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The Handsomest Drowned Man Analysis

Decent Essays
In The Handsomest Drowned Man by Gabriel Garcia Marquez the story takes place in a village that is a desert like cape. A drowned man washes up on shore to be discovered by the villagers. The man is described as the biggest, most manly, and strongest man the villagers have ever seen. The village’s women clean him up and call him Esteban. The village and surrounding villages recognize the magnificence of Esteban and give him a ceremonial funeral. In Esteban’s memory, flowers are planted in the desert to go along with bigger, more colorful houses. On the village’s land, there are more beautiful flowers than before. Before there are flowers on the land, there are no flowers at all. The village is a dull land and the villagers “were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and plant flowers” (3). The beautiful flowers and its fragrance will allure nearby sailors. The flowers are planted to represent the splendor…show more content…
Before, the village is very dull and uneventful. Now, the villagers plant flowers, build houses of great size, and paint those houses bright colors “so that in future years at dawn the passengers on great liners would awaken” (3). Making these differences cause the sailor’s attention to be put on the village. They also allow for Esteban’s memory to live on forever, which is interpreted in the story of “Esteban’s Village”. In conclusion, Esteban is a great influence on the village’s landscape. The delightful flowers are planted to present the village to ships. Villagers build huge homes and paint them to allow Esteban to walk anywhere he desires. These changes to the village’s landscape happen to make Esteban’s memory eternal. These events can lead to the creation myth of flowers and big, colorful houses. Myths are created to explain thoughts and occurrences that are mysterious. Usually when people encounter the unexplainable they panic or make
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