Literature has always been a tool used by authors to attract people’s attention to a particular aspect of their lives of problems topical for society. At the same time, some issues have always been topical for communities because of their universal character. These include love, relations, faith, morals, and values appreciated by individuals. Due to the focus on these ideas, the masterpieces of literature preserve their topicality and relevance, regardless of the epoch. The story A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings belongs to this cohort. At first glance, it is a simple tale that can be told to children; however, it touches upon significant issues and problems peculiar to human society.
The plot of the story is unusual and revolves around a man with wings found by a married couple. One day Pelayo and Elisenda discover a winged person lying in the mud close to their dwelling. Being scared at first and thinking that the angel has come for their sick child, they take the creature to their house and lock him in the wire chicken coop (“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”). The appearance of the winged man became a big event for the whole settlement, and people arrived to see him. However, their motifs were different and far from religious ones. The story emphasizes all humiliations and rudeness the man has to suffer and the awful attitude from people surrounding him. In the end, he disappears, bringing relief to Pelayo and Elisenda.
The simplicity of the given plot and the story’s shortness does not prevent Marquez from introducing a meaningful symbol. The men with wings can be viewed as a symbol representing human faith and religion. His giant wings are in an awful state, worn out, and affected by diseases and insects (“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”). It represents the current state of people’s spirituality and values appreciated by individuals. They prefer to stare, mock, and pay money to visit Pelayo’s house and interact with the man, rather than treating him with respect and believing in his spiritual nature. Even the local priest, Father Gonzaga, does not have enough faith to accept the divine character of the creature and avoid judging by looking at dirty clothes, poor wings, and the smell coming from the hero.
In such a way, using the winged man as a symbol, the author touches upon the topical problem of religion and faith. Most people who visit Pelayo’s house consider themselves Christians, visit the Church, and respect Father Gonzaga, who has authority here. However, it is just an illusion because these visible signs of faith are not supported by their inner belief. Moreover, all individuals described in the story reject traditional Christian values such as compassion, humane attitude, and readiness to help people in trouble. Instead, they prefer to mock and hurt him with a hot iron. As far as the winged man’s status is not confirmed by the Vatican, people are free to act violently as they are not scared by punishment or other formal aspects of religion.
Faith is also opposed to money in the story. Pelayo and Elisenda benefit from the fact that the man stays at their house as they took money from all people who come here to see an unusual winged creature. In such a way, religious values become replaced by the growing importance of money, which is another problem introduced by Marques in the story. People disregard their spirituality and some morals looking for ways to generate income and benefit from the current situation. In the tale, people prefer to use the angel as the source of revenue rather than consider him a divine creature who should be helped.
Finally, there is a theme of a sick child and the emergence of the winged man. At first, people believed that he came for the baby but was too tired to take it. However, at the end of the story, the girl recovers, and the angel also becomes stronger and flies away (“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”). Moreover, during the whole tale, he is patient with a child, though he is also cruel and rude. For this reason, it is possible to assume that his emergence is linked to the disease of a child, while with his recovery, his mission was over. However, people disregard this idea, preferring to see only a strange creature and treat him as a monster in a circus.
Altogether, the story touches upon several important themes. Marques shows the lack of belief and spirituality in people who prefer to use a winged man only to earn money. Being not provided with instructions on how to behave, people forget their faith and start to hurt and humiliate the man. It demonstrates the decline of moral values and the inability of society to recognize a miracle that is close to them. In the end, the angel flies away, living people along with their money and deteriorate faith, which is not capable of accepting diving creatures anymore.
Work Cited
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Gabriel Garcia Marquez Audiobook.” YouTube, uploaded by Du Bon Mot, Web.