The True Meaning

                “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World” is an old magical realism tale that really just consists of an enormous man that once washed up on. But really, is that all that is to this story.

                Although the man washing up on shore seems to be all this story is cracked up to be; you have ask yourself what the actual message is that the author is trying to get across, and also what he means by it.

                In one part of the story the woman of the small village of “twenty-odd wooden cottages” are peering over the man that washed up on shore, who was already assaigned the name of “Esteban.” Esteban is already labled as a perfect being. Words, like magnificent, strong, and huge are useed to describe his perfection. All this perfection, crammed into one person  causes a lot of envy among the woman in the miniscule village. Esteban is compared to all of the men in the village and to top it all off, they all confessed their actual doubt for their men.

                Later on, Esteban is sent to sea and something critical in the story’s message is brought to the story. The author seemed to almost explain how the villagers improved themselves after Esteban left the village. I think this all derives from Esteban's greatness and perfection. I think that the women realized that perfection like Esteban's is impossible to achieve and not only them, but their men also can only shoot for an improvement that is as close to perfection as possible to attain. That's what I really love about this story, the lesson behind it. So if you actually begin to think about the true meanings of this story, I believe you will quickly realize it is not just a story about an enormous man that washed up on shore.