Theme of Abuse and Cruelty in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
Have you ever taken advantage or teased someone that either looked weak, different, had a physical disability, did not speak the same language, or was just simply from a place foreign to you? In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells a story about Pelayo and Elisenda, a poor family living in the coast of this unnamed place that had their lives changed completely after the appearing of the old sickly winged man on their property. the word spread of his wings, and the old winged man began to draw a curious crowd, who had different reactions to his appearance. Marquez illustrates the theme of cruelty and abuse in this magical realist story. Cruelty and …show more content…
soon the crowd gathered in front of the chicken coop to see the old winged man, looking for answers to their questions, expecting miracles and signs of supernatural powers. The crowd tried at all costs to have his attention and get something out him “tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal” (1). Without success “even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers…” (3-4). The population sees his wings and knows that he is a supernatural creature, but his miserable look and weakness go against their assumptions, based off their beliefs of how an Angel should look like. The aggression by the town to the old man in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” illustrates the today society’s reactions to those that go against what they assume is normal, which includes sexual orientation, religion, and race. Most of the abuses occurring in our society nowadays are verbal abuses, with a few isolated cases of physical
Have you ever taken advantage or teased someone that either looked weak, different, had a physical disability, did not speak the same language, or was just simply from a place foreign to you? In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells a story about Pelayo and Elisenda, a poor family living in the coast of this unnamed place that had their lives changed completely after the appearing of the old sickly winged man on their property. the word spread of his wings, and the old winged man began to draw a curious crowd, who had different reactions to his appearance. Marquez illustrates the theme of cruelty and abuse in this magical realist story. Cruelty and …show more content…
soon the crowd gathered in front of the chicken coop to see the old winged man, looking for answers to their questions, expecting miracles and signs of supernatural powers. The crowd tried at all costs to have his attention and get something out him “tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal” (1). Without success “even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers…” (3-4). The population sees his wings and knows that he is a supernatural creature, but his miserable look and weakness go against their assumptions, based off their beliefs of how an Angel should look like. The aggression by the town to the old man in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” illustrates the today society’s reactions to those that go against what they assume is normal, which includes sexual orientation, religion, and race. Most of the abuses occurring in our society nowadays are verbal abuses, with a few isolated cases of physical