The handsomest drowned man in the world analysis
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World’ is a short story by the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, published in his 1972 collection Leaf Storm and Other Stories. A story about acceptance, community, and honouring the dead, ‘The Handsomest Drowned Male in the World’ is one of Márquez’ most powerful stories.
Before we offer an analysis of the story’s meaning, here’s a brief recap of the plot.
Plot summary
Some children playing on a beach see a strange bulge in the sea, and believe it is an enemy ship or a whale. But when the mysterious object is washed up on the shore, they realise it is the body of a man. They act with it, burying it in the sand and digging it up again, when someone notices the body and alerts the attention of the village.
The lifeless man is then carried into the nearest house. He is a large man, and nobody in the village recognises him. So the men of the village head off to the neighbouring villages to find out if they’re missing a big man from their village, while the women remain behind with the drowned man, cleaning the mud from his body. They observe the strange vegetation, including coral, on his
analysis of the handsomest drowned bloke in the world
A. PLOT The plot of the story is onward, from past to present. And here is the essential plot : 1. Initial Situation The story begins when the children in a petty coastal village see a bulge in the sea, but soon they realize that it was a drowned dead man. Then another villagers come to glimpse the body and carry it to the nearest house. 2. Conflict The villagers wonder that the body is bigger then their size. They become curious about the identity of the dead man, who he is, where he comes from, and what that all means (the arrival of the body to their village). 3. Complication The villagers feel that the body is usual and unusual because of his bigger size and his beautiful face. But no home is large enough to lay him on and no pants and shirt of the villagers will suit him. After knowing he is not one of them, the women are pleased and decide to dial him “Esteban”. They are grateful having a chance to gather such beautiful creature that possess never happened before. However, the men are confused what to do with him because sleepy of thinking how to acquire rid of the bother lifeless man body. 4. Climax The climax of the story happens when
Magical Realism in The Handsomest Drowned Man in The World
Human-Written
About this sample
About this sample
Human-Written
Words: 500 |
Page: 1|
3 min read
Updated: 27 January, 2025
Words: 500|Page: 1|3 min read
Updated: 27 January, 2025
In “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” Gabriel Márquez uses magic realism in the most effective way. Magic realism is the literary technique that applies fantasy to ordinary events. Márquez incorporates magical realism into “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” to show themes such as isolation, culture, and transformation. This story used magical realism in the most effective way because of the way it incorporated it into the plot.
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In the story, children were playing on the beach and a dead man washed up on the shore. The children are having fun burying him, digging him up, and reburying him. The day is average, but the man is not. He is big, giant, and handsome, unlike the men who live in the area. When the people of the town learn
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” explores several complex themes, such as beauty, the relationship between imagination and actual world, and community. García Márquez uses the third-person limited-omniscient point of view, which allows the narrator to access the perspectives of multiple villagers. However, the narrator’s perspective is limited and shares in the villagers’ wonder of who the drowned man was in life compared to who he is in death. If the story were truly omniscient, the narrator would have access to information surrounding the drowned man’s death and know his identity. Instead, the narrator only knows the man as Esteban because that is what the villagers name him.
García Márquez employs elements of magical realism to highlight the power of the imagination. The story takes place in a small seaside village. Nothing extraordinary happens, but the villagers ironically envision the drowned man as a fantastic being. He’s elevated to the level of something magnificent, and the narrative world universally accepts him as such. The villagers don’t question the significance they place on him. Instead, they idolize the drowned m
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1967
Author Biography
Plot Summary
Characters
Themes
Style
Historical Context
Critical Overview
Criticism
Sources
Further Reading
Gabriel Garcia Marquez began writing fiction as a young journalist in Bogota, Colombia, in the late 1940s. His masterpiece, Cien anos de soledad {One Hundred Years of Solitude), received worldwide critical acclaim when it was published, first in Spanish in 1967 and then in translation after 1970. Many of his short stories were written before this novel, but were not published collectively until 1972 or later. Thus, readers and critics were already familiar with his style when they read “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” one of the short stories published in Leaf Storm and Other Stories in 1972.
Garcia Marquez, considered by many to be Colombia’s foremost writer, has gained much of his recognition by writing stories that operate on a mythical, almost allegorical, level.“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” takes this type of storytelling into a realm of the fantastic that seems to have no connection to a particular time or place. Nevertheless, Garcia Marquez ha