In the short story “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I believe the author is trying to open readers imaginations and to establish a sense of identity as well as question it. In the story, the drowned man was going to be disregarded at first, but after cleaning and a proper dressing, villagers were drawn to the man because of his unorthodox features and abnormal beauty. I believe the professor assigned this as our first reading to teach us the significance of an important figure and hope. Without the people, Esteban would cease to exist and without Esteban, the people would have no hope. When the women became obsessed with Esteban, they gave him identity and this gave them purpose to better the land around them as well as themselves. This change resulted in plentiful springs, a change in architecture and a change in spirit. After reading these stories, us reader are now left to question ourselves and morals. When everything you’ve dreamed of is suddenly in the palm of your hands, will you take advantage of it? Will you change your way of living?
One thought on “Tiana Wynn – Discussion 2”
Tiana, thanks for the good observations. I so agree that the story leads us to question ourselves and the largeness or smallness of our own live. I love the two questions you pose at the end.