When we think of loyalty, we usually conjure up the image of a dog and its owner; the dog, who follows and adores his master, willing to give up his life to protect him. In the book “Love in the Time of Cholera”, written by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, many examples of loyalty are shown. The book begins with the character Dr. Juvenal Urbino discovering that his friend Jeremiah de Saint-Amour has committed suicide and leaves Dr. Urbino a letter with his final instructions. Dr. Urbino dutifully skips mass to ensure his friend's final wishes are granted. Upon arriving at the location indicated by his friend in the letter, he meets Jeremiah's lover, Barbara Lynch. Márquez shows the reader the theme of loyalty through the use of diction, imagery, and similes. The use of diction communicates the theme of loyalty in many ways. One such example is when Jeremiah's lover, Barbara, tells Dr. Urbino why he helped Jeremiah commit suicide. “Dr. Urbino already realized how completely he would repudiate the memory of that irredeemable woman, and he thought he knew why: just an unprincipled person” (Marquez 16). Doctor Urbino's horror at Barbra's cold way of handling death makes him feel offended, and it seems that the doctor is trying to protect his friend's memory, showing how much he cares for his friend and would never allow him to be dishonored . The choice of words in this quote shows how strongly the doctor feels about this woman's apparent lack of love for his friend. Another example of diction is: "For the city, his city, remained unchanging at the edges of time: the same burning, barren city of its night terrors and the solitary pleasures of puberty where the flowers rusted and the salt corrupted, where nothing had happened." ... in the center of the paper ... and in the ear” (Marquez 15) understands what Doctor Urbino thinks about his friend's lover. One might infer that since the doctor describes her as having "snake eyes", he sees her as a predator and that she took advantage of his friend and didn't actually love him as she claims. This description states the doctor's loyalty to his friend because he hates this woman for not treating his friend as he should have. Both uses of similes helped Márquez compare the things the doctor loved and the things the doctor hated, while providing a clear understanding of the objects and subjects used. Marquez effectively conveyed the theme of loyalty using diction, imagery, and similes, without compromising the flow or structure of the text. The use of a human as well as an object gave variety and increased the level of interest of the text, whilst adding a pleasant atmosphere..