The reason that this story was the first to read in this course could be to help us students with our imaginations. This could be because “The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World” is filled with imagery from the beginning to the end. Right from the very beginning we are told that some children find it and think it was a ship, but later change their mind and think it’s a whale. When the body washes up on the shore we are given even more descriptions of the body on how it is covered in various things from the sea. As the story progresses we learn about how heavy he is, what he smells like, his body features, and even see how the women in the village clean him up using various tools. By the end of the story everyone in the village is enchanted by the body who they name Esteban and we learn about how they change things in their village to fit Esteban’s body size.
Daily Archives: September 4, 2022
I think the professor assigned this as the first story of the course because there’s just so many ways that you can interpret this story. In my opinion, I think this is a very emotional and inspiring, but confusing story. At first I was like okay, maybe this could be a depiction of a god-like figure or something along the lines of religion, especially because of the name Esteban. But as I continued reading it just showed me different points of views from the people in the village and how fragile a person’s ego can be. This story also allows me to put myself into the character’s shoes and feel what they are feeling because of the very detailed imagery. The author set such a perfect scene that it all felt so real. Just like story book characters and reality, we’re all the same. We go through the same emotions, we get inspired from the most unexpected things, and we also learn to grow and change for the better.
Why do you think I might have assigned this as the first story of the course? “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The reason you might have assigned this as the first story of the course is because Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the best known writers in History. Apart from that, the story of “The Most Handsome drowned Man, can signify the willingness to change our perception of ourselves, and others. In the story the women noticed how different “Esteban” was compared to their husbands. They made an emphasis on how tall he was, and how weak they seemed compared to him. This allowed for transformation to happen within the villagers perceptions of themselves and of Esteban. Without knowing him, they were able to learn and care for him. This also happens when we enter a new classroom, we learn about our peers and their surroundings.
The first sentence of the story, Langston Hughes describes the experience as being saved from sin, but not really saved which expressed little credence in the notion of salvation through Jesus. As an adult, It seems as though his beliefs had shifted. When describing the events from when he was a child, he followed along with the traditions taught to him. However, he also took a lot of it literally. His aunt described the encounter with Jesus as one that would involve all of his senses, seeing, hearing and feeling Jesus in your soul. For a young boy raised within a family of deep faith, so much so his aunt and the congregation at church all wept during the ceremony, there was no reason for him to doubt or question the description of the events that they were preparing him for. According to the video that we were assigned to watch, I believe this part of the story falls under dramatic irony. Where ‘we’ the readers know more about the events of the story than the character. Although it is being told through first person narration, he explains his expectations of actually seeing Jesus and as the reader we already know that is not what would happen. Otherwise, it would probably fall under crime/horror genre.
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The Professor assigned this story because she wanted us to understand the imagery that is used in a writing, how we can incorporate it into our own, and its significance of it. There is a lot of expression and emotion in the story to discuss how they felt when they saw the man at first, and when he was put back in the ocean. Even after not being told what his name was, they felt that his name was “Esteban” from how he was described and how he seemed to the people of the village. Imagery helped the reader to understand the environment that he was in, how he looked, and how his appearance had an effect on the villagers. In the story, it explains how “he had the smell of the sea about him”, and that, “he was the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best-built man they had ever seen.”
The short story “The Most Handsome Drowned Man”, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an example of society’s behaviors. We can see how the appearance changes the way people behave. The author describes the drowned man’s physical appearance very detailed. I find this type of story interesting because it isn’t obvious to understand (although the author describes everything in details), you have to read it a few times, and it can be interpreted in different ways. I think this is why professor Conway chose this story first; it gives us an idea of what the course content will look like and what to expect. As I see it, this story is a way to emphasize the relationship between men and women and also how physical appearance affects people’s behavior.
I believe Professor Conway chose “The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World” as our first story of the course because it uses a variety of Symbolism and allows the reader to really think about what something at first seems so insignificant can have a major impact on people’s lives. When “Estaban” came into their lives from the ocean he had come tattered almost not recognizable as a human being but as they kept taking care of him, they noticed more and more human aspects of him although he was larger in every way. They sympathized with him without knowing him at all and saw the world in his eyes as they would, The end of the short story paints a picture for us about them having a wonderful funeral for a man they never knew or met alive. They even went ahead and made their town more accessible and made the whole town a memorial to Estaban. This completely random man that floated from out of nowhere had a major impact on a town that he would never see and therefore changes it for others in the future completely
Prompt: We know by the language and perspective of the narrator that “Salvation” is a coming-of-age story told by an adult looking back on a painful childhood experience, which results in an epiphany. In what ways is the young narrator different from the way he was at the beginning of the story? To submit your Week 3 post, follow the steps below. 1. Scroll up to the black strip at the top of the screen and click the black “plus” sign inside the white circle. It is located to the right of the course title. 2. In the box that reads “Add title,” type in a title that includes your first name, last name, and the words “Discussion 3” (example: John Hart Discussion 3). 3. Type your response in the text box. Remember that your first post must be at least 150 words in order to receive full credit. 4. Navigate to the right side of the screen and choose the Post Category “Week 3 Discussion” (or whichever week is current). Never choose anything in the box that reads “Category Sticky.” Click for screenshot. 5. To add media (optional), click the “add media“ button in between the title box and the text box. Do not add the image directly to the media library. To get the image to show in the tile preview, go to “featured image > add featured image, in the lower right-hand side.” Click for screenshot. 6. Publish the post by clicking the blue button on the right. 7. Please leave a thoughtful reply to the post of one other classmate. Remember that your comments to others should be at least 75 words in order to receive full credit.
