In every day society, people tend to judge others based on their outward appearance. This was the case in "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The short story was about an unusual man who had washed up on shore. His name was Esteban. Esteban was very large, so everyone automatically thought he was this great man. All of the villagers had unreal expectations about Esteban. To be thought of as the “tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built man” creates some very high standards to live up to. All of the women compared their own men to Esteban, but they knew their men could never be as great as him.
As the villagers have more time to think, they realize that Esteban’s life was probably not as grand as they once imagined. They slowly realized that people probably thought of him as a burden or nuisance. To be known as the “big boob” or the “handsome fool” was not something that you would want.
I think the theme of this story is that you can’t judge someone on the way they look. Although someone could look like they are spectacular, they could have a harder life than you imagine. In many ways this happens in real life. We compare ourselves to other people, when in reality; they don’t have it as good as we think they do.
