Someone Has Been Disarranging These Roses

This story is written from the perspective of a ghost. This is something that is initially

difficult to figure out. There are a lot of small words that indicate this, and if you miss them, the

story becomes a whole lot more confusing. However, if you are to pay close attention to the way

the story is told, you can figure out that this story is told by a ghost. Based on context clues, I

think that this ghost is a child who died 40 years ago. He is now haunting his childhood home. In

this home lives someone he is familiar with. It is unclear, at least for me, who this person is. At

first, I thought that this person was his mother, but it describes her growing up, so I do not think

this anymore. I believe that this person is a friend from his childhood, maybe a sibling. The

ghostly narrator enjoys communicating with this person by rearranging the roses and turning the

lamp on and off. This communication serves as a bridge between the world of the living and the

world of the dead. I think this says something about Marquez’s beliefs as well as our own beliefs.

By writing a story about a ghost, he shows that he at least has some inclination towards believing

that they are real. The fact that we as readers can recognize this so easily shows a similar thing.

Furthermore, the ghost in this story does things ghosts in media typically do, such as turning on

and off a light. I think that this shows the influence of popular media on Marquez’s work. This

story ends with a sentiment from the ghost, who says that he cannot wait to be joined by his

friend so that she can know that it was not the wind who was moving all the roses. I think that

this says something about our need to belong and be seen. The narrator in this story has “lived”

his whole ghost life trying to communicate with his friend, but has always just been brushed off.

Everything that he does has been justified through some other reason. He has not felt like he is

seen by his old friend. The sentiment of wanting his friend to die has some darker undertones,

but it mostly speaks about his desire to be seen. I do not see this as the ghost saying his friend
should die sooner. Rather, I see this as a wish for his friend to one day understand what has been

going on. I think that the narrator no doubt feels lonely and he wishes for his friend to join him,

to finally be able to effectively communicate with him. Overall, this story, once understood,

speaks to our desire to be seen and to help others understand.

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

This story is very interesting to me because it gives me some insight into our relationship

with religion and necessity. At the beginning of this story, when the townspeople first see this

supposed fallen angel, they praise him. This gives us insight into their religious side. Because

this individual bears a striking resemblance to a fallen angel, the people in the town praise him.

People from all over come to witness this anomaly. Within this religious zeal, there is some

allusion to the townspeople’s relationship with and feelings toward the unknown. These people

have not ever encountered anything like this before, so they are more prone to be scared of this. I

think that this contributes to the praise that they give the man. The fear of not knowing where he

came from combined with the fear of God's wrath is what drives them to treat him this way.

However, as the story progresses, the townspeople’s attitude toward the fallen angel changes.

They become less invested in him and his state. They start to become indifferent to him and

leave him to sit in the square alone. After everyone has satiated their excitement and awe, he

becomes less exciting. I think that this is due to a number of things. The people still do not know

what he is or where he came from and still have not been able to figure this out. Because of this

lack of progress in knowledge, people become bored and move on to things that will provide

them with more answers. This man was already suffering and, likely due to the people's initial

negligence, has not improved, so the people are more likely to turn away from his needs.
Furthermore, their tendency to neglect this man shows the fragility of their faith. These once

God-fearing people are now leaving a suffering man to rot outside. I think that this story speaks a

lot about our own desire for new commodities. We like things that are fresh and exciting.

However, after we have been around these things for a long period of time, they become boring

and uninteresting, much like the man was for the townspeople. When we are uninterested in

something, we don’t care as much for its well-being. Overall, this story represents our fragile

relationship with faith and the ever-present desire to have something new.

The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World

This story was really interesting to me. Not only was it well-written, but it provided

useful insight into my own relationship with creativity and imagination. I think that a lot of

people would generally say that creativity and imagination are good things. I have not met many

people who would say that their creativity has been detrimental to them. However, this story

shows the less positive side of imagination. This is a case in which imagination has gone too far.

These people have made up a story for a man they have never met, and they are treating him

better than one of their own. I think that this shows the true extent to which imagination can go. I

think that when imagination goes this far, it can become detrimental. The people on this island

put in so much work and went through grief over this man whom they had never met simply

because their imaginations gave them a story. In the real world, when we imagine things that

aren't real, we can put ourselves in danger. These people were dealing with some random man

from some random place that could have had any amount of diseases. They were handling a dead

body. This was a situation that could have not turned out so well for the people on the island.

Because of their imagination, they were neglectful of these dangers. On the other hand, the
people in this town were unified after finding this drowned man. Because of the story that they

made up for this man, they were brought together. These people all gathered together to hold a

service for this random man, showing how unified they can be when given a cause. I also think

that this aspect says a lot about human desire. When we are given something that we desire, we

tend to worship it. This happens again in the story A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. The

townspeople see a person that they desire to be or idolize in some way, then worship this person

like they haven't seen anything better. This shows that people are always seeking things that are

better. They look for qualities in people that they do not have themselves. I think that this story

says a lot about human nature and the power of imagination. It was a very impactful story to

read.