Both books – “The Picture of Dorian Grey” by Oscar Wilde and “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Garcia Marquez – expose the human vices and human psychology, even though, they were written with the difference in a hundred years. Two great writers incarnated the idea of perverse and apathetic society as well as the destiny of a human within this society. Two different stories, two different persons’ tragedies both have fatal finals that do not lose the relevance and significance even nowadays.
The story of “The Picture of Dorian Grey” takes place in London of 1890s, during Wilde’s modern times. It was the period of the Victorian era that was so criticized by Lord Henry. And the setting of the “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” is, probably, Columbia (Marquez usually writes about his native country), though there is no mention in the book in what town and in what period the action occurs. It should be noted that moods of these books are somewhat alike: the conviviality of the events alternates with the crimes of the heroes. In the case of Dorian Grey’s story, the feeling of joyfulness is achieved by the presenting of the secular life and the carelessness of the main heroes – Dorian, Lord Henry, Basil. However, the negative mood appears as soon as Dorian starts to lose his humanity and moral principles and commits a crime. On the other hand, the action of Marquez’s story describes the day before Angela’s wedding with Bayardo and the day of Bishop arrival to the town, thus people are celebrating and expecting for the fetes. But news about Santiago Nazar’s murder clouds the picture of everyone’s joy. That is why, the mood of both works is ambiguous – it starts with pleasant picture of the human delights and ends with the commission of the serious crime.
The tone of Marquez’s narration is manifested in the method of presentation of the murder story: due to the nonlinear plot a reader finds out about the details of the crime not in the chronological order. This fills the story with inscrutability. Moreover, the reader never gets to know whether Angela actually lost her virginity with Santiago and whether he deserved the death. The tone of “The Picture of Dorian Grey” is different. Wilde made his work rather refined due to Lord Henry’s philosophical reflections; every his phrase is meaningful and emphatic; and the presentation of a significance of Art by Basil gives the story aesthetic tone.
Both books describe human psychology quite well. And if Wilde writes about the cult of youth and people’s love to beautiful appearance rather than to moral values, Marquez emphasizes the people’s indifference to the problems of other people. The development and degradation of these human factors prepares the reader to the tragic final. As soon as Dorian Grey kills Basil, it becomes obvious that his soul is doomed. Another situation is in “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”: the reader knows about the death of the main hero from the first line of the story. And the author now is preparing to the truth about the cause of the murder. As soon as the reader gets to know about unwillingness of the people to stop the Vicario twins or to warn Santiago, he understands –Santiago was killed not because of Vicario’s revenge, but because of the apathy of the society. Wilde and Marques give the elements of suspend throughout the stories. In both books the essential details of the narration appear during the storyline. The suicide of Sibyl Vane, Grey’s perverse lifestyle, Basil’s murder, Dorian’s eternal youth – all of this heat up the situation in Wilde’s book. In the same time, Marquez gives the details of Santiago’s death up till the end of the book. The whole novel is based on the presentation of the crime story and its details.
“The Picture of Dorian Grey” accommodates a lot of urgent themes and problems as well as “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” does. Wilde touches such themes as narcissism and self-adoration, cynicism and hedonism, egoism and vanity, cult of the youth and punishment for all sins. On the other hand, Marques in his “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” raises the themes of honor and revenge, a fear before the commission of the crime, the people’s indifference and apathy and the Colombian traditions are presented as well. The theme of love also found its place in both novels: Basil’s love to his masterpiece and the object of worship; Sibyl’s romantic and pure love to Dorian; Lord Henry’s love to entertainment; Dorian’s love to himself; Angela’s devoted love to Bayardo San Roman; Santiago’s love to Flora Miguel; Placida’s love to her son and, finally, Victoria Guzman’s love to her daughter are shown in the stories. “The Picture of Dorian Grey” by Wilde and “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Marquez are full of sense and themes for thinking. Every page of these books will engage the whole reader’s attention and the impression of the books will be unforgettable.
Works cited
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Grey. San Francisco: World Library, 2009. Print.
Marquez, Gabriel G. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. New York: Vintage International, 2003. Print.
