Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Márquez and "Dry September" by William Faulkner are very similar to each other structurally and thematically, despite being separated by fifty years and a regional division and language barrier. Both use non-linear narrative to unravel stories of unjust murder. However, beyond this superficial similarity, further analysis of the stories shows that there are striking similarities between their characters that reveal the harsh realities of their societies. Both Death Foretold and Dry September have "villains", represented by Angela Vicario and Minnie Cooper respectively, whose words of accusation influenced by social pressures led to brutal measures being taken against the men named. Furthermore, both have “heroes,” represented by Clotilde Armenta and Henry Hawkshaw, whose cowardice in facing social pressure prevented both from being truly heroic in avoiding the tragedy that would follow in their respected narratives. Overall, the narratives illustrate how powerful the status quo can be in a society, not only because it justifies brutal action to be maintained, but also because its pressure allows brutal action to be supported by those who may not have explicitly bad will. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a pure woman is praised in the small fictional town where Angela Vicario grows up. Furthermore, Angela was raised by Purisima del Carmen, who maintained an exceptionally high standard of purity for her. Angela knew how important this standard was in her family and community, so she knew there would be serious consequences for her and anyone involved if it came out that she had gone against this standard by losing her virginity before marriage. This may explain why when she was questioned by her brothers about who the other man was, she “nailed him to the wall with her well-aimed dart” by falsely naming Santiago Nasar (Marquez, 47). He anticipated that his brothers would have to avenge his honor by going after whoever was his scapegoat, and by giving them Santiago he gave them a person whose history of womanizing not only made him even more believable, but also removed her from the blame by making Santiago declare himself guilty. Santiago was an easy pawn who he used to directly protect his honor within the family and indirectly to protect his family's honor in the community. Just as Santiago was a pawn for Angela to protect her status, Will Mayes was a pawn for Minnie Cooper in Dry September. The society in which Minnie lives is also unfair towards women, despising those who are of a certain age and have not yet settled down, those like Minnie. The injustice towards women is especially shown in how Minnie is "relegated to adultery by the public" when she begins dating a widowed banker (Faulkner, 4). Minnie, who held the city in the palm of her hand in her early younger years, may then attempt to reclaim her relevance by spreading the rumor that something happened between her and Will Mayes. Because Will Mayes is a black man, she knows he is the perfect man to use to bring attention to her voices and therefore herself. Furthermore, her use of Will Mayes would stigmatize her less because her position as a white woman automatically turns her into the victim of the story. Both Minnie and Angela, therefore, use their knowledge of their society's standards to their advantage, though..