Significance of dreams in chronicle of a death foretold

A Passage from the Story

“ON THE DAY THEY WERE GOING TO KILL him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on. He'd dreamed he was going through a grove of timber trees where a gentle drizzle was falling, and for an instant he was happy in his dream, but when he awoke he felt completely spattered with bird shit. "He was always dreaming about trees," Placida Linero, his mother, told me twenty-seven years later, recalling the details of that distressing Monday. "The week before, he'd dreamed that he was alone in a tinfoil airplane and flying through the almond trees without bumping into anything," she said to me. She had a well-earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people's dreams, provided they were told her before eating, but she hadn't noticed any ominous augury in those two dreams of her son's, or in the other dreams of trees he'd described to her on the mornings preceding his death. Nor did Santiago Nasar recognise the omen. He had slept little and poorly, without getting undressed, and he woke up with a headache and a sediment of copper stirrup on his palate, and he interpreted them as the natural havoc of the wedding revels that had gone on until after midnight. Furthermore: all the many people he ran into after leaving his house at five minutes past six and until he was carved up like a pig an hour later remembered him as being a little sleepy but in a good mood, and he remarked to all of them in a casual way that it was a very beautiful day (Marquez 2).”

Critical Analysis of the Passage

From the above passage, Santiago is going to be murdered but this fact is almost obscured by other details. Therefore, both Santiago and the reader have to wait till all the events unfold in order to really find out what would become of his fate. In this passage, the murder is foretold at the beginning of the story even before it takes place later on. The speaker examines and interviews several individuals, including Santiago’s mother, his cook, the priest, and Santiago’s friend. While the narrator states that Santiago will eventually be killed, he wakes up like any other normal day. Most deaths often strike people unaware, and so is Santiago’s death. On this fateful day, Santiago wakes up early in the morning in readiness for the boat which is expected to bring the bishop. This attests to the fact that humans are often uncertain of the future.

Due to humans’ inability to foretell their future or fate, they often resort to superstitions and dream interpretations. On the day that he will meet his death, Santiago Nasar wakes up as early as 5:30 AM to wait for the boat which is to bring the bishop. The night before, he had a terrible dream about trees. Thereafter, he wakes up with a headache. Some people recall that the weather seemed to be cloudy that morning, while others suggest that it was okay. However, Santiago is in a good mood although he is about to meet his death. Santiago is dressed in a shirt and pants of white linen, similar to the ones that he had put on during the wedding day. He then proceeds to his mother’s house to ask for an aspirin to relieve his headache. These sequences of events, ranging from the horrific dreams, to the headache and cloud and chilly weather, are ominous of what is yet to befall him.

According to the recollections of both the narrator and individuals who were present in the town, the killing of Santiago was unnecessary, because he was not at fault. Therefore, this passage presents a work of magical realism, in which Marquez (2) employs supernatural concepts such as superstitions, bad omens, as well as religiosity to relay the town’s response to the murder, and to stress on its hesitance to deter the murder due to such concepts. One case of superstition in the passage is when Santiago’s mother tries to interpret Santiago’s dream. However, she ends up misinterpreting it.

Santiago’s mother recollects that on the morning of Santiago’s death, he had dreamed that he was going through a grove of timber trees in which gentle drizzles were falling. In that instant, Santiago was excited and felt contented in his dream. However, when he woke up, he felt the exact opposite of what her mother had professed. For instance, he states that in the dream, she was completely spattered with bird shit (Marquez 2). The contrast of the cool and delightful dream, and the reality of waking up spattered with bird shit is utilized to foretell the death of Santiago. This is because it suggests that while his dream seemed to be characterized by peace and tranquility, the reality was the exact opposite, suggesting that his day could turn unfortunate as his morning.

From an ironical perspective, Santiago’s mother misinterprets the dream, although she claims to have possessed strong reputation as an accurate interpreter of others’ dreams. Nonetheless, she fails to take note of any premonition or augury in the two dreams of her son or in the dreams of trees that he had earlier on described to her on the morning that preceded his death (Marquez 2). Santiago’s mother goes ahead to state that dreams that concern birds often suggest good health.

Work Cited

Márquez, Gabriel García. Chronicle of a death foretold. London: Penguin UK, 2014.