A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Summary
Human Selfishness and Trivialization of Beauty in
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings is a magical realist short story written by Gabriel Garca Marquez. It tells the story of how Pelayo and his wife Elisenda, find a filthy, old man while killing crabs during a rainstorm. The man has wings, and is assumed to be an angel, there to take their sick child to heaven. It is a story which discusses how humans simply only find value in those things considered beneficial to us, and simultaneously examines abrasive topics such as callousness and exploitation.
As previously mentioned, a recurring theme in the short story is the idea that humans solely find beauty and value in those things which are beneficial to us, and that this need (for people who are beneficial) is so strong and affects us so intricately that …show more content…
Instead of being in awe due to his ability to perform any miracles at all, something which is miraculous and would even, in some aspects, make him superior to the other inhabitants there, they once again trivialize the incident, and focus instead on the spider woman.
Despite the fact that the spider woman is not any less peculiar than the angel per se, she serves a purpose to the inhabitants. While the old man is barely conscious in his dirty chicken coop, the spider woman tells a story of morality and discusses human truths which the inhabitants can easily relate to and even pity. She serves a purpose to them, and by doing so, she is beneficial. This, again, is another discernible example of the theme of the fundamental understatement of miracles and beauty. Peculiar things are only interesting and significant if they serve a purpose and can be beneficial to us
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings is a magical realist short story written by Gabriel Garca Marquez. It tells the story of how Pelayo and his wife Elisenda, find a filthy, old man while killing crabs during a rainstorm. The man has wings, and is assumed to be an angel, there to take their sick child to heaven. It is a story which discusses how humans simply only find value in those things considered beneficial to us, and simultaneously examines abrasive topics such as callousness and exploitation.
As previously mentioned, a recurring theme in the short story is the idea that humans solely find beauty and value in those things which are beneficial to us, and that this need (for people who are beneficial) is so strong and affects us so intricately that …show more content…
Instead of being in awe due to his ability to perform any miracles at all, something which is miraculous and would even, in some aspects, make him superior to the other inhabitants there, they once again trivialize the incident, and focus instead on the spider woman.
Despite the fact that the spider woman is not any less peculiar than the angel per se, she serves a purpose to the inhabitants. While the old man is barely conscious in his dirty chicken coop, the spider woman tells a story of morality and discusses human truths which the inhabitants can easily relate to and even pity. She serves a purpose to them, and by doing so, she is beneficial. This, again, is another discernible example of the theme of the fundamental understatement of miracles and beauty. Peculiar things are only interesting and significant if they serve a purpose and can be beneficial to us