The Death of Santiago Nasar

On the morning of bishop’s arrive; I hadn’t had a doubt about my death. I was feeling like I was insulted by Angela Vicario. I was walking with Cristo Bedoya after the bishop went through. Celeste Dangong was sitting in front of his door and he called me to have some coffee. I told him that I had to hurry to change my clothes to have breakfast with my sister. When we were passing his dry goods store, Yamil Shaium went out the store and his view was confused. He called Cristo Bedoya and I answered him. We made our played on words that we exchange whenever we meet. I said goodbye to both of them and I turned the corner of the square.

I went to the house of my fiancée, Flora Miguel to see her. I knew that they kept their house locked up every day, so I was planning to stretch my keys across the window screens to show Miguel that I came.  It was so strange that she invited me to the house and it was the first time that a person outside of their family entered that house at six forty-five in the morning. When I came in, she yelled at me: “I hope they kill you!” and I was shocked and baffled. She threw my letters to the floor. I felt like I was guilty and I wanted to catch her before she lock herself in her room. I knocked her door several times, and tried to call her but she didn’t come. With the loud voice of mine, the entire family members came there and Flora’s father ordered her to open the door and he walked in. The rest of the family were looking at me while I was picking up the letters and putting them back into the chest. After that, Nagil Miguel came out of the room and whole family disappeared with a hand signal of him. He asked me whether I knew that the Vicario brothers were planning to kill me. I was shocked again and these things were too much for me in a day with this hangover.  I just said that I didn’t understand anything and when I opened the door, I just said that it would be two against one: the Vicario brothers versus me.

I left Flora’s house while I was walking, I couldn’t find the way home because I was so confused and in a way, depressed. Someone shouted from a balcony to tell me the way that I must go, but I wasn’t able to realize and understand anything. My friend Yamil shouted me to get into his store and everybody was shouting me from every side. The voices were baffling me. I was walking toward the house and I was on the way to the kitchen door but I have realized that the main door was open when I was less than fifty yards from my house. Suddenly I heard someone shouting, and when I saw Pedro Vicario throwing Clothilde Armenta to the ground. I ran to the main door and the Vicario brothers ran after me with their knives out.  When I arrived to the main door, even I pounded it many times with my fists; I couldn’t open the door, because it was closed. I felt miserable and panic at the same time. I turned my face to them and I tried to guard myself with raising my hand when the knife thrust into my hand. After that Pedro thrust my body many times. I was feeling the pain at first, and I crossed my arms over my stomach, but then I couldn’t feel anything. When I turned my back to them I felt the knife at my back. I leaned my back against my mother’s door. I saw my own viscera and I fell on my knees. I wanted the get rid of the dust of the floor, so I stood up, and walked to the kitchen door of the next house. Lanaos were eating their breakfast and I passed by the table with smiling at them. Wenefrida Màrquez asked what happened to me and I said that they have killed me. Afterwards, I went into our house and I just remember that I was falling.

 Works Cited

García, Márquez Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. New York: Vintage International, 2003. Print.

The Taming of The Shrew, Tamed or Not?

Is Katherine Tamed?

            Taming of the Shrew is one of the well known plays of William Shakespeare and the “shrew” of the play who gives the book her adjective is Katherine. On this paper, some of the arguments which are supporting the idea of Kate is tamed by Petruchio will be given. If the characteristic properties of Kate at the beginning of the play are examined, it can be said that the difference between two characteristic values that are seen at the beginning and at the end can be accepted as solid evidence for whether she is tamed or not. If the initial characteristic values of Kate are examined, the list of the values can be stated as: shrew, self-centered, selfish, stubborn, irritable, angry, impatient and tactless. On the other hand, if a list of final characteristic values of Kate can be written, it would contain the adjectives: complaisant, pleasant, serene, and able to obey and someone with gratitude. Without taming her, that much change on the characteristics of person would be impossible.

By the progress of the play, she starts to accept everything that is said by Petruchio is true. She was so stubborn at the beginning. How a stubborn girl became a complaisant one? Petruchio didn’t give her the food she wants, the rest she needs and she have weakened by her husband. He showed only way to escape from staying in hunger as obeying what he says right after the word is finished.[1]When it was surely sun, Kate says “And be the moon, or sun, or what you please;/An if you please to call it a rush-candle,/Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me”( 224).  This part was a solid evidence of how her mind was focused on what Petruchio was thinking and even though it can be illogical, she was focused to accept t what is said by her husband as real and true.

In addition to the Petruchio-focused life of her, she always tries to be near to her husband as much as possible and she wants to keep him near her by obeying what he says. She wants her husband to stay with her and to pay attention to her when a decision becomes given about the issues related to her but only from on the basis of what Petruchio thinks or decides.[2] If she wants her ideas to be considered, Petruchio shows only two ways to achieve this to her: obeying what he says, doing what he wants by being the “wife” of him. So, Kate tries to do her best to carry out the things expected from her and to keep her husband near to her, interested in her situation. For example, when Petruchio wants a kiss at a public place, even though Kate was ashamed to kiss in front of the public, she kissed him and demanding him to stay with her by saying “Nay, I will give thee a kiss; now pray thee, love, stay”(246). As it can be seen, she obeys him, she does exactly what he expects from her and after this, she demands something from him.

 Moreover she focused her life at Petruchios as she doesn’t have an individual life for her, at the end of the book, the concept “husband” becomes everything of her and she devotes her life to do her “job as a wife”. If Katherine’s last monologue of the play is examined, one part gets attention at most: “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,/ Thy head, thy sovereign; on that cares for thee”(262). This part shows everything that has a big value in life for her became her husband. At that point, the idea of what if she was using irony at this part can be proposed. However, she was surrounded by the people that she new and she would probably feel comfortable enough to say or state what she thinks, what she feels without hiding them under some bombastic words.

Overall the play, it can be said that Katerine became a puppet whose ropes are in the hands of Petruchio whereas before marrying,  she was a sat up car which gets its energy from a little movement of a dial and runs on its way until her energy that she provided from her anger becomes finished. She was definitely tamed and controlled by Petruchio at the end of the play.

Works Cited

1.      Shakespeare,William. The Taming of The Shrew. New York: Printed at USA.

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[1] Based o the information given at the Act 4, Scene 1: the plan of Petruchio.

[2] Based on the information given at the Act 4, scene 3: where tailor comes and the hat and dress are discussed. 

Reflective Essay about the Death of Santiago Nasar

I’ve used the first person because Santiago Nasar was talking about his own death and I’ve tried to give every single thing from his point of view, so I didn’t use the parts that he cannot know about. As an example, Cristo Bedoya was searching for Santiago Nasar, but Santiago didn’t learn it from somebody at the novel, so I didn’t use that part of the story.

            I chose to start the history of Santiago’s death from the point that he was walking with Cristo Bedoya, because these were the times that the murder plan was heard by many people, and the times that Santiago and the people that knows about his death were in relation. Afterwards, I used the time that Santiago said goodbye to Cristo and Yamil, in purpose of showing the point that Santiago wasn’t in relation with the people on the street who were able to warn him about his planned death.

            When Flora’s invited Santiago into the house, I used the word “strange” because in the book, it says “No one, not even a doctor, had entered that house at six-forty in the morning,” so, Santiago would felt like that was a strange thing. Even the narrator explains the tone of Flora with using “she told”, I preferred to use “she yelled” because she was in a crisis of humiliation when she was waiting Santiago.

            At the end, I tried to explain Santiago’s behaviors and feelings from his view with saying “I couldn’t find the way home because I was so confused and in a way, depressed,” and I used the word “depressed” to show the effect of facing with a situation that he cannot overcome being humiliated by a person that he was trusting.

            Overall, I wanted to show the situation of his body and his nerve system while he was dying because of the loss of blood. I used “I was feeling the pain at first,… but then I couldn’t feel anything,” because in the book, it is written as “He didn’t cry out again,” and the only thing that can explain this situation is the loss of nerve with the effect of trauma.

At the end of the story, I wrote “I just remember that I was falling,” because I wanted to show Santiago as he was telling his story after his death. My purpose was using some events fits with the type of our original novel, Magical Realism and using the same figurative language with the author.

Works Cited

García, Márquez Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. New York: Vintage International, 2003. Print.