A very old man with enormous wings
Magic Realism A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings is a short story that falls within the genre of magic realism (Horrible, 2011). The tale focuses on an old man with wings who stumbles upon a couple’s courtyard with the assumption that the old man is an angel who has arrived to take their sick child to heaven. Not knowing what to do with the old man, the couple consults with a neighbor that suggests the angel should be clubbed to death, though the couple decides to house the angel outside in a chicken coop. The angel’s existence attracts visitors, but a visit by the local priest dismisses such claims due to the angel’s appearance and inability to speak Latin. Despite the priest’s claim, more people visit and the couple decides to charge admission fees and as a result become wealthy. Soon after, the crowd disperses when a traveling freak show passes through town, though the angel stays with them for many years until the angel regains enough strength to leave on his own. The magic realism in the story creates a colorful tale marked with themes, symbols, and motifs that explores human nature in regards to our social life.
Good and Evil Good and evil exists in the story in many ways through the use of symbolic inferences touching on patience, care, and love to bring out the good in society, but also touches on cruelty, brutality, and greed to show the evil in society. From the start of the story, it is evident to see the evil in thinking when the couple’s neighbor assumes the old man has arrived to hurt their son and suggests the couple should kill him (Marquez, 1968). Even though the neighbor had familiarity with angels, she exhibits indifference and lack of compassion due to his appearance. Another instance is when the priest claims the old man is a fraud, simply because he could not speak Latin (Marquez, 1968). This shows how humans can be judgmental and how evil is housed in their hearts. In addition, brutality is apparent in the story when the
Good and Evil Good and evil exists in the story in many ways through the use of symbolic inferences touching on patience, care, and love to bring out the good in society, but also touches on cruelty, brutality, and greed to show the evil in society. From the start of the story, it is evident to see the evil in thinking when the couple’s neighbor assumes the old man has arrived to hurt their son and suggests the couple should kill him (Marquez, 1968). Even though the neighbor had familiarity with angels, she exhibits indifference and lack of compassion due to his appearance. Another instance is when the priest claims the old man is a fraud, simply because he could not speak Latin (Marquez, 1968). This shows how humans can be judgmental and how evil is housed in their hearts. In addition, brutality is apparent in the story when the
References: Horrible, D. (2011, July 12). Symbolism in a very old man with enormous wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Humanities 360. Retrieved from http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/symbolism-in-a-very-old-man-with-enormous- wings-by-gabriel-garcia-marquez-12127/ Marquez, G. G. (1968). A very old man with enormous wings. In K. Mauk (Ed.), Compact Literature (pp. 590-594). Boston: Cengage Learning.