Flowers
Jeana Najor
Professor Brooke Harrison
English 234
1 October 2012
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Formal Analysis The short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, brings to light the propensity of human nature and society in general. The reactions of all the members of the community to the events in the story reflect their natural tendencies as human beings. The characters’ actions in the short story reflect the theme of the story which is that typical human nature is to react negatively or cruelly towards something that may be unfamiliar to them, and will leave people with empty thoughts of wondering and attention seeking tendencies that selfishly blinds them. It is possible that the author was trying to give an example of how people would commonly react in such a way that the main characters reacted in this specific short story. The man with wings is a definite curiosity but it also seems like he is very usual and ordinary. This story criticizes the human need for perfection. Also, it is made clear that the author didn’t have a particular main character. Most people would think it is obviously the man with the enormous wings, but his character is never really built upon to the point of clearly being a protagonist, even though all the other people in the story act extremely antagonistic towards him, which leaves the reader wondering. This adds to the theme of unanswered questions, and how the characters of the story reinforce it. The story does have many characters, but none of them can actually be given the title of a main character. The author mentions that the man’s wings are covered with mud. It reads specifically that, “His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half plucked, were forever tangled in mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soon overcame their surprise and in the end found him familiar.” (Marquez 271) This image expresses the steadiness of indecency that takes control of
Professor Brooke Harrison
English 234
1 October 2012
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Formal Analysis The short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, brings to light the propensity of human nature and society in general. The reactions of all the members of the community to the events in the story reflect their natural tendencies as human beings. The characters’ actions in the short story reflect the theme of the story which is that typical human nature is to react negatively or cruelly towards something that may be unfamiliar to them, and will leave people with empty thoughts of wondering and attention seeking tendencies that selfishly blinds them. It is possible that the author was trying to give an example of how people would commonly react in such a way that the main characters reacted in this specific short story. The man with wings is a definite curiosity but it also seems like he is very usual and ordinary. This story criticizes the human need for perfection. Also, it is made clear that the author didn’t have a particular main character. Most people would think it is obviously the man with the enormous wings, but his character is never really built upon to the point of clearly being a protagonist, even though all the other people in the story act extremely antagonistic towards him, which leaves the reader wondering. This adds to the theme of unanswered questions, and how the characters of the story reinforce it. The story does have many characters, but none of them can actually be given the title of a main character. The author mentions that the man’s wings are covered with mud. It reads specifically that, “His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half plucked, were forever tangled in mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soon overcame their surprise and in the end found him familiar.” (Marquez 271) This image expresses the steadiness of indecency that takes control of