Analysis Paper: “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
To ensure readers find this short story appealing, Gabriel Garcia Marquez efficiently uses mystical and magical themes. Several rare occurrences might make readers find it strange. Marquez’s most famous novels are One Hundred Years of Solitude, published in 1967 and was undoubtedly a masterpiece of magical realism. This paper focuses on how Gabriel Garcia Marquez has used magical realism in the story. Moreover, the paper also attempts to explain how good and evil are co-existing in the story.
Good things will always be helpful to a person, whereas bad things are bound to cause harm. Marquez portrays the presence of good and evil in several ways. Throughout the story, the writer explaineveral instances of evil practices. Elisenda and Pelayo had an ailing child, and when he required, they poorly treaded the angel. They realized that they had an opportunity to make profits if they showcased the old man with wings. The angel was imprisoned in a chicken coop. Neighbors of the poor family repeatedly made fun of the old man and tossed things at him to eat as if he was some circus animal. Moreover, they also used a branding iron to burn the supernatural creature.
Although the story is surrounded by exploitation and callousness, there are also moments of good practices portrayed. After all the cruel treatment, the supernatural creature eventually becomes part of the family. The extreme patience the old man has towards the villages transforms the lives of Elisenda and Pelayo. By refusing to leave, readers can tell that the old man is kind-hearted. Although he was ill-treated, he, however, sees it best to positively-change the sort of life low incomefamilies lived. The old man represents hope by bringing affluence to Elisenda and Pelayo’s lives, showing that good always wins over evil. While the story starts, Elisenda and Pelayo lived in poverty, and crabs invaded their home. Their life situation is made worse when their child gets ill. However, the family gets a new home from the pilgrim’s proceeds, more money, and new business. According to Elisenda, her new place was like “hell full of angels” after accepting the old mad to be part of their new home (Gale, 2016).
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings proves Marquez as a prominent writer of magical realism. He portrays the themes of magical and mystical by fathering the genre of magical realism. A real and unique description of a relentless rain is provided at the beginning of the story, “The world has been sad since Tuesday (Gale, 2016 p. 20).” Furthermore, details of Elisenda and Pelayo’s life have been combined magic like a spider woman and an old man who had wings. The angle portrays the reality of the situation because it is a great manifestation.
Despite having wings, the old man was not truly an angel. He did not have an angel’s characteristics but instead possessed those of a human. Marquez informs his audiences that the Old man’s wings were riddled with parasites, the wind had damaged the wings on his wings and had some unbearable smell. The other distinguishing factor is that the old man did not understand Latin.
In conclusion, while this story depicts magical realism, Marquez has done a tremendous job explaining how good and evil co-exist in his work. The presence of an angel transformed the couple’s lives as they could get a new home, more money, and new business. Evil is depicted in how the villagers treat the old man as a circus animal.