Literary Analysis of Savolta Case and Santiago Nasar
Themes in The Truth about the Savolta Case
Within the book, there are several secondary issues reflected. For example, the freedom of man speaks of the extent to which man is free and is not conditioned by the social environment in which we live, showing a clear difference in behavior between the upper class and the proletariat of Barcelona, placing the protagonist in between the two.
It also speaks of love of different types. For example, the relationship between Lepprince and Maria Coral is solely based on physical attraction. There is also the love between Savolta Lepprince and Maria Rosa, a fruit of the love interest of one man obsessed with acquiring a large fortune. Finally, the love that focuses most of the book is between Javier Miranda and María Coral—a love that begins to exist because of shame, later turns to hate, and finally becomes true love.
The last issue, which is presented more vaguely, is the difference between good and evil. It looks like Javier is torn between doing what seems right and what he chooses to become famous and make money.
Key Characters in the Narrative
- Javier Miranda: The protagonist of the book. He is an odd person, as he does the opposite of what he thinks. Although he does some things wrong, he is a good person.
- Paul-André Lepprince: One of the most important characters because the entire story revolves around him. At the end of the book, the author hints that he is the son of Cortabaynes. He marries the daughter of Savolta and commands killings to acquire the majority of the shares of the company, showing he has no scruples.
- Maria Coral: A gypsy girl who worked together with two strongmen juggling, although their real occupation was acting as hired thugs for Lepprince.
- Cortabaynes: A lawyer from Barcelona who is helpful to Javier; it was he who helped Savolta set up the company.
- Pajarito de Soto: An anarchist journalist who protests against the Savolta company, as it is a place that exploits workers.
- Inspector Vázquez: He is tasked with investigating the death of Pajarito de Soto and, subsequently, Enric Savolta.
- Nemesio Gomez Goat: This character is a madman who claims he is the chosen of God to carry out a mission.
Technical Analysis: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Technical details regarding the work of Gabriel García Márquez, “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”: The book is a narrative of events surrounding a wrongful death. Dialogues between the characters and descriptions of places also appear. The language of the characters can be identified as slang, while the narrator’s language is more cultured.
The narrator in this novel is multiple, since a narrator appears telling actions that are happening throughout history in the third person, alongside another first-person narrator who enters the novel as a friend of Santiago Nasar. This narrator tells us facts that happened and now writes a chronicle using all the information collected on the fateful day of the unexpected death of Nasar.
Central and Secondary Themes
The main theme of the play is the story of the murder of a young man whose main motive is the claim of the virginity of a young woman from a low-income background. This murder is disclosed to all the people before it is committed.
As a secondary issue, there is honor, since they kill Santiago Nasar for the sake of the Vicario family honor. Additionally, virginity, machismo, and love can be treated as sub-items, though they are of less importance.