The story of an old Man with Enormous wings is a narration by Gabriel Marquez written in 1995. The narrative entails numerous features of Magical realism. It’s a story about a stranger – an old man who had long wings and spoke unfamiliar language to the city’s residents. Pelayo was killing crabs which had invaded his residence after heavy rains. Pelayo and his wife Elisendas thought that the old man had come to take away their sick kid. The old man’s presence in the village attracted crowds which came to see him and pilgrims who came for advices and miracles from him. Pelayo’s child recovered after a while and they host the foul-smelling old man and charged the villagers who came to see him (Gale, 2016). The arrival of the spider girl diverted all the attention from the old man. The couple sought help from father Gonzago to determine the real identity of the old man and if indeed he was an angel.
Among the extraordinary occurrences include the story about a young girl who disrespected her parents following which the girl turned into a spider. This spider girl became a spectacular site to the tourists. Pelayo and Elisenda thought that the old man had been shipwrecked that’s why he landed in the city but other people believed he was an angel. It expounds the rudiments of magical realism. Human beings think that angels are super humans that have super natural powers to do or undo what is beyond any ordinary human beings’ power. The old winged man performed several miracles. Darkness during the noon hours seemed like an unusual happening since such an incident had never happened. This unusual occurrence marked the arrival of the old winged man- the angel
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Invasion of crabs in the town was one of the extraordinary things that happened since such a high number of crabs was astonishing. After being viewed as an irritant due to the coming of the entertaining spider lady, the old man developed feathers on his wings and managed to fly. He remained a dark spot in the sky. This marked the end of his existence in the town It was understandable for the people to be surprised by the coming of the old winged man. The occurrence of unique things raised people’s curiosity and made them want to know more about the old man.
How the Author Makes the Audience Believe the Old Man Is an Angel
Magical realism entails the concept of a typical view of the real world and in the process revealing magical occurrences or events. In His Book, A very Old man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel Marquez blends well fantasy and realism which the reader relies on to determine whether the story is real or not. When the story unfolds, the audience is not able to differentiate what is true and untrue. Elisenda and Pelayo think that the old man is indeed an angel who has come to snatch away from them their ailing kid and thus want the angel dead. The entire community in the town is not sure if the old man is an angel or not putting into consideration the fact that he has wings (Ortega, 2014).
After the doctor’s examination, it is found that the old man's wings are natural. The doctor questions himself why other people lack them. In the case where the old man nearly wins a lottery while the spider girl celebrates him amuses the audience, leaving them confused due to such a magical occurrence. The city people believe that the old man is an angel but experiences a communication barrier with ordinary human beings. The story about the old man and the enormous wings reveals the magical realism used by the author to make the audience believe that indeed the old man is an angel.
How and Why People Would React to Magical Realism in The Real World
Magical realism is evident in the current world today through books, films or real happenings in life. Magical realism triggers different reactions from the people experiencing it. People also have reasons as to why they take a particular position towards magical realism. There are some people who believe that magical realism happenings are out of supernatural or evil powers. They think that these evil powers harm human beings in different ways like striking them with strange diseases and causing death. They can also result in positive occurrences like causing rain etc. People who believe magical realism is due to evil powers usually base their arguments on religious teachings which condemn such powers.
Others believe that magical realism is just fiction and nothing about it is true. They tend to think that magical realism is just a technique used by people to fool others. In this case, they believe no supernatural powers can perform extraordinary things. Father Gonzago, for example, refuted claims that the old winged man was an angel since he could not communicate in the Latin language used by the Catholics. It explains how faith makes its believers perceive magical realism. For Father Gonzago, angels or heavenly beings should be able to communicate in Latin language, failure to which they are considered evil creatures. Other people believe that mystical powers can perform unimaginable occurrences like those witnessed in “An Old Man with Enormous Wings”. In such a case they believe that it’s possible for a human being to experience things like growing wings and being able to fly since the mystical powers make the unthinkable happen.
How the Author Expresses the Individual's Reactions to The Wondrous Events
Marquez conveys the different responses of the characters in the story by highlighting the various responses to different, extraordinary occurrences. In the case where the village people were informed of the coming of a stranger (the old man believed to be an angel in their community), they gathered around him out of curiosity to witness who the angle was. They never considered what they heard about the angel but wanted to have a glimpse of the angel amongst them. No one pitted the angel due to the mistreatment he received from Elisenda and Pelayo who were frustrated by his presence since they believed the angel had come to take away their ailing child. The village community supported Elisenda and P elayo’s plan of killing the “angel.” The entire town is amused by other ordinary occurrences in the city like the occurrence of the entertaining spider lady.
The rains that fell and resulted in crabs which invaded Pelayo and Elisenda’s house was also extraordinary. Pelayo is surprised when he is trying to return the crabs to the sea, and he finds the old angel-man stiuck in the mad facing downwards. Despite Pelayo’s his efforts to remove him by holding onto the angel’s wings, he fails. It surprised him and he was left wondering what is happening. The angel was not able to communicate in a language that the people in the town could understand. It is surprising how the community never bothered to learn the angel's language to be able to understand what he was telling them. The author here portrayed the aspect of the people not wanting to bother to have a deeper understanding of a situation or an event when it seems challenging them. They like taking issues lightly and avoid having an in-depth evaluation and understanding on the subject in question.
References
Gale, C. L. (2016). A Study Guide for Gabriel Garcia Marquez's" Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" . Gale, Cengage Learning.
Ortega, J. (2014). Gabriel García Márquez and The Powers of Fiction. University of Texas Press.
