The central theme of this early Gabriel Garcia Márquez story is perception of others. ‘Queen’, the six o’clock regular in José’s restaurant, is a prostitute. Queen’s customers see her as a sex object, to be used and sometimes abused. The police see her as an alcoholic miscreant who cannot be trusted. José, who professes platonic love for Queen, sees the vulnerable human being within. Queen, who claims to be disgusted by all men, sees the caring, kind-hearted José only as someone to be taken advantage of. Other themes: habit, murder, naïveté vs. worldliness, misunderstanding, reputation. More…
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One of These Days
In this story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a corrupt Mayor approaches a dentist to treat an abscessed tooth. The dentist does not want to help, but knows he will be killed if he refuses. The dentist has a revolver in a drawer next to his chair. Once the Mayor is in the chair, the dentist has him at his mercy. In a quiet but serious voice, he says to the Mayor: “Now you’ll pay for our twenty dead men.” The dentist has decided what has to be done… does he pull the trigger, or pull the tooth? More…
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
This story from Gabriel Marquez describes how the body of a huge man washed in from the sea transforms a drab, sleepy fishing village. The body goes through stages of being admired for its power and good looks, pitied for the inconvenience being so large must have caused, given a name, claimed by the village as one of its own, and re-buried at sea with great dignity. The people feel such pride in being associated with the unknown man that their celebrations of his life turn the village into a famous landmark. Themes: myth creation, perceptions and influence of beauty. More…
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
The major themes of this story by Gabriel García Márquez are doubt, cruelty and greed, and common reactions to those who appear strange or “different”. The treatment of the out of sorts angel and “spider girl” evoke genuine pathos and carry allusions to how some countries lock up refugees in miserable conditions and the likes of Joseph Merrick (the deformed gentleman paraded around 19th century England as The Elephant Man). The only uplifting moment comes when the innocent child climbs through a hole in the old man’s cage to play with him. Other themes include suffering, religion and the supernatural. More…
The Sea of Lost Time
The seaside town in this story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a smelly, unpleasant place. With every incoming tide, the ocean brings garbage and rotting fish. Many people have moved away; the town is dying. Things change when a local man, Tobias, notices something different about the sea breeze. It smells like roses. Weekend visitors begin to arrive. There is music and dancing again. One of the visitors is a strange foreigner with bags of money. He gives it away to people who ‘do things’ for him, and one day shows Tobias the secret of what lies beneath the waves. More…