It is a journalistic account of an historical
murder that took place in Sucre,
Colombia
 It is a psychological detective story and
a work of allegorical fiction ( a
symbolical narrative)
 It’s has a unique, successful balance of
journalism and allegory; of history and
morality play




The generic components of the novel are
expressed stylistically
A sense of journalistic style is evident both
through Marquez’ detached/ isolated
portrayal of the daily habits of the town, and
the collaboration of time down to the minute;
for example, we know that Santiago woke up
at 5:30 in the morning to see the bishop, and
that he was dead by 7:05
Marquez’ flat tone style adds to the journalistic
approach, as well as the fact that he is always
concerned with showing us the “who, what,
where, how”.
Marquez is also concerned with the ‘why’,
which is the main mystery throughout the
novel; it compromises the psychological
component of the story; there is no mystery
to the story; we know who killed who and
why
 He more or less presents the social pressures
a work, allowing us only a glance into the
treatment of justice/ injustice instead of
allowing us a simple answer or judgement




The novel features a dislocation of events in a
chronological order; it is an unusual structure that
instead of unfolding chronologically, is released in a
kind of spiral
Each chapter has its own system of time, tending to
circle back on itself; For example, in the first
paragraph, we learn that Santiago woke at 5:30 a.m,
that he was killed on a Monday and that the narrator
is speaking from 27 years in the future
This obsession with time, in sync with the unusual
structure, suggests the contradiction that however
journalistically the events of the death are portrayed,
our knowledge can never be certain

THE OUTSIDER


THERESE RAQUIN


A first person narrative
Alienated; although we do NOT know
who the narrator is in COADF
A detached style of narrative- a scientific
portrayal of events with a distinct lack of
emotion and empathy with the reader
A scientific report that describes the
events of the novel without emotion, or
portrayal of the narrator’s thoughts and
feelings towards the characters; free
indirect discourse
We don’t know who is telling the story;
they are not involved with the plot