As the women are cleaning the dead man’s body and preparing him for a funeral, they are taken aback by his appearance. “Not only was he the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built man they had ever seen, but even though they were looking at him there was no room for him in their imagination.” This man is not just beautiful, but so awe-inspiring it goes beyond what they could have ever imagined. The women have never dreamed of such a perfect man. They settled for what they had, and they had no reason to dream of anything better. This dead man opens a whole new world for them. The women named the man Esteban, and wept over his death. “They wept so much, for he was the most destitute, most peaceful, and most obliging man on earth, poor …show more content…
“Young Goodman Brown” is about a negative rebirth of a devout, religious man into a dark, mistrustful man. Young Goodman Brown is a moral Christian man that values his faith above all else, but by the end of the story he has been reborn into an angry, sad husk of the man he was. He can no longer practice his faith or attend church after what he experienced in the woods. He is forever changed because “he cannot remove the doubt of universal evil from his mind.” (Walsh, Thomas F., Jr.) “Cathedral” is about the positive rebirth of a narrow-minded man into one that is glad for change and has his eyes opened. Bub starts off in the story as prejudiced and closed off to Robert. By the end of the story, he’s letting Robert clasp his hand as he draws. This experience has helped him to be reborn. He is enlightened and ready to accept change. “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” is about the positive rebirth of a sad, miserable village into a place of light and hope. Esteban’s presence in the village inspired its people to better themselves and lead lives worthy of Esteban. The village is reborn into a place Esteban would be proud to call home. The theme of rebirth is evident in all three of these short