The Story: "I Only Came to Use the Phone"
The story, "I Only Came to Use the Phone" covers the narration of Maria by Marquez and how the spread of sanity is led by poor judgment of the society. Maria goes through issues and because of the situation at hand; she could not save herself from people’s wrong judgment especially that of her husband (Márquez, 89). People’s needs and issues affect their lives in a way that others start judging them wrongly, as it is demonstrated by Marquez by narrating about Maria’s terrible journey. The story is like a nightmare given that the narrator uses Maria's horrific journey to tell the story in the form of verification of events, which make the story seem like real.
Magical Realism in the Story
In the story, Marquez applies his magical realism in popularizing the genre, as he states how Maria used her phone after she became anxious and depressed because of the issue of her car breaking down and failure to reach her husband. The story is a nightmare since Maria required having access to a telephone to contact her husband, but the hospital judges that she is obsessed with the phone given that the facility handles mentally ill people. As the narrator connects the incidences from the breaking down of the car, taking of a bus, being admitted to the mental institute and the husband’s behavior, this turns the narration to a fairy tale (Márquez, 71-91). Indeed, the use of magical realism as one of the themes indicates that the husband might have caused Maria's problems intentionally.
Kafkaesque Tale and Maria's Journey
In this story, the way Marquez narrates the Kafkaesque tale enables the reader to identify the reality and possibility of what Marie went through after her car broke down (Márquez, 71). After the car breaks down and Maria's realization that she could not get help in fixing it, she only had the option of riding the bus that came over (Márquez, 71). However, the narrator is fascinating based on how he connects Maria's mental condition with the incidence which saw her get to the psychiatric facility and the need to reach her husband.
Society's Judgment and Denial of Human Rights
The setting of the story, which is in a society where people go through problems, but others instead of assisting, they isolate them and judge them wrongly (Márquez, 79). The setting proves that the society can make people be in places they do not want and how human rights are denied because of the issue of individuals being labeled the same based on their look and behavior. Maria was not insane, but because of riding a bus that was carrying crazy women, she was taken to the mental facility and was treated equally with other patients, therefore being denied the right to use a phone at the hospital to contact her husband (Márquez, 84).
Themes: Obscurity, Magical Realism, and Spreading of Madness
The themes used by the narrator in communicating the intended message to the audience; obscure, magical realism, sanity into insanity, unfaithfulness in relationships, and spreading of madness; are evidence of how the society labels individuals and makes them live in isolation. The author’s use of these themes shows that sanity can be spread because of people’s behavior when they are in problems. Maria seemed insane just because of the breaking down of her car and the lack of opportunity to use the phone to call her husband (Márquez, 88).
A Captivating Narrative
In the beginning, the narrator is fascinating to the audience with how he shows where the Mexican woman’s problems begun and the fact that she had nowhere to get assistance (Márquez, 72). Also, the story is interesting because of how the narrator connects the first incidence and the conclusion where the husband seems not willing to listen to Maria despite her effort to reach him via the phone.
Work Cited
Márquez, Gabriel García. Strange pilgrims. Penguin Books India, 1994.
