The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor

What may have prompted Luis Alejandro Velasco to tell the full, uncensored story of his travail at sea? What does this choice say about his personal qualities, and which of these qualities are already apparent in the book’s narrative? Provide examples from the text.

What type of literary device does Márquez use when he mentions The Caine Mutiny? Is it effective?

Why was the government of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla concerned with the truth of what happened to Velasco and the other crewman from the A. R. C. Caldas? Research the political context of the book and discuss at least three ramifications of the uncensored story’s publication.

Velasco repeatedly states that he is not a hero. Do you agree? What makes someone a hero? How are these qualities apparent (or not apparent) in Velasco throughout the narrative?

What important information can one gather about survival at sea from reading The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor? Describe both physical and psychological elements of survival, citing at least three examples from the text.

Which elements characteristic of Gabriel García Márquez’s writing are found in this book? Provide three examples from the text.

Discuss the elements of time and Velasco’s perception thereof the longer he is at sea. Hint: In the beginning, Velasco relies on his watch, while later on the arrival of sharks plays an increasingly greater role.

While The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor is nonfiction, Marquez employs various techniques—both diction and literary devices—that are usually exclusively associated with fiction. Identify three of these elements in the text and describe their impact on the text as a whole.