A method to his madness: Seven major themes in the short fiction of Gabriel García Márquez

Abstract

Gabriel García Márquez’ short works reflect his ideological positions through the seven themes of death, greed, solitude, religion, decadence, independence, and imagination. Despite his seemingly pessimistic portrayal of the first six themes, his unifying motif of imagination punctuates them with a comic twist which underscores the absurdity of the human condition and makes it manageable, even transcendent. Through these thematic lenses, the Colombian writer and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature explores the vulnerability and potential of individuals and community.