In my opinion, you assigned “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” to us as the first story of the course because to show how the author illustrates that the people who come into our lives, even in the most unusual circumstances can change our outlook on the world. The dead man is brought to the village and cared for by the women. At first the women are overtaken by his beauty and physique. Slowly the drowned man becomes Esteban.
Esteban evolves from a nameless corpse to a loved member of the community in just a short time as the villagers make him a part of their family. Esteban’s greatness inspires the villagers to rise up and transform their village into something of greatness. The villagers a commit to, “paint their houses gay colors” and “break their backs digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers on the cliffs…” so the people would be, “suffocated by the smell of gardens on the high seas…” It is strange to think of a bloated dead man being able to inspire a small village and bring them together to transform their mundane lives into something extraordinary. However, the author teaches that every once in a while someone washes up into our lives and makes a difference. Most of the time it is unexpected and might not be what we had in mind, but is exactly what we need
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3 thoughts on “Amalia Tabet Discussion 2”
I like the way you started your thesis with “in my opinion” and answered the prompt. I agree with what you said at the end. People come and go and some are not meant to stay forever, but some people are only there long enough to teach you a lesson. The dead man ashore was a symbol for the villagers to keep going and expanding. Since the dead man was very tall, the villagers will make even bigger houses, etc.
Amalia, I like how you dissected the meaning of the story from the details you were given. I had a similar takeaway but instead I was analyzing how the dead man allowed the villagers to reconnect with their humanity and compassion. I really love how you included the idea of how people in our lives wash up to make changes and it follows that modern idea of how everyone you encounter is in your life for a reason.
I definitely agree with you! In the most strangest way, people are brought into our lives and we often don’t realize the reason why until much later. I feel that in the story the villagers felt that, even though it is ironic, Esteban showed up to them to help them “liven up” their village more. This is why they painted their houses and planted flowers, to give their village a “beautiful” look, just how Esteban was. In a way, he was exactly what the village needed just like you mentioned.