The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World

“The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” is a representative of the genre of magical realism, written by Gabriel Marquez. Magical Realism is a narrative strategy that applies fantasy elements to portray ordinary events. However, there is a lot of imagination, mythical and magical elements in this story. It blurs the difference between reality and myth. As the story starts, everything is ordinary and as usual, until a drowned man washes up from the sea and arrives to a small, boring village with no flowers. The drowned man is extremely big and his appearance is the handsomest. Therefore, people in the village characterize him with superlatives. They deeply believe the drowned man has the power to transform the village and make their lives better, which is why they even name him “Esteban,” represents a mythical figure and a god of their belief. At the end, the villagers prepare a ritual for
It describes an event from a perspective of people who live in one world, but experience a different reality. At the same time, it is also a way to explain something that is unexplainable, such as “Esteban”, who is enormous and the handsomest. In the story, the dead man “Esteban” is an obvious and a huge symbol of magical realism. Indeed, he is just an ordinary man, but because of his appearance and physical features, the villagers all think he knows magic and can transform things. Additionally, this story takes place in an ordinary small and dry village near the sea. The small village consisted of “twenty-odd wooden houses that have stone courtyards with no flowers” (56). Villagers live near the sea; as a result, they cannot plant flowers because of the salty water. However, that's only until the day the handsomest drowned man accidentally reaches the village, which is when everything starts to become extraordinary. At the same time, it is the beginning of a