Postmodernism and
non-linear construction
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Postmodernism
• “a style of thought which is
suspicious of classical notions of
truth, reason, identity and
objectivity of the idea of
universal progress or
emancipation, of single
frameworks, grand narratives or
ultimate grounds of explanation”
-Definition from literary critic
Terry Eagleton
• Following WWII, Great Depression, rise of
communism, the (European and American)
West saw a crumbling faith in institutions
• Re-evaluation of Western ideological
touchstones – religion, individualism,
objectivity, truth
• Postmodern philosophy (emerged in 60s but
gained popularity in 70s, 80s) is
characterised by a critical probing of the
past and a skepticism of ideas of absolute
• Some scholar’s see the Narrator’s skeptical,
hesitant, and incomplete reconstruction of
Santiago’s murder as a reflection of this
• Consider the sheer unreliability of testimony,
individual stories, and institutions
Philosophical/literary tenets
• Grand, totalising narratives that explain our history and purpose should be treated with skepticism
• No ideas or works of art should be treated as sacred
• Many of the ideals, narratives, and images that dictate our understanding of ourselves are mere
replications of past ideals, narratives, and images (pastiche)
• Given the barrage of images with which we are assailed on a daily basis, we cannot even be sure
of our identity and values (fashion, advertising, social media)
• Much of our identity is therefore a simulated reconstruction (or simulacra) of ideas that aren’t
even our own to begin with
• Postmodern literature rejected narrative and structural conventions, favouring parody, genrebending and subversion
What did this look like in literature?
• Use of metafiction (fiction about a work of fiction)
• Unreliable narration
• Self-reflexivity or self-reference (the tendency of a text to comment on its fictional nature,
construction, or relationship with the reader)
• Pastiche – the playful mixing of genres and styles
• Narrative fragmentation – narrative arcs seem incomplete, unresolved, or preclude a sense of
closure
• Simulacra and simulation – Exploring the collapse of reality and representation
• And the big one… non-linearity! More on this soon
Discuss: What does the highlighted quote suggest?
Pedro Vicario asked to borrow her [Clotilde's] husband's
shaving implements, and she brought him the brush, the
soap, the hanging mirror, and the safety razor with a new
blade, but he shaved with his butcher knife. Clotilde
Armenta thought that was the height of machismo. "He
looked like a killer in the movies," she told me.
Ways we can
include a
direct
discussion of
the textual
construction
in our essays
1. Non-linearity to disorient and confuse the
reader
2. Non-linearity to allow for a plurality of
voices/perspectives
3. Non-linearity to reflect the narrator’s process
of investigation
4. Non-linearity as a rejection of genre tropes
5. Non-linearity to reinforce social critique
Non-linearity to allow for a plurality of
voices/perspectives
• Marquez chose to write the text in a non-linear
fashion in order to allow the perspectives /
observations of many different character drift in
and out of the reader’s focus
suggests that a ‘true‘ chronicle of events can only
be arrived at by considering the subjective
viewpoints of all those involved.
• This forces the reader to consider a plurality of
different views on the events of the text, and also
makes them decide who to trust as a source of
information (again, like the narrator)
• By not having one single ‘view’ into the
happenings of the text (aside from the narrator,
whose personal thoughts are often difficult to
disentangle from those of others), Marquez
Can be related to essay topics /
paragraphs discussing:
-The nature of truth
-Social Contracts (honour,
reputation, gender roles)
-The narrator’s role in the text
Non-linearity to reflect the narrator’s process
of investigation
• Given the fact that we follow the thoughts and actions
of the narrator most closely (of all characters in the
text), telling this chronicle in a non-linear manner allows
for the reader to assume the role of investigator, judge,
perhaps even jury.
This can be connected to an understanding of the
skepticism that many postmodernist texts have towards
‘grand narratives’ to obliterate nuance and detail.
• By making the reader take on this role of ‘solving the
puzzle’, Marquez highlights how difficult it can be to
meaningfully arrive at the ‘truth’ or the ‘answer’ about
something that happened years ago
• Consequently, the reader is made highly aware of the
unreliability of the memories of characters, the
unreliability of the sources the narrator consults, and
the impossibility of meaningfully resolving the ‘case’.
Can be related to essay topics / paragraphs
discussing:
-The nature of truth
-Postmodern text
-The narrator’s role in the text
Memory
Non-linearity as a rejection of genre tropes
• CoaDF is a text that is highly conscious of its participation
in a variety of genres:
• Murder Mystery / Detective Novel
• Historical Fiction
• Romance?
• Marquez, however, does not simply reproduce the tropes
of these genres. Instead, he deliberately undermines them
by subverting the expectations of his readers.
• The murder is no mystery
• The history is mixed up with the supernatural /
fate
• The love story is ultimately left unresolved, its
ending highly ambiguous
• All the above are either directly caused, or supported by the
non-linear structure of the narrative
Can be related to essay topics / paragraphs
discussing:
-Genre
-Guilt / responsibility for the murder
-Magic Realism
-Performativity (Gender, Honour,
Justice)
Non-linearity to reinforce social critique
• The non-linear structure of the text means
that the core question one typically asks of a
murder narrative is answered from the very
start – the reader knows ‘who dunnit’
• Therefore, the tension of the narrative
instead centres on the question of ‘how was
this allowed to happen?’ or ‘why did no-one
prevent the death that was “foretold”
• This focusses the attention of the narrator
and the reader on the roles that characters we
know did not do the murder played in allowing
this murder to happen, and therefore
emphasises the 'guilt’ of the town / society
as a whole.
Can be related to essay topics /
paragraphs discussing:
-Guilt / responsibility for the
murder
-The narrator’s role in the text
-Social Contracts / Conventions
Incompetence vs. Malice
1. Marquez constructs his narrative in such a way that both
the characters and the reader of the text are left
disoriented and confused about the events of the novel.
Topic Sentences
2. Chronicle of a Death Foretold presents its narrative through a
number of voices, each of which showing a different
point of view on the murder and its consequences.
Choose any 3 of the
following topic
sentences.
3. Marquez’s decision to use a non-linear structure in
Find 3-4 quotes /
pieces of evidence for
each.
4. Marquez’s postmodern subversion of the tropes of a
Choose 1 to write out
as a full analytical
paragraph.
Chronicle mirrors the process used by his Narrator, thereby
highlighting the difficulties associated with accurately
reconstructing events of the past.
‘crime novel’ reinforces the text’s more general
destabilisation of traditional narratives.
5. By crafting a chaotic and pluralistic narrative, Marquez
suggests that no single authoritative voice exists to tell the
readers what ‘really’ happened in the murder of Santiago
Nasar.
Do now:
Write pair share –
Thinking back to your
first encounter with
Chronicle, what effect did
the non-linear structure
have on your reading
experience?
Essay Practice
SC: I can plan and write an essay which considers textual
construction
Choose one of the following essay topics – plan and write an essay on it. Due
Friday this week.
You must include a paragraph which uses textual construction as a focus /
piece of evidence.
1) “I had a very confused memory of the festival before I decided to rescue it
piece by piece from the memory of others.”
Chronicle of a Death Foretold suggests that it is impossible to create a
truly accurate account of the past. Discuss.
2) “… I returned to this forgotten village, trying to put the broken mirror of
memory back together from so many scattered shards.”
To what extent does the narrator succeed?