Chronicle of a Death Foretold MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Chronicle of a Death Foretold MCQs
Updated on: November 3, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

Chronicle of a Death Foretold MCQs

1. What is the date on which Santiago Nasar got up to wait for the bishop?

A. Saturday morning
B. Sunday morning
C. Monday morning
D. Tuesday morning

C. Monday morning.
Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the bishop on the distressing Monday of his death.

2. What did Santiago Nasar often dream about, according to his mother?

A. Flying machines
B. Running from dogs
C. Timber trees
D. Swimming fish

C. Timber trees.
Plácida Linero, Santiago’s mother, recalled that her son was “always dreaming about trees” before his death.

3. How did Santiago Nasar interpret his headache that morning?

A. Severe cold
B. Wedding revels’ result
C. Ominous sign
D. Weather change

B. Wedding revels’ result.
He believed his poor sleep and headache were the natural result of the late wedding festivities the night before.

4. What was Santiago Nasar’s usual attire for special occasions?

A. Khaki outfit
B. Military uniform
C. White linen suit
D. Casual pants

C. White linen suit.
For special occasions, like the bishop’s visit, he wore a white linen shirt and pants that were unstarched.
5. Where did Santiago Nasar put the bullets for his .357 Magnum?

A. Gun cabinet
B. Pillowcase
C. Night table drawer
D. Hidden vault

C. Night table drawer.
Before leaving the house, he took the bullets out of the weapon and placed them securely in the night table drawer.

6. What part of the house was destroyed by a bullet from a discharged pistol years before?

A. Rear door
B. Church saint
C. Kitchen wall
D. Balcony railing

B. Church saint.
A pistol went off, and the bullet, passing through two houses, turned a life-size saint in the church to plaster dust.

7. What did Santiago’s mother believe dreams about birds signified?

A. Bad luck
B. Good health
C. Upcoming sadness
D. Wealth increase

B. Good health.
When Santiago told her about his dream, his mother dismissively assured him that birds symbolized good health.

8. What physical feature of his father did Santiago Nasar inherit?

A. Thin lips
B. Arab eyelids
C. Prominent nose
D. Light complexion

B. Arab eyelids.
The narrator remembers Santiago as slim and pale, having inherited his father’s specific Arab eyelids and curly hair.

9. What quality did Santiago Nasar’s father teach him, along with valour?

A. Humility
B. Prudence
C. Aggression
D. Hunting skills

B. Prudence.
From his father, Santiago learned firearm manipulation, love for horses, and the “good arts of valor and prudence”.
10. What language did Santiago and his father speak when they were alone?

A. Latin
B. Spanish
C. Arabic
D. Papiamento

C. Arabic.
They spoke Arabic to each other, ensuring Plácida Linero did not feel excluded from their private conversations.

11. What was Victoria Guzmán, the cook, preparing for lunch that Monday?

A. Chicken stew
B. Roast hog
C. Three rabbits
D. Vegetable soup

C. Three rabbits.
When Santiago Nasar entered the kitchen, Victoria Guzmán was surrounded by dogs, quartering three rabbits for lunch.

12. What did Divina Flor mix with Santiago Nasar’s morning coffee?

A. Honey
B. Salt
C. Cane liquor
D. Syrup

C. Cane liquor.
Divina Flor served Santiago Nasar a mug of mountain coffee that contained a shot of cane liquor.

13. What did Victoria Guzmán use to antagonise Santiago during breakfast?

A. Hot sauce
B. Rabbit guts
C. Sour milk
D. Dead mice

B. Rabbit guts.
She continued feeding the dogs with the steaming rabbit guts, specifically to embitter Santiago Nasar’s breakfast.

14. What type of animal cages were in the dining room?

A. Dogs
B. Birds
C. Cats
D. Turtles

B. Birds.
Divina Flor went ahead of Santiago, navigating past the “cages of sleeping birds” that were located in the dining room.
15. What name did the investigating judge give to the front door of Santiago’s house?

A. The Fatal Door
B. Death’s Entrance
C. The Arab’s Gate
D. The White Door

A. The Fatal Door.
The investigating judge cited the door to the square several times in his report, using the title: “The Fatal Door”.

16. What was Victoria Guzmán’s true, deep motivation for not warning Santiago?

A. Wanted him killed
B. She disliked him
C. Total forgetfulness
D. Too busy cooking

A. Wanted him killed.
Divina Flor confessed later that Victoria Guzmán didn’t warn Santiago because “in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill him”.

17. What warning was shoved under the front door?

A. Threatening letter
B. Police summons
C. An envelope
D. A flower

C. An envelope.
An unidentified person had shoved an envelope under the door, which contained details of the plot to kill Santiago.

18. Where were the Vicario twins waiting for Santiago Nasar?

A. Dockside
B. Clotilde Armenta’s shop
C. Town hall
D. Church steps

B. Clotilde Armenta’s shop.
The twins were waiting for Santiago in Clotilde Armenta’s milk shop, the only establishment open on the square.

19. How did the Vicario twins carry their knives when waiting?

A. In their pockets
B. Wrapped in newspapers
C. On their belts
D. Hidden in sleeves

B. Wrapped in newspapers.
They slept clutching the knives, which were wrapped in rolled-up newspapers, against their chests in the milk shop.
20. What reason did Clotilde Armenta give for asking the twins to delay?

A. Police coming
B. Respect for the bishop
C. Not enough time
D. Fear of Arabs

B. Respect for the bishop.
She asked them to leave Santiago for later, “if only out of respect for his grace the bishop”.

21. What was the bishop’s favourite dish that villagers offered him?

A. Roasted turkey
B. Pig intestines
C. Cockscomb soup
D. Goat stew

C. Cockscomb soup.
The villagers brought baskets of well-fattened roosters as gifts because cockscomb soup was his favorite.

22. What did the bishop do to bless the crowd as his boat passed by?

A. Threw flowers
B. Made sign of cross
C. Gave a sermon
D. Blew a kiss

B. Made sign of cross.
The bishop mechanically made the sign of the cross in the air opposite the crowd without stopping the boat.

23. Who was Santiago Nasar engaged to marry later that year?

A. Flora Miguel
B. Divina Flor
C. Pura Vicario
D. Maria Cervantes

A. Flora Miguel.
The narrator mentions that Flora Miguel had the good fortune to have Santiago Nasar on Christmas of that year.

24. What was Mayor Don Lázaro Aponte’s profession?

A. Doctor
B. Priest
C. Colonel
D. Judge

C. Colonel.
Don Lázaro Aponte, the town mayor for eleven years, was a retired colonel from the academy.
25. What was the shocking reason Angela Vicario was returned to her parents?

A. She was ill
B. Not a virgin
C. Too drunk
D. She ran away

B. Not a virgin.
Angela Vicario’s husband discovered that she wasn’t a virgin, leading him to return her immediately.

26. What was the name of the man who married, then returned, Angela Vicario?

A. Pedro Vicario
B. Bayardo San Roman
C. Santiago Nasar
D. Ibrahim Nasar

B. Bayardo San Roman.
Bayardo San Roman arrived six months before the wedding and was the man who returned the bride.

27. What physical characteristic of Bayardo San Roman caused the narrator’s mother fear?

A. His height
B. His golden eyes
C. His soft voice
D. His strong build

B. His golden eyes.
The mother confessed that Bayardo’s “golden eyes had caused the shudder of a fear” in her, reminding her of the devil.

28. What object was the major attraction being raffled at the charity bazaar?

A. Large painting
B. Music box
C. Silver ring
D. Hunting rifle

B. Music box.
Angela Vicario was in charge of the raffle for a music box inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

29. What was the profession of Angela Vicario’s blind father?

A. Butcher
B. Goldsmith
C. Soldier
D. Farmer

B. Goldsmith.
Her father, Poncio Vicario, was a poor man’s goldsmith who lost his sight due to the fine detail of his work.
30. How long after buying the widower Xius’s farmhouse did Bayardo San Roman pay for it?

A. Five thousand
B. Ten thousand
C. One hundred
D. Fifty thousand

B. Ten thousand.
Bayardo San Roman insisted on buying the house for ten thousand pesos, paid immediately in cash.

31. How long after selling the house did the widower Xius die?

A. Three weeks
B. Two months
C. One year
D. Five years

B. Two months.
The widower Xius died two months after selling the house, supposedly due to heartbreak.

32. What common kitchen supply was located in the Vicario’s pigsty?

A. Water hose
B. Sacrificial stone
C. Large oven
D. Butcher’s block

B. Sacrificial stone.
The pigsty, which was a source of family income, included a sacrificial stone and a disembowelling table.

33. What did Angela Vicario’s mother teach her children to do to slow down seafarers?

A. Speak loudly
B. Comb hair at night
C. Wear black clothes
D. Stay awake late

B. Comb hair at night.
Her mother often admonished them not to comb their hair at night, as it would “slow down seafarers”.

34. Who was the most elegant and tender woman the narrator ever knew?

A. Angela Vicario
B. Plácida Linero
C. Maria Cervantes
D. Clotilde Armenta

C. María Cervantes.
Maria Alejandrina Cervantes, who ran the house of mercy, was remembered as the most elegant and tender woman.
35. What did the Vicario twins initially use to commit the murder?

A. Saw and axe
B. Knives for slaughter
C. Shotgun and rifle
D. Hunting spear

B. Knives for slaughter.
After Angela named Santiago, the twins went to the pigsty and picked out two knives, one for quartering and one for trimming.

36. How many people did the Vicario brothers tell about their intentions to kill Santiago Nasar at the market?

A. Three
B. Twelve
C. Twenty-two
D. None

C. Twenty-two.
Twenty-two people declared to the investigator that they had heard everything the brothers said at the meat market.

37. What type of animals did the Vicario brothers name after flowers?

A. Horses
B. Dogs
C. Hogs
D. Birds

C. Hogs.
The butchers recalled that the Vicario brothers sacrificed hogs they raised, calling them the names of flowers.

38. What was the name of the policeman who was told about the murder plot but died later?

A. Pablo Vicario
B. Leandro Pornoy
C. Faustino Santos
D. Colonel Aponte

B. Leandro Pornoy.
The butcher Faustino Santos reported the threat to Officer Leandro Pornoy, who was gored by a bull the following year.

39. What did Pedro Vicario use to shave with at Clotilde Armenta’s store?

A. Safety razor
B. Butcher knife
C. Straight edge
D. New scissors

B. Butcher knife.
Pedro Vicario shaved with his butcher knife, a habit he learned in the army, which Clotilde saw as machismo.
40. How long did the Vicario twins spend in jail awaiting trial after the crime?

A. One month
B. Three years
C. Five years
D. Ten years

B. Three years.
They spent three years awaiting trial in the panopticon in Riohacha because they could not afford bail.

41. What type of illness did Pedro Vicario suffer from after his military service?

A. Fever
B. Blennorrhea
C. Hepatitis
D. Cholera

B. Blennorrhea.
Pedro Vicario came back from the army with a case of sergeant’s blennorrhea that resisted medical treatment.

42. Who was the only person who perceived a glimmer of truth in Pablo Vicario’s threat at the market?

A. Colonel Aponte
B. Faustino Santos
C. Clotilde Armenta
D. Judge Arcadio

B. Faustino Santos.
Faustino Santos, a butcher friend, was the only one who felt a “glimmer of truth” in Pablo Vicario’s stated intention.

43. Who ordered Father Amador to perform the illegal autopsy?

A. Plácida Linero
B. Investigating Judge
C. Mayor Aponte
D. Dr. Iguarán

C. Mayor Aponte.
Colonel Aponte, the mayor, ordered Father Amador to perform the autopsy on Santiago Nasar because the body was decomposing quickly.

44. How many of the many knife wounds were determined to be fatal?

A. Five
B. Seven
C. Ten
D. Twenty

B. Seven.
Father Amador’s report concluded that seven of the multiple knife wounds inflicted on Santiago Nasar were fatal.
45. What did Father Amador attribute Santiago Nasar’s large liver size to?

A. Poorly cured hepatitis
B. Excessive drinking
C. Arab genetics
D. Too much exercise

A. Poorly cured hepatitis.
Father Amador attributed Santiago Nasar’s liver hypertrophy to a poorly cured case of hepatitis he had at age twelve.

46. What did Dr. Dionisio Iguarán say caused the naturally larger livers of “tropical people?”

A. Diet choices
B. Greenhorn Galician Spaniards
C. Alcohol consumption
D. Constant humidity

B. Greenhorn Galician Spaniards.
Dr. Iguarán argued that tropical people naturally have larger livers than “greenhorn Galician Spaniards,” correcting Father Amador’s report.

47. What did Bayardo San Roman suffer from when found alone in the farmhouse?

A. Ethylic intoxication
B. Knife wounds
C. Extreme hunger
D. Heart failure

A. Ethyl intoxication.
Dr. Dionisio Iguarán determined that Bayardo San Roman was suffering from the “last stages of ethylic intoxication” (severe alcohol poisoning).

48. How did Bayardo San Roman’s family approach the farmhouse to retrieve him?

A. By carriage
B. Barefoot, wailing
C. With police
D. Secretly at night

B. Barefoot, wailing.
/>His mother and sisters arrived locked in mourning, took off their shoes, and walked barefoot, wailing up to the house.

49. How many letters did Angela Vicario write to Bayardo San Roman over seventeen years?

A. Six
B. Twelve
C. Two thousand
D. Twenty

C. Two thousand.
Bayardo San Roman brought back a suitcase containing almost 2,000 letters that Angela had written to him.
50. What physical condition was Santiago Nasar in when he finally reached his kitchen door?

A. Singing joyfully
B. Viscera hanging out
C. Bleeding lightly
D. Resting on the ground

B. Viscera hanging out.
Mortally wounded, he walked home holding his hanging intestines in his hands before falling on his face in the kitchen.

Brief Overview

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1981. It is a work of Magic Realism that meticulously reconstructs a publicly known murder in a Colombian town.

The novel details the final hours of Santiago Nasar, who is killed to restore the honor of the Vicario family. The conflict begins when Bayardo San Roman sends his new wife, Angela Vicario, home immediately after their wedding because she was not a virgin. Angela names Santiago Nasar as the man responsible.

The murder was planned openly and announced publicly. Many people in the town knew the twin brothers, Pedro and Pablo Vicario, were waiting with their knives. It appeared the twins secretly hoped someone would stop them, but the entire town failed to warn Santiago Nasar clearly.

Santiago was awake early to greet the bishop’s boat, which did not stop in the town. He finally learned of the danger just moments before the attack. He ran home, but his mother, Plácida Linero, mistakenly locked the front door, thinking he was already safe inside.

The twins caught him outside and stabbed him repeatedly. Santiago died, confused, after walking into his kitchen holding his own intestines. Years later, Angela Vicario fell deeply in love with Bayardo San Roman. She wrote him weekly letters for seventeen years, and Bayardo finally returned, bringing all her unopened letters.

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