“The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is a story that is different, a small town being affected by a washed up corpse that changes the perspective of life for every person that looks at him. Assigning this story first is a decision precisely on the fact that it can broke into different interpretations. It has a larger meaning to it and it can be different meanings to others. In this story, We are introduced to men and women in this small town with a daily routine. This routine was then interrupted by a corpse, who they all began to obsess over. They began to build a story for his life and how he could’ve ended up here. This story is not only different, but very descriptive, which sets a perfect example of setting and imagery that we will be exploring throughout this semester. These quotes are from the overview of the story, “…stories about how one interprets unexpected events in one’s life…” and “…demand that the reader approach interpretation–and the process of reading these stories–with an awareness of the problems of interpretation.” These quotes bring out that the reader is who is breaking down this story and giving it meaning for themselves. In this course, We will be writing essays on stories and using our knowledge on the stories to write. This is why “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” is preparing us to do the same for other stories.
2 thoughts on “Sanaya Kosanovich Discussion 2”
“The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” is a good story to start, and you’ve explained why perfectly. I believe you had a perfect understanding of how the washed-up corpse affects the small town’s viewpoint. It’s interesting that you can see the deeper significance and many different perspectives it provides. You did a great job of emphasizing how realistic the story is, particularly with reference to the environment and imagery. The quotes you highlighted show how important it is for readers to interpret a story in their own unique ways. I really liked your perspective on this!
Sanaya, yes, this story does present opportunities for multiple interpretations, as we can see from the various responses in this discussion. I think the story says so much about the power of stories to change lives. I like the quote in the article about how maybe the story will mirror the lives of readers as they expand their imaginations and let the story speak to them.