1. Betrayal and Loyalty in Chronicle of a Death Foretold By Rosie Samuel

2. Betrayal There are various examples of betrayal in Chronicle of a Death foretold, with some far more obvious than others. To fully understand the importance of the acts of betrayal that take place, the setting and time of the novella is crucial. In today's society, we may not imagine some of the acts of betrayal in this tale to be considered a ‘big deal’. However, this is very different within the novella. Other factors like honour were hugely important, so one may commit acts of betrayal or loyalty to keep certain honour.

3. If we look at the tale in chronological order, the first act of betrayal we witness is Angela telling her brothers the person who took her virginity was Santiago Nasar. We as readers are led to believe he is innocent, so Angela is betraying him, as she knows it will most likely result in his death, due to honour. She is also betraying her brothers slightly, as she is lying to them. It could also be said that Angela betrayed Bayardo, as she agreed to marry him even though she was aware she was not a virgin, meaning he wouldn’t want her.

4. On a broader scale, it can be said that the whole of the community betrays Santiago Nasar. Despite everyone worrying about him, no one directly warns him until it’s too late. If the members of the community worry about him like they claim, someone would have warned him straight away, whether they thought he knew or not. This betrayal contradicts the idea of the close, loyal community we assume there is.

5. Loyalty As well as various acts of betrayal, there are also several acts of loyalty within the novella. One of the acts of loyalty we witness is Angela’s mother helping her to try and deceive her husband-to- be about her virginity. Angela’s mother is aware of the consequences if Angela is discovered, and puts aside her own feelings to help Angela. Another act of loyalty is Cristo searching for Santiago to warn him of the Vicario twins plans. He appears to be the only character that goes out of his way to help Santiago, and not just ‘gossip’ about it.

6. The single most important act of loyalty in the story is Angela’s twin brothers murdering Santiago Nasar. This is where we really realise the importance of the historical context. At the time, honour was very important – far more important than in today's society. The only way to restore Angela’s honour is to murder Santiago, so it seems the obvious choice for the twins. It proves their loyalty to Angela, though we cannot be sure how much of this is their love for their sister, or for the family's reputation.

7. The fact that there is so much betrayal as well as loyalty could be Gabriel Garcia Marquez pointing out issues with society. As well as the acts of betrayal committed, Marquez makes other negative references to the society and culture of the time such as the uncaring Bishop and that money is the most important thing.