Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a short story written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which takes place in 20th century Colombia. Marquez recalls the events of a murder twenty years ago. The victim, who is named Santiago Nasar in the short story, faces prosecution from his twin friends because the twins' sister says Santiago took her virginity. As honor was highly valued in Colombian society of the time, their worldview led to demands that their family's honor be restored by killing Santiago. The result is an impending murder that almost everyone except a small group, including Santiago himself, knew about. The result is Santiago's death because he never knew what was going to happen. Aristotle's concept of tragedy consists of plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. First, the plot of the tragedy must have a “united” beginning, middle, and end for the story to unfold. Second, the characters in an ideal tragedy must have a moral goal that contains some realism. Finally, to have spectacle, the tragedy must arouse emotion in the public. There are other descriptions of what a true tragedy is; However, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, best fits all three of these descriptors. Thus, Chronicle of a Death Foretold could be considered a tragedy. If the short story meets certain specifications of a short story but doesn't work as a Greek tragedy, perhaps it's something else. Therefore, The Chronicles of a Death Foretold could be classified as a "modern tragedy" because it corresponds to the literary styles of Greek tragedies, such as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, while moving away towards the realm of more modern writing. First, Aristotle's first component of a true Greek tragedy is a plot. The plot of the tragedy must...... middle of paper ...... indeed a spectacle which further allows the short story to be classified as a tragedy. Overall, Chronicle of a Death Foretold contains the main elements necessary to classify the novel as a tragedy. It is clear that there is a plot that can be divided into a beginning, middle and end, which is a characteristic of Greek tragedy. Next, the short story contains characters who give moral lessons to the audience and seem realistic because it is a non-fictional narrative. Finally, Chronicle of a Death Foretold contains a show that brings emotions to the audience, allowing them to feel the characters. All of these elements are part of what Aristotle describes as tragedy. However, Aristotle's definition only applies to Greek tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex. These elements support the classification of Chronicle of a Death Foretold as a modern tragedy...