"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" Close Reading Worksheet

Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and practice close reading analysis skills with this rigorous worksheet covering “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This activity helps to eliminate take-home assessment planning duties, saving teachers valuable time without sacrificing academic rigor. A detailed answer key is included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.

This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly.

By engaging with this close reading activity, students will:

• Identify what the text states both explicitly and implicitly
• Determine the greater significance of a given detail
• Discern the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices
• Explore cause-and-effect relationships
• Examine how characters think, behave, develop, and interact
• Argue whether the wives’ feelings toward their husbands are justified
• Consider whether the villagers are better off for having met the drowned man
• Support claims and inferences with reasoned thinking and relevant evidence
• Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision