Death , because of its omnipresent, hovering nature upon the Colombian village and its citizens, is a pervasive theme throughout the book, as it opens with the death of Jeremiah de Saint Amour, whose apparent motivation for death sets the tone as each main character balances in a gray space between life and death at some point. Above all, the village life schedule is centered on the tolling of the bells and rushing to mass when a person of high stature perishes, therefore the people are constantly reminded of mortality and build lives upon constant mourning. The absurd death of Dr. J. Urbino points out the ephemeral nature of life and human impotence against larger, incomprehensible forces. Furthermore, Florentino lives under the creeping shadow of death by trying to delay baldness and utilizing fake teeth to avoid accepting the aging process and by measuring the extent of his relationship with the young America Vicuna by acknowledging that he will die before she is out of school. The scattered outbursts of cholera and civil war serve as morbid reminders of powerlessness and violence that plague the surroundings, almost suppressing the will to live. Additionally, the death of love, as seen in the abrupt snuffing out of whatever passion existed between Dr. Urbino and Fermina, even earlier between Fermina and Florentino’s innocent attraction, and in every relation Florentino carries on with women, illustrates the near impossibility of finding happiness among the gloomy landscape of war, disease, and social hierarchical obligations. Death, because of its omnipresent, hovering nature upon the Colombian village and its citizens, is a pervasive theme throughout the book, as it opens with the death of Jeremiah de Saint Amour, whose apparent motivation for death sets the tone as each main character balances in a gray space between life and death at some point. Above all, the village life schedule is centered on the tolling of the bells and rushing to mass when a person...