Emily Fan Discussion 2

I think “The handsomest drowned man in the world” was chosen as the first story because with the appearance of Esteban in the villager’s lives, they changed their view of the world and learned to empathize with others which could possibly mirror the course and how it is interactive, allowing for ideas and views to bounce off each other like when one of the women decided he looked like an Esteban or when the women who went to collect flowers and would bring back neighboring women. They would make their own conclusions about Esteban and who he was. As stated by Dean Radar, while the villagers are making an identity for Esteban they are also creating one for themselves from the reader’s perspective. One could conclude that it perhaps alludes to how the course will shape us as people and how our ideas will help to shape our experience in this course.