Chronicle of a Death Foretold Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter 4 Summary

The town doctor was away, so the priest was forced to do the autopsy. Many years later, he would recall that it was such a gruesome task, it was almost as if Santiago had been killed twice. Santiago's slashed body was on display in the living room of his mother's house, while craftsmen hurriedly built a coffin fit for such a rich man. Dogs drawn to the smell of death had to be killed, so that they wouldn't lunge and eat the exposed organs. Because of the extreme heat and the body's condition, Santiago was buried before sunrise the next morning, with no one present but the gravediggers.

The Vicario brothers were in jail together and could not get rid of Santiago's smell, despite their attempts to wash themselves and their clothes. The whole town seemed to smell of Santiago. Alternately, the brothers suffered diarrhea and nausea. They were moved...
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