Unrealistic When Over Exaggerated

In the story, “The Handsomest Drowned Man in The World,” Esteban is described by the village people in an exaggerated way, making the story not believable. Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes the drowned man with much exaggeration making the story unrealistic. Esteban, the drowned man who washed upon shore, is described many times as being unbelievably heavy, tall, and handsome. Many readers probably question how a dead man that has been floating at sea can be handsome. The village people feel that this dead man is powerful almost like a god and needs to be cared for “so he can continue through his death with dignity.”

When the village men were carrying Esteban to the nearest house, they believe he weighs “as much as a horse.” First of all, there is more than one village man carrying the drowned man, and with all of their muscle together they should be able to carry him without any major effort. Even if “he’d been floating…and the water got into his bones,” he still would not weigh so much that village men would struggle while carrying him a short distance. The drowned man could not be obese because the village men claim that he is “the strongest…man they have ever seen.” Therefore, when the village men were comparing the drowned man to weigh as much as a horse, they must be exaggerating his size completely.

When the women in the village finish cleaning him off, they all realize that he is too tall to fit into their houses. If there is no “bed…large enough to lay him on,” and he cannot fit into “the tallest [man’s]…pants,” he is certainly unrealistically tall. It is hard to believe that a human body can barely fit into a house and cannot fit into any of the men’s clothing in the village. Esteban is described as ridiculously tall and therefore, the women had to make his “pants from a large piece of sail.”