The Lifeguard Analysis

Epitaph

Many contemplate the purpose of their life. We were all born to die. The only thing we leave here on Earth are our Earthly bodies. Beauty fades. Successfulness fades. Everything fades. We all want to be remembered, but there are 7 billion of us on Earth. We cannot all do extraordinary things to be remembered. Most of us will just lead ordinary lives. However those who knew us on a deeper level will forever hold us in their hearts, differently from those who only knew us superficially. Yet the people in our lives, even the ones who have played a big role and or a minimal role, have influenced us in some kind of way. In Mary Morris’ short story “The Lifeguard” and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The

In “The Lifeguard,” Morris vaguely describes that, “The drowning of Billy Mandel was the only recorded drowning in the history of Pirate's Point.” With that being brought up early on in the story, it foreshadows the significance of that event. Despite years after Billy Mandel’s drowning, people at Pirate’s Point still remembers it to the extent that it has become a part of their history. Morris’ main character was so eager to find out more about it, that while on a date, with Billy’s younger sister, he had the audacity to say, “Tell me about Billy…” Though it was not the best of topics to bring up on a date, it was brought up due to his curiosity. The power of curiosity inclined Morris’ main character to come across intrusive by saying that. Billy’s memory lives on within the people of Pirate’s Point; even if the thing Billy is most known for is his drowning. In addition, in Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World,” he is also able to show how one’s memory lives on. After finding a dead man washed up on shore, the curious villagers clean him up and plan out his funeral. During that process, the villagers commemorate the life of the deceased man thinking“...he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names… they were going to paint their house fronts gay colors to make Esteban's memory

Throughout Morris’ story, she incorporates internal thoughts of the main character: “The summer before I left for college, I was head lifeguard on the beach at Pirate’s Point… I could lift a girl into the air with each arm… Girls clung to my stand, like the shipwrecked to their raft, and I could do no wrong.” The inner thoughts of the main character allows readers to be put into that character’s mindset. As a reader, we may think that the character is arrogant and cocky. Knowing the character’s personality, we can make connections and predictions to the main character. In addition to that, Morris’ first person perspective is able to also show the audience the character’s shift in self. While going to thank the cougar who he had thought had been chasing him all summer, he describes the experience as, “‘But I didn't know what to do…’ I was not aware as I said that tears streamed down my face. But soon I found myself crying on Mrs. Lovenheim’s porch... of the women to whom I was, in fact, nothing at all.” This highlights the self realization that Morris’ main character had about himself. He was not the center of attention for everyone after all. His overconfidence had shifted to being more self conscious. In contrast, Marquez’s story is told in a third