UPSC Prelims 2007 Q7: Art & Culture – Literature & Languages
How is Gabriel García well known?
- (a) Known for research in agriculture
- (b) A renowned football coach
- (c) A great writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
- (d) Known for research in railway engineering
Answer: (c) A great writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
Explanation
Who Gabriel García Márquez is
| Field | His actual recognition? |
|---|---|
| Agricultural research | No |
| Football coaching | No |
| Nobel Prize-winning writer | Yes — Literature, 1982 |
| Railway engineering | No |
Gabriel García Márquez, the Colombian author, won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature, best known for novels like *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, a pioneer of magical realism.
Answer: (c) A great writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. He had no connection to agricultural research.
- (b) Incorrect. He was not a football coach.
- (c) CORRECT. He was a Nobel Prize-winning writer (Literature, 1982).
- (d) Incorrect. He had no connection to railway engineering.
Key point
Gabriel García Márquez: Colombian novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature (1982), pioneer of magical realism.
Remember
Gabriel García Márquez: Nobel laureate in Literature.
Common mistakes
- Confusing his name with unrelated public figures sharing similar first/last names.
- Not recognising him as the author of *One Hundred Years of Solitude*.
- Mixing him up with other Latin American Nobel laureates.
Exam tip
García Márquez = Nobel Prize in Literature, Colombian, magical realism.
Sources
- Nobel Prize — The Nobel Prize in Literature 1982 (Gabriel García Márquez), press release
- Gerald Martin — Gabriel García Márquez: A Life (Knopf, 2008)