Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

The Drowned Man

It is the drowned man who prompts the villagers to change, and in this way he acts as a guide for our protagonists. The drowned man, in his magnificence, teaches the villagers that they, too, can be something extraordinary. As Márquez writes, he shows them "the narrowness of their dreams" and inspires them to want more. When the villagers imagine the efforts they will take to improve themselves in the future, it is because the drowned man guides them in this direction.