Week 2 Discussion

Gabriel García Márquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” is a short story that tells the tale of a drowned man floating ashore. The arrival of a dead body to the shores of the village changes everything. The man, whom the villagers name Esteban, is remarkably tall and amazingly handsome that everybody in the village start to essentially fall in love with him, giving him religious respect, and accepting him into their families. In the end, they dump his body into the sea but leave it there hoping that Esteban will float back one day. They swear to change the village into the sort of place that is worthy of Esteban. The villagers seem sympathetic and compassionate on how they treat Esteban which is noticeable by the way they treat him. It is like the villager’s desire to bury him with dignity, something that he might not have had when he was still breathing because of his size and the way he looks is so much different than others. The man ‘s death made them realize that no one is without pain and without sorrow. The villagers changed because they wanted to memorialize him by painting their houses a grey color to honor him. This story makes me think that we do not know what one is going through and should not judge one another.

After reading “The Handsomest Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I feel that this story was assigned to us as the first story of the course to demonstrate how strong imagination is. (Maybe some stories we read will be focused on imagination). In this story I took notice of how strong the idea of “Esteban” was. Many people gravitated towards him, many wanted to be him, and many wanted to be with him. Without knowing him, everyone glorified him and placed him on a pedestal, only based on stories that they heard, through the power of imagination. Very often in death, people bring out the best of the person, and this is how they commemorate them. In “The Handsomest Drowned Man”, Marquez made it important to showcase “Esteban” as a god-like figure, in my opinion. A god is someone who is worshipped, or looked up to, by others. Everyone in the story was making Esteban seem as a role model, or the person to be, or be with. This was all done through imagination which, to me, made the story seem like a “realistic myth” that was told back in the day.

The story “The Most Handsomest Man That Drowned” is about a drowned man that washed up on the shore of a small village of fishers. The villagers see the man as prosaic and unimpressive. The villagers then set the man up for burial but as they do that they realize how admirable of his looks and appearance they then begin to idealize him. The reason I explained what the story is about in very few words is because it leads to why the professor chose this article as the first read. I believe you chose this article first because its a great example of “magical realism”. Which takes aspects of the combined reality and fantasy into one. Another reason. The story expressed the power of human imagination and the ways in which people can shape their own perceptions and interpretations of reality.

“The Most Handsome Drowning Man” The story tells us that the pursuit of beautiful things has brought great changes to people’s lives and human beings have inspired creativity for the pursuit of beauty. Because of this primitive vitality and creative power, human beings make human life better, create art for the diversity and richness of life, create new food for better food and create roads and bridges, houses for a better life. Let the world be more closely connected, break the concept of space, The people invented the computer, everything is for the creativity inspired by beautiful things so that human beings have a beautiful and rich life today.

For the first reading of the semester, we got to read the story “The most handsome drowned man” and after giving it a read I could tell that there was more than meets the eye with this story. I think that you may have assigned this as the first story of the class because it gives you a sense of not to judge a book by its cover. The other men when they found his body realize he was the tallest and strongest man ever. All of the men even started to get a bit jealous and started cultivating their ideas about sending him where the divers go to die. Everything changed when. they realized that he was there’s once they removed the handkerchief. This could be the first story we read during this class to show me to not judge anything just yet even though it is an online course it might still be worth my while.

“The Most Handsome Drowned Man” was assigned as the first story of the course because the professor wanted us to see how a person has the power to change another persons life, even during unexpected moments. In the book, Esteban, the drowned man, symbolizes a stupendous experience for the villagers. It was a normal day in the village until they saw Esteban, the drowned man, near the beach. The women decided to take care of him, however the men in the village didn’t agree because of the way he looked, him being a giant made them think wrong about him. Later on they came to realization that he was sincere and that he was more than just a piece of cold Wednesday meat. And at the end of the story we see how the passing of Esteban didn’t stop the villagers from changing their life and lifestyle. The vibrant painting on their front doors, having wider doors, strong floors, the planting of flowers on cliffs and etc was their way of paying respect or thanking him for changing them.

I believe that you assigned “The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World” as the first reading because it teaches us to be more welcoming of others. We are always so quick to judge others, without getting to know them. I think that is such a terrible thing we do as humans. In the story, the women assumed a lot about the man’s living style but turned out to be completely wrong. Another thing we can learn is that, you never know who you’ll meet and how they can turn out to have an impact on your life. In the story, when the man passed away, everyone kept him close in their hearts and memories. Also, when the man was drowning, I like how everyone came together to help. That’s how it should be. Coming together to help someone is such a beautiful thing and I think we need more of that in today’s world.

I think the reason that the professor assigned “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as the first story  in the course to make us realize that there are two types of people, we should not judge a book by its cover, and it applies to judging people as well, the first type of people can be compared to the little boys that helped the drowned men and took him out of the sea and laid him on the floor, trying to help him in every way.while on the other side in the story the women started comparing the drowned men to the men of there village and started passing comment that if the drowned men were to live the same village as them the doors of the house would be really wide, the women started judging the drowned man without knowing the struggles or the difficulties that he went through.That is why I think the professor assigned this as. the first reading to make us aware that there are two different ways to look at a situation.

In my opinion I think the professor has assigned this as the first story of the course for a few reasons. I think the first reason could be the story is really interesting and it caught our attention and especially me. The title of it made me wonder what is the story about and this made me get excited and start reading to keep reading to try to understand what it is about. Another reason could be because the story is well written and we will get to read it and annotate it for good Thesis and statements and many more related to our understanding of essays. Lastly I also believe this could help us understand how to write essays well. This could be a good example for great essays to learn from. In concussion I believe the professor chose this for us for a great benefit and I’m so excited to find out the main reason behind it. 

“The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a story about community and acceptance. When the drowned man was discovered the village helped to try to uncover the roots of this man. Where he belonged and who was he? It wasn’t until later the women of the village started to peel back the layers and discover the flaws and beauty of this man. This lead to assumptions of who he was and where he came from. As the kept cleaning him they saw beauty and strength followed by sorrow and embarrassment. They started to pity him and put themselves into his shoes. Marquez states, “They only had to take the handkerchief of his face to see that he was ashamed, that it was not his fault that he was so big or so heavy or so handsome…” (6). As the men of the village came back they were perplexed as to why the women chose to show this man who they don’t know so much affection. Only to see for themselves the sorrow on the drowned mans face. This made them want to provide this man with the most beautiful funeral ever. Although, they fought over who can carry the drowned man to his resting place. They ultimately came together and honored the drowned man memory by making changes to their land to the strength of their houses. The assignment of “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” as the first story in the course I believe was to give the students a space where we can relate, not judge ourselves, and make room for a more creative mindset to flow. To make a shift in reality and honor what inspires us.

“The Most Handsome Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a story about transformation and the power of beauty. The arrival of the drowned man leads to a profound change in the remote village on the seaside cape. The villagers’ perception of themselves and their own lives is altered as they become enamored with the beauty of the drowned man. Assigning this story as the first one in the course could be a way to set the tone and introduce the students to the themes that will be explored throughout the course. The themes of transformation and the power of beauty can be relevant to many aspects of life and can serve as a foundation for discussing a range of topics. Moreover, the story’s powerful imagery and vivid descriptions can also be a great way to engage students and pique their interest in the course. Its simple, yet captivating style can also be a great starting point for students to explore the magical realism genre. In conclusion, the assignment of “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” as the first story in the course can be seen as a way to introduce the students to the themes of transformation and the power of beauty and to engage them with the course material.  

I believe you assigned the reading “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” because it is an interesting and, in a way realistic, understandable and relatable story that is great to start off with because it gave a great first impression to the class and what the future readings may look like or seem like. It gave a realistic, but still keeping that ominous and magical tone to it, of bringing in a stranger and showing us readers how people can be quick to make assumptions about one another, good or bad and how that can affect others as a whole. As the first reading to a new class it seems that there could be a relation as to how we as students can make our own assumptions and opinions off on any little aspect. I also believe it was a great story, author and genre introduction to get a familiarization with wording, grammar and the plot in general.

I believe this story is a beautiful introduction to this course and I believe you chose to assign this story first to introduce us to rich language and imagination; maybe even to see what we gain from reading it. To study literature is to study the value of wording, poetry and perspective in writing and Gabriel Garcia Marquez captures your attention immediately. While he paints a vivid story that we know could never be true, the story also teaches the reader something about community and perspective. For example, he starts with the children, “They had been playing with him all afternoon, burying him in the sand and digging him up again…,” who have no perception of the seriousness they’re dealing with, to show the innocence children possess. Then the women, “Fascinated by his huge size and his beauty, the women then decided to make him some pants from a large piece of sail and a shirt from some bridal linen so that he could continue through his death with dignity.” This line, even with no context, is beautiful. It shows how caring and supportive humanity can be if we all put aside any outside worries or problems, and simply cared for one another. “…men and women became aware for the first time of the desolation of their streets, the dryness of their courtyards, the narrowness of their dreams as they faced the splendor and beauty of their drowned man.” This one stranger’s death brought everyone together and forced them to view their lives differently.

I think the reason we were given “The handsome drowned man in the world as a first story was to remind us to accept each other. To accept people who they are and allow them to be who they are. People are naturally bias towards others without realizing it. We judge people based on what we feel like is normal or correct without realizing the correct way is based on the persons acceptations.  The women in the village thought that if the man lived in the village his house would have had the widest doors, the highest ceilings and the strongest bed floors (3). The women even started comparing their own men to him without knowing where or who he was (3). Once the women realized the struggle, he must have gone through their feelings changed. Hey can see him in life condemned to going through the door sideways, cracking his head on the crossbeams, remaining on his feet during visits, not knowing what to do with his, sea lion hands while the lady of the house looked for her most resistant chair and begged him (4). This part of the story shows how much people can get caught in an illusion when it comes to something we want that we don’t see it for what it really is.

I believe you assigned the short story “The Handsomest Drowned Man” because it not only teaches a lesson but it also puts magical realism into perspective; The author speaks about a small village in which a giant is washed up on shore and his presence causes the people of the town to imagine different theories and feelings about him.  Although the drowned man is not unbelievable, the reaction he elicits from the villagers is unexpected and propels the story into the realm of magical realism.  There are many different opinions/takeaways from this story, but I feel as if the main thing is magical realism because the author causes the reader to imagine and even fantasize about how the main character who they label as “Estaban” is. ‘The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,’ in my opinion, can be interpreted as a fable that focuses on the power of the imagination.  

I believe that this reading was assigned to us to remind us of our humanity during a time where society has turned against each other after the pandemic began. In “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Marquez, the author reveals the innate characteristics of human personality. For example, the author includes details of how the children were playing with the corpse to highlight the innocence of a child and their inability to understand the concept of death as a part of life. On another note, the women of the village were very compassionate and nurturing towards Esteban when they didn’t know him as a way to demonstrate respect for death while the men saw the man as an inconvenience to their lives. Eventually, towards the end of the story, the village came together and “they came to hold the most splendid funeral” (Marquez 7).  After seeing the effort put in by the women to prepare the body, the entire village began contributing and this signifies the importance and strength behind society working together and showing compassion towards another. After the funeral, the village was reborn with a new meaning of unity and what it meant to respect life before death which allowed the village to improve their own lives by making the village brighter and more inviting. This is important because in society, to help others is viewed as an inconvenience when unity is needed in those times to guide us into better directions.

I believe “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” is the first story of the course to be assigned to show us a piece of writing that illustrates a specific culture through myth, the basis of story telling. In this case, Latin American culture through a children’s tale. Myths and legendary tales passed down from generation to generation exist in every culture. These stories teach us about peoples’ belief systems and what they hold important, most times ultimately teaching a lesson or knowledge to contemplate afterwards. Mythological stories have become the model narrative for many contemporary books and films. In “The Handsomest Drowned Man,” the women in a village grow an attachment to an anonymous tall, handsome man who washes to shore. They clean him, make clothes for him, and give him an identity, Esteban. From these actions, we can assess that the people in the village live in a small, welcoming community where the afterlife is important. When the men and women are preparing to bury Esteban, they make people in neighboring villages aware of the funeral and assign family members for Esteban including people from the other villages, uniting them all. “The Handsomest Drowned Man,” has the potential to teach children to unite and work together, while the author is able to honor his family and culture by displaying this idea through the style of story his Grandmother would tell. This myth also displays how many places are identified by one single person, who is human but idolized, which gives this story importance as well.

In my opinion, the story “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” was assigned to make the readers use their critical thinking, since there is symbolism used to inspire others throughout the story. The author stated, “the ability to keep on growing after death was part of the nature of certain drowned men.” (Márquez 1). Furthermore, the villagers that found a dead man ashore created greatness within themselves, since their village is next to the sea. This dead mean ashore seemed like a message for the villagers to not give up their determination. According to Márquez, “the vegetation on him came from faraway oceans and deep water and that his clothes were in tatters, as if he had sailed through labyrinths of coral.” (Márquez 2). This shows that the dead man is a symbol for the villagers to change and not end up like another drowned man ashore, so the village will try to expand and reach for something bigger.

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

I believe you assigned “The Most Handsome Drowned Man” to us as the first story of the course because it shows how someone we don’t know; a stranger, can have such an effect on us and change our perspective on life. Before “Esteban” is found near the beach their life was ordinary, but once they see him in this lifeless condition they begin to imagine what he would’ve been like. They go as far as saying that his name is Esteban, that he’s a thoughtful and sincere man like no other. They begin to compare their own husbands to them and cry with joy at the thought of him being  “the more destitute, most peaceful, and most obliging man on earth”. They can’t help but feel bad for him and his passing. I love how the story ends because although Esteban has passed away he will forever live in their memories and in their village. The villagers accept that their life will change including the way they live. They make it their duty to paint their front doors vibrant colors, have wider doors with high ceilings, and strong floors as well as planted flowers on cliffs, in remembrance of him. So they can happily say this is Esteban’s village.

I think that this was assigned to us as our first story of the course because it is showing us how a person can change the way people think, and how much of a change they can make in others. All of the women in the village decided to take care of him, and make him a responsibility to them. They all made sure he that he was in good condition even though he was dead, and made sure he had clothes, also have a funeral happen where the women live. In the story they described him as tall and strong, and the men in their village became jealous because of how the women were acting with Esteban. Then it came to a realization that Esteban had made a change in the village, and the women and men came together. The villagers were looking at Esteban and thought that he was not confident in his size, and so then the people in the village started working together as a team to prepare him a funeral. He made an impact towards the people to better themselves and their lives.

I feel like this story was assigned as the first story of this course to show us how much a stranger can influence others. While it is not a common situation to be in, there are certain things in this story to relate to. When the women see this handsome man, they give him a worthy name and make clothes for him. They don’t know him and even while dead, he makes such a big influence on the women. After finding out he doesn’t belong to any of the neighboring villages, they decide to take in his influence and rebuild their village in memory of him. The look on his face and the size of his body caused them to change their way of thinking and living even though they never knew him. I feel like this relates to how we feel compassion for people all around the world even though we never met them. A simple picture of someone who looks sad can cause thousands of assumptions on why the person may look that way. Many people feel compassion for people naturally and want to help them in any way possible. Maybe not in the way the story tells, but in other ways we are able to.

I think that this story was assigned to show the great change the washed up drowned man brought to the village.  The woman took care of the dead man making him new clothes and preparing him for a proper funeral service in their village. The man was so big that it was hard for the woman to accommodate  for him and take care of him, the big man brought the whole village together to try to identity who he was, the other men in the village where getting jealous because a dead man was getting all the attention from the woman. The people of the village realized that the man was sincerely and had no control of his giant size so he was ashamed of his troubles for being so big. This changed the whole village the occurrence of this drowned washed up man made the village see how ashamed  he was of his size and they made their houses bigger doors wider and taller ceilings so his memory could live on without having to worry about his big awkward size. Search Modes All Images News Search Modes All Images News Search Modes