Gabriel García Márquez’s“ A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” uses magical realism to explain events and human action. The old man is treated with injustice and inhumanity while being held captive for financial gain. The old man is characterized by his indifference to the townspeople and the events that occur, and ultimately he becomes a symbol of their lack of faith. The townspeople are being cruel to the old man. The townspeople are blinded by their own actions and their failure to recognize their disrespectful attitude towards this old man.The old man is a supernatural creature, but the town does not see him as one, instead they consider him a mysterious human with wings: “But when they went out into the courtyard with the first light
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The townspeople do not expect this kind of angel. They expect the “proud dignity of angels” (291). The townspeople proudly claim about their faith but do not pass the test when the old man falls into their nest. Meanwhile, Pelayo and Elisenda want to know what kind of creature this old man is. They call their neighbor who knows everything about life and death, and she tells them “He’s an angel” (289). However, Father Gonzaga does not agree. “ The parish priest had his first suspicion of an impostor when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His minister” (290). Father Gonzaga has lacked credibility regarding the issue of the religious faith; he worked as a woodcutter before becoming a pries and did not have official training. Father Gonzaga has to get help from his bishop because he does not know much about the bible or the word of God. Therefore, Father Gonzaga’s faith is worthless because he does not believe what was his eyes are seeing and keeps going with the flow of the townspeople. Another example of the townspeople is ignorance occur when a different creature comes to town ,“the spider woman”. They lose interest in the old man because the spider woman was able to speak their language and is able to explain her transformation. The townspeople decide to believe the spider woman more than the old man who is an angel sent from God to test them.
García Marquez uses characterization and symbolism to show how disrespectfuly the townspeople treated the angel. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” makes the readers understand how society thinks they are religious and faithful, but they judge and mistreat a person when they see someone different like the old man, which means their faith is vulnerable to what society
The townspeople do not expect this kind of angel. They expect the “proud dignity of angels” (291). The townspeople proudly claim about their faith but do not pass the test when the old man falls into their nest. Meanwhile, Pelayo and Elisenda want to know what kind of creature this old man is. They call their neighbor who knows everything about life and death, and she tells them “He’s an angel” (289). However, Father Gonzaga does not agree. “ The parish priest had his first suspicion of an impostor when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His minister” (290). Father Gonzaga has lacked credibility regarding the issue of the religious faith; he worked as a woodcutter before becoming a pries and did not have official training. Father Gonzaga has to get help from his bishop because he does not know much about the bible or the word of God. Therefore, Father Gonzaga’s faith is worthless because he does not believe what was his eyes are seeing and keeps going with the flow of the townspeople. Another example of the townspeople is ignorance occur when a different creature comes to town ,“the spider woman”. They lose interest in the old man because the spider woman was able to speak their language and is able to explain her transformation. The townspeople decide to believe the spider woman more than the old man who is an angel sent from God to test them.
García Marquez uses characterization and symbolism to show how disrespectfuly the townspeople treated the angel. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” makes the readers understand how society thinks they are religious and faithful, but they judge and mistreat a person when they see someone different like the old man, which means their faith is vulnerable to what society