Alan Schedler
April 2, 2011
Per. 4B English
In literature, authors often utilize religion to convey their themes and opinions. Religion can be a particularly powerful method for doing this because it is something that nearly all readers can relate to. In the cases of The Stranger by Albert Camus and Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, religion serves multiple purposes: it plays crucial roles in the plots, serves to summarize popular society, and is generally portrayed in a negative light by both Camus and Marquez.
The most superficial and noticeable use of religion in The Stranger and Chronicle of a Death Foretold can be found in its involvement throughout the plots of both novels. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, it is possible that the death of Santiago Nasar was at least partially facilitated through two main religious aspects. First, the entire town was preoccupied with the arrival of the bishop, a prominent religious figure, and may not have paid as much attention to the Vicario brothers due to their distraction. For example, when Father Amador hears about the brothers’ plan, he intends to tell Plácida Linero, but later forgets. He attempts to justify it later by saying, “You have to understand that the bishop was coming on that unfortunate day.” (70) In addition, Santiago Nasar was an Arab, and therefore most likely Muslim, while nearly all the townspeople were Catholic, which could have led to additional prejudice against him leading up to the murder.
In The Stranger, Camus makes it clear that the vast majority of the population in the novel is religious, and that Meursault is disdainful of religion. Two characters engage Meursault in conversation about religion, the magistrate and the chaplain, and both are shocked to learn that Meursault does not believe in a god. Meursault’s lack of belief in a god and his seemingly apathetic reaction to his mother’s death could very well have biased the jury against him, leading to a death sentence rather than life in prison.
Another function of religion in The Stranger and Chronicle of a Death Foretold is that religious figures serve as generalizations of the popular culture in the novel. For example, in The Stranger, Meursault discusses religion with two other characters: the chaplain and the magistrate. Both of these men are surprised that Meursault does not believe in a god, and both try to convince him to convert to Christianity: the magistrate states that “all men believe in God, even those who reject Him” (86), and the chaplain tells Meursault that “God can help you. All the men I’ve seen in your position turned to Him in their time of trouble” (146). The opinions of these two characters seem to represent the general mindset of society in the novel, since both are nearly identical and Camus does not include characters with differing opinions, with the exception of Meursault himself.
In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s primary religious figure is the town priest, Father Amador. Much like the magistrate and the chaplain in The Stranger, Father Amador’s thoughts and actions in the novel seem to represent those of the society he lived in. When he hears about the brothers’ plan, father Amador has two main reactions. First, he is preoccupied with the arrival of the bishop. Also, he does not seem to take the brothers’ threat seriously, because “when he had crossed the square he’d forgotten completely” (70). These reactions are shared by most of the townspeople who are interviewed, including the narrator’s brother, who remarks, “But even if I did remember, I wouldn’t have believed it. Who the fuck would ever think that the twin would kill anyone, much less with a pig knife?” (69). Father Amador also expresses his belief in machismo, one of the most important values of the Latin American society portrayed in the novel. Machismo is the mindset that men should protect women, including their honor. Angela Vicario claimed that Santiago Nasar took her virginity, and therefore her honor, so the brothers killed Nasar to get revenge. “’We killed him openly,’ Pedro Vicario said, ‘but we’re innocent.’ ‘Perhaps before God,’ said Father Amador” (49). Despite his obligation to God and the Ten Commandments, which prohibit murder, Father Amador seems to believe that the brothers’ actions were justified based on machismo.
In both The Stranger and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, religion and religious figure are portrayed in rather negative and even accusatory tones. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez includes that the bishop’s favorite dish is cock-comb soup. This soup is extremely wasteful, as only a small part of a chicken is used and the rest is thrown out. Marquez also essentially portrays Father Amador as a hypocrite when he tells the Vicario brothers that the murder of Santiago Nasar is justified in the eyes of God, in spite of the Ten Commandments. Finally, both the bishop and the priest help facilitate, consciously or unconsciously, Santiago Nasar’s murder. The entire town is preoccupied with the bishop’s arrival, so barely anyone takes any action to stop the Vicario brothers from killing Nasar. Father Amador himself even knows about the brother’s scheme, but he promptly forgets about the issue on his way to see the bishop.
In The Stranger, Camus depicts the religious characters, the magistrate and the chaplain, in a slightly better light. However, Meursault expresses disdain and contempt for both of these two characters due to their religious beliefs and their desire to press their beliefs upon him. In fact, when the magistrate tries to talk to Meursault about his religion, Meursault simply gets bored and begins thinking about the flies buzzing and how hot it was getting in the room. His response to the chaplain, shortly before his execution, is significantly more intense. He grabs the chaplain by the collar, shoves him against the wall, and “poured out on him all the thoughts that had been simmering in [his] brain” (151). Meursault releases all of his frustration and rage upon the chaplain until the jail guards enter the cell and Meursault regains his composure.
In The Stranger and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, religion serves a variety of purposes. Both authors portray religion rather negatively, although Marquez seems more accusatory in his depictions of religion than Camus. Both authors use religious figures to generalizes the opinions of popular society, and both integrate religion to be a crucial part of their plots