One of These Days: A tale of Conflicts and Justice

About the author

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Colombian short-story writer, novelist, and journalist. He is well known for his technique of ‘magic realism’. He won the Nobel Prize in 1982 for his literary contribution.

Introduction to the story

● Publication: The story ‘One of These Days’ was originally published in the Spanish language in 1962 in the collection of short stories known as ‘No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories’. Later it was published again in Marquez’s Collected Short Stories in 1984.

● Form: It is a fictional short story.

● Setting: Everything happens in the dental clinic where Aurelio Escovar, an uncertified dentist encounters the Mayor. The time chosen was Monday morning when Aurelio Escovar polished a set of false teeth.

● Plot: The story begins with a living description of Aurelio Escovar who was a non-accredited dentist. In the middle of the story, he treats the Mayor by pulling his infected wisdom tooth and takes revenge on him for twenty dead men who had lost their lives because of the Mayor. The story ends with the disclosure of the corruption of the Mayor when he declares that the bill for his treatment could be sent to him or the town.

● Theme: The story ‘One of These Days’ depicts the theme of power, revenge, corruption, and discrepancy. It also presents us with a conflict between the upper class of people and lower class people by portraying two characters who have different social backgrounds.

● Narrative Technique: In the story ‘One of These Days’ Gabriel Garcia Marquez used the third person narrative technique.

● The message of the story: This story shows the true nature of power that is temporary because it does not always remain in the same hands. This story also proves that we are not powerful ourselves, but the situation changes over time, and it makes us powerful or helpless.

● Characters in detail: There are three characters in the story-

(i)The dentist-Aurelio Escovar was an uncertified dentist who misused his power when the Mayor came to his clinic for treatment.

(ii)The dentist’s son- He was eight years old boy who talked to the Mayor and informed his father what the Mayor said.

(iii)The Mayor -The Mayor had suffered from toothache and came to the dentist for his treatment. He was so corrupt that he did not find any difference between his money and the money of the town which he ruled.

Word-Meaning

♦dawned-began, ♦fistful-handful, ♦stud-a large piece of metal, ♦erect-straight, ♦skinny-attractively thin, ♦steadily-in regular manner, ♦pensive-thoughtful, ♦shrill-loud high pitch, ♦bridge-partial denture anchored to adjacent teeth, ♦tranquil-calm, ♦desperation-feeling of sadness and loss, ♦leant-bent, ♦skull-bones of the head that surround the brain, ♦ceramic-art of making object by clay, ♦braced-to fasten tightly, ♦inspecting-examining completely, ♦cautious-careful, ♦abscess-painful swollen area, ♦forceps-tools for grasping ♦spittoon-container used for spit, ♦sterilized-make free from bacteria, ♦tweezer-tool for plucking, ♦tenderness-gentleness, ♦crunch-loud sound of squash, ♦rancour-angry feeling, ♦panting-taking quick deep breath, ♦tunic-a close fitting short coat, ♦crumbling-break into small pieces, ♦damn-cursed word which is used to express frustration and anger

Summary

Once there was a corrupt Mayor in the town. He had been suffering from severe toothache for five days. So he went to the dentist for treatment. The dentist was Aurelio Escovar who was not certified with any degree. He had a son who was eight years old. His son talked to the Mayor and informed his father that the Mayor wanted to pull his tooth.

The dentist refused to treat the Mayor and continued polishing a set of false teeth. Then his son told him about the warning that the Mayor would shoot him if he did not take his tooth out. The dentist had a revolver in the lower drawer of the table. He instructed his son to tell the Mayor to come and shoot him.

The Mayor entered the dentist’s clinic. He had not shaved the right side of his face, which was swollen and in pain, and looked unwell with a five-day-old beard. The dentist observed his dull eyes which were filled with desperation for many nights. He inspected the infected tooth of the Mayor and decided to treat him without anesthesia, showing a reason that the Mayor had an abscess. While he pulled the Mayor’s tooth, he threatened him that he would pay for their twenty dead men.

The Mayor got rid of his infected tooth and said goodbye to him. He ordered the dentist to send the bill for the treatment the dentist had given. Then the dentist wanted to know if he would send the bill to the Mayor or the town. The Mayor replied to him “It’s the same damn thing”.

Analysis

One of These Days by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a tale of manipulation, in which Aurelio Escovar is a protagonist who represents the middle-class people and the Mayor is an antagonist who represents the upper-class of people. This story tells about an incident of a day when the Mayor and the dentist both misused their power and position.

When the Mayor came to the dentist’s clinic, the dentist misused his power and position by refusing to treat him, and later by treating his infected wisdom tooth without using anesthesia. It was the time when the dentist showed kindness and compassion by treating him. On the other hand, he took revenge on the Mayor by giving him so much pain. Again, the dentist threatened the Mayor that he would pay for twenty dead men. His thread hints that the Mayor was responsible for the death of twenty people. Hence, the town that the Mayor ruled was infected with corruption as the Mayor’s infected wisdom tooth. The Mayor did not thank the dentist after he had relief from pain, but he ordered him to send the bill for his treatment. Then the dentist wanted to know if the bill was sent to town or the Mayor and the Mayor answered ‘It’s the same damn thing’ to the dentist’s question. Here the Mayor claimed that sending the bill to him or the town was alike as he considered the town’s money as his own money. It was also revealed that he would pay for his treatment with the people’s money regardless of whether the bill was sent to the town or the Mayor. The last line discloses the reality of the Mayor and hints at all the corruption the Mayor was associated with.

In the story, power is reversed from the Mayor to the dentist, and the dentist takes revenge on the Mayor by giving him temporary pain but cannot make any impact on the Mayor by his revenge. The story enriches us with a message that it is the situation that makes us powerful or powerless. Power is temporary and revenge is not a solution to a problem. With the passage of time situation changes for someone or against someone, and power is transferred from one hand to another.

Disclaimer: This content is created solely for educational and informational purposes. It draws upon publicly available educational materials, literary texts, and the author’s own interpretation. All summaries, analyses, and explanations are original and intended to support learning. No copyright infringement is intended.