Chronicle of a Death Foretold Essay Example for Free

Chronicle of a Death Foretold Essay Animals: Humor, Symbolism, and other Literary Devices in Chronicle of a Death Foretold In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, utilizes the motif of animals as symbols: pigs for ironic humor, rabbits as foreshadowing, and many other animals to aid in description, characterization, and establishment of theme. ?Marquez uses pigs as motifs the novel. He makes a big deal out of the knives that Pablo and Pedro use while describing the murder. â€Å"The Vicario twins went to the bin in the pigsty where they kept their sacrificial tools and picked out the two best knives: one for quartering, ten inches long and two and a half inches wide, and the other for trimming, seven inches long and one and a half inches wide. They wrapped them in a rag and went to sharpen them at the meat market. † Marquez then goes into great detail about how they are pig knives used for killing pigs. This adds insult to injury for Santiago, being an Arab, thus being part of is a culture that considers pigs to be filthy. This is an example of the author’s ironic style of humor. ?Marquez provides an additional bit of ironic humor while Nasar is being slaughtered during the murder scene. â€Å"Trying to finish it once and for all, Pedro Vicario sought his heart, but he looked for it almost in the armpit, where pigs have it. † This further develops the cruel, ironic humor established by killing Nasar with pig knives, and is now being killed like a pig as well. Another use of pigs in the novel occurs when the Vicarios insist on having the wedding at their home, and in doing so are forced to have the ceremony in the pigpen. â€Å"‘[The] daughters would be married in the pigpen or they wouldn’t be married at all’†¦ The twins took the pigs off elsewhere and sanitized the pigsty with quicklime. † The Arab culture considers pigs to be filthy creatures, so Marquez continues to play on this belief by using the pigsty as a metaphor for the impurity of the marriage. Additionally, the parents rely upon the brothers to clean up both before the marriage, and after it’s destroyed by their sister’s untraditional actions, adding to the metaphor. Marquez also utilizes a rabbit similarly to the pig. Santiago walks into the kitchen for breakfast where Victoria Guzman, â€Å"had been quartering three rabbits for lunch. † â€Å"[Victoria Guzman] couldn’t avoid a wave of fright as she remembered Santiago Nasar’s horror when she pulled out the insides of a rabbit by the roots and threw the steaming guts to the dogs. † In this scene not only is Marquez is foreshadowing the killing of Nasar, but he’s also using irony to emphasize details of his violent and cruel demise. Marquez then adds to additional irony by showing Nasar’s opposition to this treatment of living or dead things when Guzman wonders how â€Å"a man accustomed to killing defenseless animals could suddenly express such horror†¦ She went on feeding the dogs with the insides of the other rabbits, just to embitter Santiago Nasar’s breakfast. † The emotions expressed by Nasar in this scene add to his and Victoria Guzman’s characterization: Nasar’s opposition to violence, and Guzman’s hidden despise for Nasar. Dogs are also a motif used by Marquez in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. One of the first scenes that Marquez utilizes the dogs in is the previously mentioned scene with Victoria Guzman feeding the guts of the rabbits to the dogs. But before she does this, Nasar tells her with regards to her actions, â€Å" ‘Don’t be a savage†¦ Make believe it was a human being. ’† This scene foreshadows Nasar’s killing, but then Marquez uses the dogs in a similar way on page 73, after the actual killing has occurred: â€Å"The dogs, aroused by the smell of death, increased the uneasiness. They hadn’t stopped howling since I [the narrator] went into the house, when Santiago Nasar was still in his death throes in the kitchen and I found Divina Flor weeping in great howls and holding them off with a stick. ‘Help me,’ she shouted to me. ‘What they want is to eat his guts. ’† The parallels between the two scenes add to the ironic humor Marquez creates. The dogs are often also used as a motif for the people in the town, especially regarding to their gossip and the way word spreads. As the Vicario brothers are leaving their house to sharpen their knives in preparation for killing Nasar, â€Å"they left by way of the pigpen gate, with their knives unwrapped, trailed by the uproar of the dogs in the yards. † It’s as if the dogs are people gossiping and spreading the word that Nasar is to be killed. This motif continues on page 67, where â€Å"The dogs barked at [Santiago Nasar] as usual when they heard him come in, but he calmed them down in the half light with the tinkling of his keys. † In this instance it’s as if people have the intent of warning Nasar, but nobody seems to be able to, and the word is continuing to spread to everyone but him. The dogs also represent the population when they are â€Å"aroused by the smell of death. † The people throughout the story get excited with the idea of a murder, and while many are opposed to the actual act of killing Nasar, they still find excitement in the event and act in accordance with their feelings: they spread the word like wildfire, nobody takes time to warn Nasar until it is too late, and then they gather to watch the act. They treat the entire thing like some exciting, thrilling event, not like a tragic and cruel act, as one would expect. They act like dogs with their animalistic group reactions to the events that take place. Marquez sums up these animalistic reactions on the last page of the book, as Nasar is walking through the neighbors’ house carrying his entrails. Poncho Lanao, the neighbor, recalls â€Å"‘the terrible smell of shit. ’† This recollection carries two related meanings. The first being the entire event ‘smelled bad’. It showed a terrible side of human behavior and leaves bad impressions on people who hear of it. This relates to the second, which comes back to people acting like animals. Animals are often described as smelling bad, or ‘like shit’, and from the way Nasar was killed to the way the people in the story acted, this entire event was extremely animalistic. Birds, in particular falcons, are also a motif in the story. In the dedication of Chronicle of a Death Foretold there is a quote from Gil Vicente, â€Å"The pursuit of love is like falconry. † This could mean that like in falconry, where the falcon learns to accept its role under its master, a woman must learn to accept its role as wife and lover under her husband. This belief, however, is one of tradition, and this novel is constantly bringing into question whether or not tradition is good or bad, right or wrong. This quote could also mean that it is up to somebody to go out and find a suitable lover, one will not just show up, just as a falconer must go out and seek a falcon. Another use of the falcon is on page 65, where the narrator, a friend of Nasar’s, warns him he should not sleep with Maria Alejandro Cervantes, someone who slept with many men his age. He tells Nasar, â€Å" ‘A falcon who chases a warlike crane can only hope for a life of pain. ’† This is again relating the falcon to love. This time, however, the falcon is the one doing the pursuing. Santiago’s friend is warning him that should he choose to be with this woman who sleeps with many men, he can expect to be hurt as a result. Similarly to the falcon, Marquez uses a hawk to characterize Nasar. When Nasar grabs Divina Flor in the front room, Marquez describes his hand as â€Å"the butcher hawk hand. † This goes back to the falcon motif with love. The description of Nasar as a hawk again is used on page 90: â€Å"He was a sparrow hawk. He went about alone, just like his father, nipping the bud of any wayward virgin who began showing up in those woods. † This similar to the last, compares Nasar to a hawk, a predatory animal that survives by preying on helpless animals. Nasar is being described as a man who goes from virgin to virgin, taking advantage of them, but never actually engaging in extended relationships with any of them. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses animals as motifs frequently throughout Chronicle of a Death Foretold to aid in his establishment of theme, characterization, emphasis of events, foreshadowing, and as means of humor. He utilizes a variety of animals, in particular the pig, rabbit, and birds to carry out this variety of literary functions.

Chernobyl Essay -- Nuclear Chernobyl History Essays

Chernobyl On April 26, 1986 disaster struck the world. It was not a disaster like any other before. A new type of death was now shown to the world. Although during World War II people encountered radiation sickness and death, that was sadly intended. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear powerstation was undoubtedly the worlds largest nuclear accident. That was the difference. It was accidental, and although innocent people were killed or made sick in the past from radiation, this would prove to be the most disastrous of any incident (other that war) involving radiation. First of all, I should tell you exactly where Chernobyl is. Chernobyl is a rather small town in the Ukraine right near Belarus. It is north of Kiev, the Capital of Ukraine. Kiev is only One hundred and ten kilometers away from Chernobyl and has a population of 2.4 million. Chernobyl’s population is 12,500. In 1986, 10 percent of all the worlds nuclear energy was generated by the USSR. By the year of the accident (also 1986) 4 reactors at Chernobyl’s power station were the most modern reactors to date. These are known as the RBMK type. RBMK is a Russian acronym and when translated roughly means â€Å"reactor cooled by water and moderated by graphite.† This is one of two types of reactors that Soviets have built for the production of nuclear power. The reactor is made up of Three main important parts. The reactor vessel- this houses all other reactor parts. The Core- this consitsts of a huge container filled with the graphite blocks and the Control Rods which are long metal rods. In the Chernobyl reactors, these rods contain boron. They help to control chain reactions by absorbing f... ...incident, put an end to the development of nuclear power plants. Since 1979 no new nuclear power plants have been builtâ€Å"...http://library.thinkquest.org/3426/data/worldwide-effects/rest.html The fact that no more nuclear power plants have been created has created a big issue. Eventually we may be forced to build a new one. In fact plans are already being discussed about how to go about building these or finding alternative energy sources. Storage is also a problem because of the nuclear waste, that no one wants to claim responsibility for, and no one wants to deal with the risks of it. (nimby) So in a few years, changes are going to occur, and I heard it here in class first. That when we hear about the National Guard escorting trucks to Alaska through Canada or trucks containing nuclear waste being escorted through highways, the change has begun.

Ghost Story Essay

Ghost Stories are really popular, and always have been for a very long time. Several reasons why ghost based novels and movies have been successful, is because many people like the thrill. People will pick up a novel or enter a cinema without knowing how you will fell after, kind of in a way†¦ similar to rollercoaster’s and why people go on them. People are just waiting for a break of normal day-to-day life and are craving some excitement. Nearly all ghost stories keep you suspended until the last moment, can’t wait to turn that hand and read the next page. This keeps the reader at there nerves, but still wanting to read the rest of the book, and finish it, then buy another, then do the exact same. People who sat that they have seen a ghost, just puts other people in a fixed mind set thinking how you would feel during a encounter with a ghost, how you would feel afterwards, would you tell anyone. People often say you get Goosebumps and go cold, and every noise you hear – you think someone is there, the fear factor is there. There is a number of factors to contribute to a good ghost story, a few of them are; Vocabulary – When the writer gives a good detailed account of what people are wearing, how the setting is, how the weather (is there pathetic fallacy? ). It will give the reader a better understanding of what’s actually going on and so they can then picture it in your head. Unpredictability – Twist’s in the story line, things to keep the reader asking questions after each page, and being answered at the end of the novel, twist’s that aren’t answered, sort of cliff hangers. Suspense and Development of Tension – this is a key factor because it’s mainly suspense and tension that the reader finds intriguing and what makes them turn the page. Being, again descriptive, going into every sentence as the reader was in the story not knowing anything. Build up of tension; writer would want the reader to feel agitated in specific parts, taking slow steps to describe things, keeping audience at the â€Å"edge of there seat†, and similarly the writer needs to develop the tension through his writing. There are Hundreds of Ghost Stories, old, modern, Traditional. The two Stories I am going to compare is â€Å"The Call†, and â€Å"The Old Nurse’s Story†, there are a few similarities, some of them are; The Ghost’s – In both stories, the ghosts are both lonely and seeking companionship, and they both got companionship in the end by taking over there victims. From The Call – â€Å"What the hell am I doing here? â€Å", Asked Meg, as if waking from a dream†. Meg was taken into a trance by the ghost, in this case by a telephone call. The ghost was pretending someone was down the River. â€Å"The Shepherds†¦ found Miss Maude sitting, all crazy and smiling, nursing a dead child†, – The child of Miss Maude taunts her mother. They take over venerable people, this is a way they trance there victims, after taking over victims, they take them away from there loved ones and family and follow orders from the ghost. This is effective because it adds a twist to the story, taking control over a special or loved person†¦ usually in some ghost stories they tend to take over total strangers and work from there, putting them into a trance and giving specific orders, Out of the ordinary. In â€Å"The Call†, the ghost died by her husband throwing her into the river. He threw her into the river because she had a bad leg and was no use to him. He wanted to see other women. In â€Å"The Old Nurses Story†, Lord Furnival wanted his wanted his daughter to marry a person of importance and wealth and to bring happiness into the house. She and her sister had started to take music lessons from a non-profitable tuition from Italy. They both fancied the tutor, but Mrs Maude decides that she wants more than that†¦ she loved him and wanted to marry him. The only thing that was stopping her was her father, Lord Furnival. The tutor is exactly the person he doesn’t want her daughter to marry. This is effective to the audience because the audience thinks there will be a standard ghostly plot, but this is different. This adds to the depth of the plot, it all based around the family and makes the reader want to know more, it is intriguing to the reader. †¦ Both of the victims are powerless against the ghosts. In â€Å"The Call†, the women with the dog, takes control of the wife working in the Samaritans Office. The husband and wife don’t do anything to stop the ghost; Harry just died and made the ghost go away. When the victims were put into a trance, they don’t want to fight it, rescue themselves†¦ in fact they want to be with the ghost more than their loved ones. This maybe the fact that the ghost just totally overwhelms them and takes 100% control over them. Meg went into a trance and didn’t come to tell her husband, that she was going to the river late at night. The women in both stories fall under the spell of the ghost. It was late at night and the phone rang. Meg answered it and it was a bit spooky because of the time and nature of the call; there was a mad woman on the phone and was saying that her husband’s going to kill her. The next couple of phone calls were getting Meg weirder and weirder. She snapped. She didn’t know what she was doing under the ghostly trance and she went to the river, towards the woman and dog. Both of the stories are set in very cold, bleak places, these give a kind of goolish, brutal and sick feeling. Most ghost stories are not set in cold, bleak places†¦ most likely an urban area. This is different. Both situated far from nothing with huge houses and massive land, Wealthy people. The coldness gives a sense of evil and dangerous. Pathetic fallacy is used to reflect the power of the weather, like when they are tranced, and taken over, the weather changes, gets colder, darker and mood and atmosphere changes. Something that was mentioned in the Introduction, about making a ‘good’ ghost story, was language. The language that both stories use a very descriptive language; so the reader knows/can imagine everything in there mind, â€Å"The bank is crumbling and the fence is rotting. â€Å", â€Å"The water stacked up, black smooth slightly steaming†¦ â€Å", â€Å"the stillness of the dead-cold weather†. Both writers use similes, metaphors and personification. â€Å"The Old Nurses Story† use’s old vocabulary, long sentences; this is more found of traditional old ghost stories. As for â€Å"The Call†, it uses simple vocabulary, not complicated to follow story line and modern with straight forward sentences.

Morality, Does It Change During The Pursuit Of Survival...

Morality, does it change during the pursuit of survival? As society members, we should applaud the efforts of individuals who attempt to succeed in times of hardships. However, we need to categorize them by the way in which they achieve these successes and not solely on the results. In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, A father and son are on a quest for survival after a catastrophic event wiped out most of the population and turned the land to ash. While struggling to survive in such a desecrate landscape, the father walks a fine line amongst the morals of a good guy vs a bad guy and often finds himself in precarious situations that test the moral codes of his good guy persona. By using the father’s willingness to use violence as a first resort, McCarthy argues that morals often change when faced with high leverage situations and as a result, the so called â€Å"good guys,† can no longer be identified as reliable sources when determining right from wrong. 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