In one of his famous stories, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," Latin American author Gabriel Garcia Marquez intended to entertain his audience, as stated in the epigraph as "A Tale for children." Besides, it was further meant to teach children morals that revolve around society and how to behave. The story's plot covers a couple, Pelayo and Elisanda, who encounters an older man with wings outside their courtyard. Their first assumption considered the man as a castaway sailor based on his incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice (Márquez, 2014). After consulting their neighbor who knew about life and death, the couple was advised that he was an angel after their sick daughter. From this point, the plot of the story becomes satirical with forms of imagery. Therefore, clues to the author's intended meaning are drawn from the older man with wings, the perceptions of the couple, and the reactions from the town's people.
The story is a satire of human nature on how people treat outsiders, just like how the couple locked the older man in a chicken coop since they did not understand his character. Furthermore, the angel is lowered to a farm animal's status where people travel from outlying areas to come and pay a fee to see the older man. Eventually, the townspeople become more interested in the woman who was turned into a spider for disobeying her parents. She was full of so much truth and a fearful lesson better for the children than the mysterious angel who scarcely dared to look at mortals (Márquez, 2014). Human nature is seen to incline more to relatable and fascinating misfortunes than mysterious creatures viewed as outsiders.
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Magical realism and fantastic imagery happen to be common in the story. The crabs' floods happen to be my favorite as it defies logic, giving the audience an impression of an outer world. The imagery supports the theme by providing a suitable condition for the angel's arrival showing how the society will treat the whole scenario (Márquez, 2014). In conclusion, the author reminds us of the mysteries surrounding our everyday life, such as unfamiliar and different people, and how we often overlook them.
Reference
Márquez, G. G. (2014). A very old man with enormous wings .
