How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Twelve days after the crime, the investigating magistrate came upon a town that was an open wound. (5.3)
Besides being gross, the imagery of an open wound is actually pretty descriptive. Think about it. An open wound is not healing. It has no Band-Aid, it's probably still festering or bleeding, and nothing has been done to fix it. So this town suddenly had a strange event damage their community, and now they have no way to heal the injury that has been inflicted. They'll need a bit more than Neosporin for this.
Quote #8
In the squalid wooden office in the town hall, drinking pot coffee laced with cane liquor against the mirages of the heat, he had to ask for troop reinforcements to control the crowd that was pouring in to testify without having been summoned, everyone eager to show off his own important role in the drama. (5.3)
Before, everyone acted like Santiago's impending doom was none of their business. Now everyone wants to tell the officials their part in the murder. Why do you think the town's attitude suddenly changes so dramatically?
Quote #9
The people had stationed themselves on the square the way they did on parade days. They all saw him come out, and they all understood that now he knew they were going to kill him, and that he was so confused he couldn't find his way home. They say that someone shouted from a balcony: "Not that way, Turk; by the old dock." [...] They began to shout at him from every side, and Santiago Nasar went backward and forward several times, baffled by hearing so many voices at the same time. (5.63)
We want you to visualize this scene, because it just illustrates how ridiculous the situation is. So there's a square in the middle of the town, and everyone is there as if they're going to watch a parade. But instead of the parade, Santiago wanders into the square. A normal person's reaction to this might be to hide him in your house, or something like that. But instead, the crowd of people just yells at him. They yell at him so much that he doesn't even understand what's going on. And no one makes a move to help him get to his own home safely. It almost seems like these are Romans watching gladiators get killed for sport, doesn't it?