LITERARY ANALYSIS

Balthazar’s Marvellous Afternoon

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Originally written in Spanish, this short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is set
in a small town in Colombia. Colombia was under Spanish rule from 1499 to
1819 and has a mixed cultural heritage, with Spanish and African elements.
 PLOT
• `Balthazar's Marvellous Afternoon' has a fairly simple plot. Balthazar is requested by Pepe, the
son of Chepe Montiel, the richest man in town, to make a cage for birds. After spending two
weeks creating a beautiful cage he takes it to Chepe Montiel, where he is stunned to learn that
Pepe ordered the cage without his father's permission. The mean and stingy Montiel refuses to
pay Balthazar for the cage, the child creates a scene and he is asked to take it back. Moved by the
child's agony Balthazar leaves the cage there, saying it was made as a gift for the child. He lies to
the crowd outside Montiel's house that he managed to get a good price for the cage. The story
ends with Balthazar lying drunk on the street after a night of celebration with the townsfolk.
 SETTING
• Geographical setting : a village somewhere in Colombia
• Physical setting : early in the morning
• 5 basic locations:
• 1. B's house and shop;
• 2. Montiel's house;
• 3. the pool hall;
• 4.a bar or whore house;
• 5. the street.
 CHARACTERS
Balthazar
• the name is of Greek origin, meaning `God save the King.' He was one of the
three wise men who travelled to Judea to pay homage to the infant Jesus.
• He's the artist who makes "the most beautiful cage in the world.“
• Dedicated and has passion for his work. Rejecting a chance to earn extra money
Balthazar proves that he is not a good businessman. He is an artist who creates
for the love of his craft, not to earn money.
Ursula
• Balthazar’s wife
• She is practical and calculative wanting the cage made by Balthazar to be bought
at an expensive price.
• Unlike everyone else she does not notice or admire the beauty of the cage. What
she notices is its size and the price that it can fetch them.

Dr. Octavio Giraldo

•  He has aesthetic taste and is eloquent in recognizing the beauty of the cage. 
Jose Montiel
• He's the rich man who is completely insensitive to beauty. He's the only one in
the story who isn't awestruct by the beauty of the cage.
• His house is a description of his character : it is crammed with all types of things
and Jose Montiel is so stingy that he sleeps with the fan switched off so that he
can watch over his house. His suspicious nature does not allow him to rest
peacefully. 
• Paranoid and only cares for what he thinks is right.
 THEME
• Balthazar creates a stunning work of art--the most beautiful cage in
the world and gives it as a gift to the rich man who can't buy it. His
money has no power over the artist, who gives his art away. Use
value trumps exchange value. A marvelous afternoon for the artist
who can't be bought, who doesn't let money determine the fate of his
work.
 LITERARY CRITICISMS

• Marxism
conflict between the poor(Balthazar as a worker) and rich(Montiel)
• Structuralism
Beard of Balthazar – his beard grew thick and Balthazar did not merely cared. His
beard was a symbolic structure for his dedication and love for art. He did not care what
was happening to him or what he looked like, as long as he is working on his piece.
Cage – symbolizes society’s imprisonment to money. The cage represents or is a
symbol of the materialistic element in society. Money imprisons the soul just as the
cage imprisons the bird's freedom.
• The last sentence is not as much a criticism of Christianity as it as of
the hypocrisy of people who, while observing its outward practices,
ignore its basic humanity, its message of universal love and
brotherhood.
• Money can’t buy happiness.