Magical Realism In The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World

Gabriel Marquez’s “The Handsomest Downed Man in The World” is a masterful use of magic realism. Magic realism uses fantasy in everyday situations. Marquez uses magical realist to portray themes such culture, isolation, and transformation. This story is the best example of how magical realism can be used in a plot.

The story begins with children playing on the beach when a man washes up on shore. The children enjoy burying and digging him back up. The man’s appearance is out of the ordinary. The man is handsome, big and giant. This is not the case with the men of the surrounding area. The people of the village take the drowned person in when they learn about it. The villagers give him the name Esteban. They begin making clothes for him because they know that no men’s clothes will fit. The tallest men’s pants for holidays, the fattest men’s Sunday shirts or the shoes with the largest feet would not fit. Women were attracted by Esteban’s beauty and huge size, so they decided to sew him some pants …”.

The women plan a funeral later in the story. One local adopts him as a family member. As if he were a member of their family, they mourn his death. They wonder how the village would have looked if Esteban had lived there. Esteban’s memory would require that houses be enlarged and doorways made taller. The villager reactions to Esteban are magical. A dead man’s influence can be so strong on a small village. The community takes in the stranger like he is their own.

The Handsomest Drowned Man uses the lifelike elements of “The Youngest Doll”, but with a few twists that make it fantasy. For example, a man could be made giant by using the same character. The story of “The Youngest Doll”, which uses lifelike, animated dolls in order to create magical realism, is based on this technique. The story is more realistic because the aunt increased the size of the dolls until they were the same height as the girls.

Gabriel Marquez has used magical realism the most effectively through “The HandsomestDrownedMan in theWorld”. He uses it to portray themes such as transformation, isolation and culture.