The Individual Oral Presentation on dream interpretation expanded my knowledge of Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses many undertones in the dreams of characters to symbolize a deeper meaning. Dream interpretation was common among cultures like the ancient Egyptians and was seen as early as 4000 B.C. During the 1950s, Colombia was mainly catholic, and had strict views that only involved religion. In Catholicism, dreams are seen as not important, but Marquez ironically uses dreams as a way to symbolize deeper meanings in a catholic society. Before Santiago’s death, his mother recalls a dream he has about flying in a tinfoil airplane through almond trees, and states that “any dream about birds means good health,” but ironically, Santiago’s dream is interpreted wrong. His mother also says that he was going “through a grove of timber trees;” his dreams are seen as happy, but the author contrasts it by stating that “they were going to kill him” that day (Marquez 3). The author uses the undertones of dream interpretation to foreshadow and symbolize events in the novel. In another individual oral presentation, the presenter explained that Marquez wrote Colombian journalism for newspapers. His background explains why he contradicted magical and realistic events in the novel. After listening to this presentation, it expanded my knowledge of Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
The Individual Oral Presentation on the concept and background of machismo in Latin American countries further expanded my knowledge of Chronicle of the Death Foretold. The presenter did a great job at explaining the meaning and sense of being macho in Spanish-speaking countries. Stereotypically, being macho is similar to being manly; a person of machismo nature is seen as brave, big, and strong, but also has a sense of sympathy for his friends and family. Because Chronicle of a Death Foretold is written in a time period prior to the 1950s and is set in a