A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale For Children
John Morales
Wolfe
English 1302.113
October 12, 2015
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children”
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children” is a satirical piece by Gabriel Marquez that focuses on the frailty of man when confronted with the ambiguous nature of the meaning of life. Marquez is known for “magical realism,” a style of writing that blends fantasy and realism by, in the case of “Wings,” combining the homely details of Pelayo and Elisenda’s life with fantastic elements such as the angel and the spider woman. The narrowness of man makes him dependent upon his ideals of perception, whether they be religious, superstitious, or mythical.
Everyone in the story is narrow in their pursuit of understanding. The …show more content…
She is easier to accept than the angel; the morality of her story is clean and easily understood, and people can interact with her by asking her questions and feeding her. Whereas the angel is dirty, unresponsive, doesn’t speak an understandable language, and doesn’t have any obvious importance. “A spectacle like [the spider woman,] full of so much human truth and with such a fearful lesson, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals.” (Marquez 409) Man’s expectation of an angels is glorious, radiant, and noble, but the angel in the story is filthy and fetid, “He had the unbearable smell of the outdoors, the backside of his wings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, and nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels,” (Marquez 408) and maladroit, “He went about bumping into posts.” (Marquez 410) No one can see beyond their perceptions of what an angel should be, other than Elisenda possibly having a moment of realization when he flies off at the end, “Elisenda let out a sigh of relief for herself and for him […] she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him…” (Marquez …show more content…
Once they determine that they can profit from charging admission to see him, Pelayo and Elisenda fence him in the yard, where strangers pelt him with stones, gawk at him, and even burn him with a branding iron.
The presentation of the supernatural is more important than the significance of the supernatural. The supernatural world and the terrestrial world appear to interweave, but the angel is subject to adjudication and torment in the pursuit of the town’s understanding of his presence rather than being revered. Father Gonzaga states that angel appears “much too human.” (Marquez 408) They depend on seeing to believe, abandoning the spiritual element of faith. Work(s) Cited Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Kelly Mays. New York: Norton, 2013. 406-411.
Wolfe
English 1302.113
October 12, 2015
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children”
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children” is a satirical piece by Gabriel Marquez that focuses on the frailty of man when confronted with the ambiguous nature of the meaning of life. Marquez is known for “magical realism,” a style of writing that blends fantasy and realism by, in the case of “Wings,” combining the homely details of Pelayo and Elisenda’s life with fantastic elements such as the angel and the spider woman. The narrowness of man makes him dependent upon his ideals of perception, whether they be religious, superstitious, or mythical.
Everyone in the story is narrow in their pursuit of understanding. The …show more content…
She is easier to accept than the angel; the morality of her story is clean and easily understood, and people can interact with her by asking her questions and feeding her. Whereas the angel is dirty, unresponsive, doesn’t speak an understandable language, and doesn’t have any obvious importance. “A spectacle like [the spider woman,] full of so much human truth and with such a fearful lesson, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals.” (Marquez 409) Man’s expectation of an angels is glorious, radiant, and noble, but the angel in the story is filthy and fetid, “He had the unbearable smell of the outdoors, the backside of his wings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, and nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels,” (Marquez 408) and maladroit, “He went about bumping into posts.” (Marquez 410) No one can see beyond their perceptions of what an angel should be, other than Elisenda possibly having a moment of realization when he flies off at the end, “Elisenda let out a sigh of relief for herself and for him […] she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him…” (Marquez …show more content…
Once they determine that they can profit from charging admission to see him, Pelayo and Elisenda fence him in the yard, where strangers pelt him with stones, gawk at him, and even burn him with a branding iron.
The presentation of the supernatural is more important than the significance of the supernatural. The supernatural world and the terrestrial world appear to interweave, but the angel is subject to adjudication and torment in the pursuit of the town’s understanding of his presence rather than being revered. Father Gonzaga states that angel appears “much too human.” (Marquez 408) They depend on seeing to believe, abandoning the spiritual element of faith. Work(s) Cited Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Kelly Mays. New York: Norton, 2013. 406-411.