A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Analysis
By using magical concepts in his story to stimulate the reader’s imagination, Gabriel Garcia Marquez obscures the serious theme behind “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. With the subtitle to this story of “A Tale for Children”, one is lead to believe that this is a fantasy written to entertain children using magical realism. However, there is a much deeper premise for this story which is seen after analysis. The story examines how humans react to supernatural occurrences and disrespect the importance of these occurrences by projecting only the secular world into their thinking and abandoning the essence of their religious faith. Throughout the story, Marquez interjects subtle satirical commentary on the Catholic Church and the church’s believers.
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Moreover, to support the theory that humans make everything into the ordinary and cannot appreciate the supernatural, the neighbors treat the old man like a circus animal (1). Some of the more futuristic thinking neighbors want to use the angel as a stud for breeding to build a superior race (1). This concept enforces how the people in the town devalue and make ordinary and subservient to humans the supernatural creature of the old man. The crowds lack appreciation for what they witness and behold. Before his crucifixion, the Jews treated Jesus similarly. The crowds who gathered from all over the world were cruel to the old man throwing stones and waste food as well as poking at him. Many unfortunate invalids came in search of health (2). Believing only in the old man being supernatural if they could be cured, the invalids plucked feathers from his wings in hopes of a cure. The invalids only had faith if they got what they wanted. The old man in his response to the crowds showed “his only supernatural virtue to be patience” (2) and never responded. Just as humans are fickle in their beliefs, the crowd loses interest in the old man after a more compelling carnival show comes to town, a woman changed into a spider because she disobeyed her parents (3). The tale the spider woman spins puts fear into the crowds (3). As usual, people are always attracted to the next sensationalized topic. Even though a few odd miracles are attributed to the old man as an angel like the leper who sprouts sunflowers from his sores (3), the results are not what the crowd expected. The crowd attributing these miracles to the old man seems to be making “mocking fun” (3) of him. Having faith only when you get what you want is not really faith at
Moreover, to support the theory that humans make everything into the ordinary and cannot appreciate the supernatural, the neighbors treat the old man like a circus animal (1). Some of the more futuristic thinking neighbors want to use the angel as a stud for breeding to build a superior race (1). This concept enforces how the people in the town devalue and make ordinary and subservient to humans the supernatural creature of the old man. The crowds lack appreciation for what they witness and behold. Before his crucifixion, the Jews treated Jesus similarly. The crowds who gathered from all over the world were cruel to the old man throwing stones and waste food as well as poking at him. Many unfortunate invalids came in search of health (2). Believing only in the old man being supernatural if they could be cured, the invalids plucked feathers from his wings in hopes of a cure. The invalids only had faith if they got what they wanted. The old man in his response to the crowds showed “his only supernatural virtue to be patience” (2) and never responded. Just as humans are fickle in their beliefs, the crowd loses interest in the old man after a more compelling carnival show comes to town, a woman changed into a spider because she disobeyed her parents (3). The tale the spider woman spins puts fear into the crowds (3). As usual, people are always attracted to the next sensationalized topic. Even though a few odd miracles are attributed to the old man as an angel like the leper who sprouts sunflowers from his sores (3), the results are not what the crowd expected. The crowd attributing these miracles to the old man seems to be making “mocking fun” (3) of him. Having faith only when you get what you want is not really faith at