I honestly was very conflicted as to why “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was our first story. I thought it was extremely random and pointless, but I gathered that that was exactly the reason. I felt as though you wanted us to experience something completely foreign to us and then envision ourselves from a different perspective. The point of this course to expand our literature knowledge so we will dive into a lot of different literature pieces that will place us mentally elsewhere. The ending of the story when all the villagers change their homes and environment to continue the memory of beautiful dead giant is a message to the readers. People adjust their lives and beliefs when new information that is valued as important is presented. So from my perspective the goal was to read the story as an example that we as readers should be like the villagers and be welcoming to the new information we learn during this course and hopefully give us a new perspective in life that we do not forget.
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3 thoughts on “Elizabeth Reyes Discussion 1”
Hello Elizabeth, It’s wonderful to see your reflective and open-minded approach to the material. I agree with you, and your interpretation of the villagers’ transformation as a metaphor for how we should approach new knowledge is insightful. It indeed aligns with the broader goals of the course: to broaden our literary horizons and encourage a more open and receptive mindset. Your thoughtful analysis adds depth to our understanding of the story’s significance, and I look forward to exploring more literature together in the coming weeks.
Hello Elizabeth, from what you mentioned I can see that in the beginning you really weren’t a fan of this type of reading. I liked how you expressed yourself in your response by showing the goal of this reading. I think this short story was more of a curiosity to me than to you since you said this story was “ extremely random and pointless”. At the end everyone has their own opinions but I really enjoyed reading your response.
Elizabeth, it sounds as though your thinking has already changed as you describe your original impression of the story to arrive at your very insightful final comments. In this story, a group of villagers imagines a life story for a dead man. They then try to live up to that very story they have created. Their own lives expand as they try to emulate the hero they have created. They make larger houses, paint them in bright colors, dig in the earth for water springs, plant flowers. It is a story about the power of stories to change lives and perspectives. You are so right in your final comment about how I hope your imagination and perspective will grow and change as a result of the stories we are going to explore.