Transformation In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Handsomest Drowned Man
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The Power of Transformation
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in The World” we discover the effect of a random incident on the population of the entire village. One day, children notice a drowned body by the shore. As the villagers examine it, take care of it and finally dignify it during its funeral, they experience a deep transformation. As we follow the story, we observe the great income of that situation. The changes are not reversible and they never fade away. Marquez’s story shows us the power of transformation that the villagers go through due to a discovery of one unusual drowned body. The villagers change in an absolutely positive way. At first, Esteban is just another drowned body, “filthy piece of cold meat” (Marquez, 3), but as he is being examined more carefully, the villagers see the true greatness in him. Positive and pure human beings inspire, teach and encourage others. What is absolutely incredible in the story is the fact that Esteban is a dead man. Although he cannot show the villagers his full potential, the…show more content… They approach it in different ways due to nurture, the society and the gender roles. Therefore women are first seen as a little foolish because of the way they act towards Esteban's body. They were fascinated with him. "The women (...) had dressed him, (...) had combed his hair, had cut his nails and shaved him."(Marquez, 2) Based on his physical appearance, they find a way to figure out his principles and beliefs. They worship him completely. It takes men sometime to notice all of the reasons of females’ behavior. Eventually they realize Esteban's greatness. Although women and men of the village differ so much, they both contemplate and change themselves for the better due to the drowned body arrival in their community. One of the very first examples of that improvement is the way villagers perform Esteban's