Shipwrecked

I initially thought it was a questionable decision to tell the story in a first-person point of view, but have it written by another author. I doubted the authenticity of how the story would be read as a whole, since the man who actually experienced this highly tragic and dramatic situation would not actually write the story.

My questions were put to rest when Gabriel Garcia Marquez provided the story of the destroyer actually flipping and sinking into the Caribbean. Marquez’s account of Luis Alejandro Velasco falling overboard and attempting to rescue his shipmates was full of physical and emotional stress. The dramatic tension included in the few pages dedicated to the wreck was set as one of the highs for the entirety of the book. I realized it was probably the best decision for Velasco’s story when I stopped thinking about Marquez. I think forgetting about him is probably one of the goals the book had, if there were any.

Up until that point, Marquez builds up the tension by highlighting Velasco’s nervousness and how it is shared with the rest of his shipmates, especially his bunkmate Luis Rengifo. His continued attack reminding readers of Velasco’s uneasiness toward the sea is daunting. I felt a connection to Velasco (credit given to Marquez), and his feelings transferred into my own body as I read through each page.

The tension set up a scenario in my own reading of the book where I kept asking for more from the characters. The lifeboat scene is the first thing I think of when any thought of dramatic tension flashes in my mind. Why the hell didn’t Velasco do more? He has four shipmates floating around him, meters away, and they all end up dying. Maybe that is a bit selfish of me to ask, but I can’t help thinking how Velasco could have done more to save his friends, especially Rengifo. I picture that scene in my mind over and over again. I imagine Velasco sitting, steading his raft, allowing the wind to thwart his attempt at saving his bunkmate. I wanted him to jump off the lifeboat to help. Obviously I’ve never been shipwrecked, but for the sake of the story, I wanted him to do more. Marquez makes it seem that Velasco was too confident that Rengifo would survive. I thought there would be more emotion.

The dramatic tension also allowed time to stop. I thought that the particular shipwreck lasted hours, but in a matter of ten minutes it was clear that Velasco would be the only survivor. Marquez added detail of continual reference to Velasco’s watch is helpful, but when the shipwreck starts and the watch checks stop, time is immeasurable. Once readers are told only ten minutes have passed, it’s almost hard to believe. Instead of time slowly going by, I experienced the opposite.

Altogether, this moment in the book made it OK in my mind for Marquez to write Velasco’s story in first person. The tension kept me tied to the story not only for this section but others as well. This section was just the most memorable.