Annotated Story Review by K.Vicentijevic

The Character of Aurelio Escovar in
One of These Days by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

All of us go to the dentist and there is nothing strange about it. But in the story “One of These Days” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a visit to the dentist becomes very odd when the dentist Aurelio Escovar refuses to answer the Mayor’s phone call.

Aurelio is the main reason why I loved this story. His resolution to fight against the corrupted Mayor is what makes me admire him more. He is a very direct person, he gives it to everyone straight from the shoulder and that is the reason why everybody in the town hates him, not only the Mayor.
Garcia Marquez gives very clear description of the Aurelio’s surgery. You can imagine the exact look of the surgery: “…an old wooden chair, the pedal drill, a glass case with ceramic bottles.” It tells you about Aurelio’s money situation. You would expect him to have a lot of money as every dentist in the world. But he is very poor, modest and an ordinary, sometimes strange man: “He was erect and skinny with a look that rarely corresponded situation, the way deaf people have of looking.”
The only thing I do not like about Aurelio is the fact that neither he is very honest himself. What’s more, he is a dentist without a degree. In spite of all that, I respect his dilligence and dedication to his work, even though he is sometimes obsessed with it.
The way Aurelio resolves the problem with the Mayor, who comes into his surgery, is, in a certain way, interesting. In order to find out what happens in the end, I recommend you to read the story.