A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Analysis
Gabriel García Márquez had created the story “A Very Old Man with EnormousWings” to predict the human behavior at the time presented to challenge the ambition desired to believe in the supernatural. The story had been written to be based on the established faith in God and the angels and the belief that these means would offer the solution in terms of outstanding challenges. The leading character Pelayo and his family are blessed with the fortune of the rare encounter with the peculiar man, that had been with the wings and the presentation the experience predicted to the town (Márquez 177). The story had been written to present the ideology of a fictional society that had been created to explain the creation of the writer. However, the kind of story depicted in the plot development had been included to support the imagination of a developing mind, and the audience who prefer to travel to the imagination society. The story had been created to develop the theme of superstition and opportunistic exploitations linking the faith developed in the spiritual world with the monetary earthly possessions.
The story develops based on the encounter of Pelayo with an old man that had appeared as an angel with wings on the afternoon that he had set out to kill crabs. However, the appearance of the man had been worrying because he had been dirty without the appearance of a decent angel. Elisenda his wife concurred with his opinion that the man who appeared, with wings, had been an angel and had been on a mission to change their lives. Apart from the poor living condition that Pelayo had lived, there had been the problem faced in their sick child (Márquez 177). Curiosity spread the information within the town to drive people to visit the platform with the ambition to seek a higher power with the angel within their reach. The other religious presentation that had been developed in the story had been in the consultation retrieved, from Father Gonzaga because the old man failed to speak the Latin language. The church had played the role in articulating the identity of the strange man that had been challenging before the eyes of the villagers (Márquez 179). However, the confirmation of the man being an angel failed to be articulated with the characters appearing different from the savior that they had expected. Elisenda takes advantage of the opportunity to charge the villagers a fee to view the strange man, and manages to gain the needed profit that would elevate their economic position. The climax of the story is witnessed in the loss of interest in the “angel” because he had failed to perform the miracle expected by the people. The twist is accorded the spider woman who offers an easier understanding to the people because she presents the strange but understandable creature. The faith in the story had failed to prevail with the limit given to the supposed angel who eventually gains the energy to fly away at the end of the story. However, his presence had developed changes to Pelayo’s family as their son recovered and they gained tremendous wealth. One would conclude that the old man had indeed been an angel whose mission had ended in helping the family.
Márquez’s story had been the example according to the hidden meaning of the faith developed within the society, with the human behavior presented to react towards peculiar scenery. Although the story contains fictional characters, the reflection of a society in need of hope and solution to their problems from a higher calling is presented.
Works Cited Márquez G., García. Leaf Storm and Other Stories. New York: Perennial Classics, 2005. Print.