explain how Magical Realism is NOT fantasy: 
- It is not like fantasy because Magical realism is a reality 
like ours sprinkled with out of place and indescribable 
yet believable elements of magic, unlike fantasy which 
often creates an entirely different and inacceptable 
world. 

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Then, review this short ​article​, cut and paste the most 
significant quote (and yes, there is definitely a key passage in 
the article!) and comment on the author’s main idea:   
“García likes the principles of surrealism but not the surrealists 
themselves. Given a choice, he prefers the painters to the 
poets, but he does not think of himself as being like any of 
them. And it is true that his work is based more on the 
anecdote than in the symbolic or random flow of events so 
important to the surrealists; true also that his aim is to be 
accessible, not obscure. And yet, a surreal quality, a rendering 
of the improbable and impossible as real, pervades his work.” 
This shows how his work has com fantasy elements but he does 
not write exactly like a surrealist. He also adds realistic 
elements because he wants people to understand and relate to 
the story that he is trying to tell. He has surreal qualities all 
throughout his work but he also adds realistic elements 
because he is trying to relate to the real world. 
 
Genre #2: Pseudo-Journalistic Reconstruction 
 
Research the word ​pseudo​ and write the definition below: 
- Not actually but having the appearance of false, 
pretended, unreal, spurious, sham, almost, approaching, 
trying to be. 
Now, seeing that the word journalism is hyphenated with it, 
what is implied about the writing style of ​Chronicle​? 
- It is implied that the writing style of a chronicle is like 
false journalism. It may also be implied that the 
Chronicle may be telling false news or false facts. The 
narrator may not be reliable. 
Last, skim through this short ​article​ (though you really only 
need to read paragraphs #1 & #6) and explain what the term 
reconstruction​ means:  
- The term reconstruction is the way in which an author 
chooses to construct the past. They can choose to 
construct in any way. Reconstructing is when they try to 
construct the life of something. They can change things 
in it. It is like they are rebuilding the past to tell the 
story. 
Now, put it all together! In ​one concise sentence​ explain what 
the genre of pseudo-journalistic reconstruction means:  
- Pseudo-journalistic reconstruction is the false reporting 
of the way a story is told or constructed. 
 

#2:   
Author’s 
Biography  Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 
CHOOSE ONE: 
#1: Read over ​Marquez’s brief bio​ and choose three interesting 
& relevant facts to discuss:  

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● “​He was inspired by the way she "​ treated the 
extraordinary as something perfectly natural"​ and filled 
their house with stories of ghosts, premonitions, and 
omens.” This is interesting because he is probably going 
to implement this in his novel. He is probably going to 
treat something that we believe is drastic as if it does 
not matter. 
● “Marquez received a top-notch education, eventually 
graduating from law school.” This is interesting because 
after doing all the work in law school he just decided to 
change what he wanted to do for his career. 
● “Palencia alleged that Marquez had unlawfully 
misappropriated Palencia’s life. The legal dispute 
lasted 17 years, with a Colombian court eventually ruling 
in Marquez’s favor.” I find this ironic because he had 
graduated from law school and then begun his career in 
writing only to end up in court once again. 
#2: Watch this dry, yet slightly humorous ​YouTube video​ and 
choose three interesting & relevant facts to discuss:  
● Garcia would integrate into his novels, the lesson that 
there is no greater burden than to have killed a man. 
This is important because it shows how he integrated his 
experiences as a child in his writing. 
● His grandparents had a great influence on him. His 
grandfather was more realistic while his grandmother 
was more about false things. This shows how he 
developed his writing sense because his grandparents 
had such different views on the world. 
● All of his writings were influenced by the time he spent 
with his grandparents. He talks about the solitude of the 
individual. 
 
 

 
The Bystander Effect:  
First, skim over this article in ​Psychology Today​ and explain in 
#3:  your own words the definition of the term ​bystander effect​, as 
Key  well as how the concepts of ​diffusion of responsibility​ and 
Concept  social influence​ relate to it.  
- The bystander effect is when the presence of others 
discourages an individual from intervening in an 
emergency situation, against a bully, or during an 
assault or other crime. The greater number of 
bystanders, the less likely they are to do it. People are 

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more likely to take action if there are fewer people. This 

relates to the diffusion of responsibility because if there 
are more people around then everyone is just waiting 
for another person to take action. They will put the 
responsibility on someone else rather than taking action 
themselves. This relates to social influence because some 
people may not help with the fear of being made fun of 
or getting judged by others. They are afraid of what 
others may think. 
Next, watch this short ​YouTube video​ that shows the bystander 
effect in action and answer the three questions below-​-you will 
enjoy it if you like British people...  
1. Explain WHY people seem to unconsciously and 
unanimously follow the second rule?  
- People seem to unconsciously follow the second rule 
because they do not want to stand out from the crowd. 
They do not want to be seen as weird even if they know 
it is wrong to ignore someone. They are also afraid to 
get involved because they do not know what will happen 
if they will. Everyone wants to fit in so they just try to do 
what everybody else is doing. 
2. Then, explain WHY peoples’ attitudes seem to change 
and they then follow the first rule? Infer the 
psychological reason behind this shift in attitude:  
- People’s attitudes change to follow the first rule because 
then they do not feel so left out. If one person is doing it 
then they feel more comfortable and everyone wants to 
help because they will fit in if they do. Basically, 
everyone is too scared to stand out so if one person 
changes the course of action then many will follow. 
3. What main idea does the final example of the video 
display?  
- The main idea of the final example is that people want 
to help but they are too afraid to stand out from the 
crowd. It shows how everyone is just a follower and there 
are only a few leaders in this world. It shows how human 
nature is to try to fit in so if we see someone doing 
something then we’ll want to do the same things. We are 
basically just a bunch od copy-cats. 
 
 

#4:   
Cultural  
Background  Latin American Culture: 
 
#1: MACHISMO vs. MARIANISMO  
 
Review this informative ​prezi​ and answer the following 
questions:  
1. Define the term ​machismo​ and then summarize the 

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positive and negative aspects of this cultural concept:  

- Machismo- strong, provider, and protector for the 
family, decision-maker, and brave. The positive aspects 
of this concept are that you get to take care of the 
family, hold pride in raising children, and working hard 
to support the family. The Negative Aspects of this 
term are that it gives dominance over women, 
alcoholism, violence to women or family, and working 
only to bring money to family. 
2. Define the term ​marianismo​ and then summarize the 
positive and negative aspects of this cultural concept:  
- Marianisimo is the primary role of the woman in 
Hispanic culture. She is submissive, nurturing, religious, 
self-sacrificing, and the keeper of her husband and 
household. The positive aspects are that she passes 
down tradition, allows recipes to be generations old, 
and that it keeps families grounded to culture. The 
negatives are that women are more likely to be victims 
of domestic violence, women are blamed for bad 
behavior in men, and the only power they have are to 
produce life. 
Next, quickly skim over the section of this ​article​ titled “Men 
are expected to engage in illicit sex” and briefly discuss three 
interesting/relevant/shocking facts:  
● “The main application of this to Latin Catholicism is 
that sex, the act of “carnal knowledge,” is considered 
dirty and inherently sinful.” This is interesting because it 
shows how different religions react to the idea of sex 
and how different cultures view this act. 
● “​Machismo, this highly moralistic view of sex is actually 
applied only to women and priests.” It is said that this is 
really only applied to women and priests. Why do men 
get to do whatever they want while women have to 
follow certain rules? It is a double standard. 
● “Did not attempt to seduce a female would be 
considered by many as deficient or suspect as a “real 
man.” This is shocking because why would a man that is 
following the rules of religion be thought of as less of a 
man for not having sex. That is so dumb and really 
disgusting that men are only seen as masculine if they 
engage in these acts. 
 
#2: HONOR KILLINGS 
Watch this short ​video​ and answer the following questions:  
1. Explain the definition of ​Honor Killing:​   
- It is the murder of one family member by another due 
to a perceived shameful act by the victim upon their 
family or their community. In other words, this is when 
someone is killed for doing something that others do 
not approve of. Those with honor are viewed as good 
and those who arent are punished. It can happen if a 

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woman tries to escape from an arranged marriage. 

2. Explain the “larger issue” that contributes to honor 
killing, according to the video:  
- The larger issue is the subordinate role women play in 
society. Children are being taught that killing women in 
the name of honor is justifiable. These heinous acts 
could get worse in the future if children are taught that 
women could get killed for doing something wrong. 
If you find this topic highly interesting, check out this 
fascinating article​ on Machismo & Honor Killing! 

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minutes of your time and provide me some helpful feedback, I 
would appreciate it! Thanks! 
 
 

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