Introduction
“The handsomest drowned man in the world”, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the short-stories that was written in 1968. Magical realism has been used by the author all through the story in order to entice the reader. He also uses captivating language to create attention to the readers. He uses figurative languages/symbolism in order to bring out the intended message to the readers. The authors always yearn for positive feedback of their work from the targeted group of people. Through this, Marquez has used figurative language/symbolism to simplify the understanding as well capture the minds of the readers and flavor his work.
The Symbolism of the Corpse
The author uses the corpse as a symbol of hope and change in the villager’s lives. We are told in the story that “men and women become 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”(Marquez, 3). Through drowned man, villagers realized the emptiness and miserable lives they were living before. Men and women worked on their weakness and started to improve their living standards through digging of springs, planting of flowers on the cliffs and painting their houses bright colors in commemoration of the drowned man. Esteban as they named him brought change in the village that was poorly viewed by the sailors as they pass by and turned it to be more beautiful and attractive at the end of the story.
Esteban as a Supernatural Figure
Marquez also uses Esteban as the symbol of a supernatural figure. From the beginning of the story, the drowned man is seen by the children at the shore of the sea and they started playing with him. Women were very happy when they heard that the drowned man did not belong to the neighboring villages. They wanted to be associated with his extraordinary features. Towards the end of the story, the drowned man is thrown back to the sea unlike the normal way of sending off the corpse. When the author says that “where the fish are blind and divers die of nostalgia”(Marquez, 5) it is a clear indication that Esteban did not belong to the same world the villagers were living in. The link between the sea and the drowned man can be viewed as supernatural kind of thing. From human traditions, corpses are buried in the soils and flowers placed on top of the grave, but as for the case of Esteban, he is thrown into the sea as a way of sending off. Women later embark on planting flowers in their yards and cliffs to transform the village way of living.
The Transformation through Flowers
The author also uses flowers to symbolize transformation of the villagers from their past way of living and after the funeral of the drowned man. For example, at the beginning of the story, we are told that "The village was made up of only twenty-odd wooden houses that had a stone courtyard with no flowers"(Marquez, 2). Then towards the end of the story, we are told that the villagers realized how bad they were living in their village. The author indicates that after the burial of the drowned man, men and women were very busy planting the flowers on the cliffs, digging springs and painting their houses bright colors. They did this in commemoration of Esteban's everlasting moments. Esteban's village was greatly transformed from its native appearance at the beginning of the story to be more attractive at the end of the story. Flowers brought hope to villages for better living standards.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the author has used symbolism as a powerful tool for change. The drowned man as the main character has improved the living way of the villagers magically. Marquez has used magical realism in the story to make it interesting and enjoyable to the readers. He has written the story in a professional way that the readers are forced to think hard and open their mind wide to understand the message he wants to disclose. The author can be crowned for leaving readers in suspense. A good writer leaves a story at suspense in order to create room for the readers to think what will happen after the last incidence in that story.
Work Cited
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. "The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World." A famous tale in the magic realism genre. MyObject, OpenWorld (1984).
