A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS
A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS
BY GABRIEL GÁRCIA MARQUEZ
ANALYSIS
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's ”A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” is an exemplary exploration of faith and the dichotomy of compassion and cruelty. The titular “angel” is viewed in opposition to more historically consistent versions of angels, and in bringing him “down to earth” Marquez lets the reader view something supernatural through the lens of everyday ordinariness. The key to understanding this story is presented through the pitiful girl who has been transformed into a spider for disobeying her parents and sneaking out to a dance. The spider-girl requires little more than pity to earn the spectators’ faith in her story, while the old man is persistently doubted, tormented, and seen as a repulsive abomination.
This is a story about human nature, and the detriments of it. We never truly find out if the Old Man is an angel, but the clarification isn't really necessary for the story. What's important here is how the villagers treat him as a freak and an outsider when he won't “be” an angel. By blending the most mundane and ugly parts of life — from rainy days to selfish crowds — with the miraculous — an angel that finally grows in strength and flies away — Marquez effectively uses a creative tone and his unique style to create a story that carries elements of our everyday lives yet still supersedes it.
What's interesting to note is that, once Pelayo and Elisenda are told by the wise neighbour that the old man is indeed an angel, their reactions are not quite what you would expect. Instead of the typical awe (even if he is in a pitiful state), the couple displays almost indifference to his possibly celestial origins. The neighbour woman actually tells them to club him to death, as angels are seen in this region as “fugitive survivors of a spiritual conspiracy”. This is the beginning of Marquez turning the readers’ expectations on their head, and makes it harder to anticipate what will come
BY GABRIEL GÁRCIA MARQUEZ
ANALYSIS
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's ”A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” is an exemplary exploration of faith and the dichotomy of compassion and cruelty. The titular “angel” is viewed in opposition to more historically consistent versions of angels, and in bringing him “down to earth” Marquez lets the reader view something supernatural through the lens of everyday ordinariness. The key to understanding this story is presented through the pitiful girl who has been transformed into a spider for disobeying her parents and sneaking out to a dance. The spider-girl requires little more than pity to earn the spectators’ faith in her story, while the old man is persistently doubted, tormented, and seen as a repulsive abomination.
This is a story about human nature, and the detriments of it. We never truly find out if the Old Man is an angel, but the clarification isn't really necessary for the story. What's important here is how the villagers treat him as a freak and an outsider when he won't “be” an angel. By blending the most mundane and ugly parts of life — from rainy days to selfish crowds — with the miraculous — an angel that finally grows in strength and flies away — Marquez effectively uses a creative tone and his unique style to create a story that carries elements of our everyday lives yet still supersedes it.
What's interesting to note is that, once Pelayo and Elisenda are told by the wise neighbour that the old man is indeed an angel, their reactions are not quite what you would expect. Instead of the typical awe (even if he is in a pitiful state), the couple displays almost indifference to his possibly celestial origins. The neighbour woman actually tells them to club him to death, as angels are seen in this region as “fugitive survivors of a spiritual conspiracy”. This is the beginning of Marquez turning the readers’ expectations on their head, and makes it harder to anticipate what will come