Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel

¶ … Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Dogmatism, Intolerance to Difference, and Magic Realism: A Critical Analysis of a Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, well-known Colombian novelist and short story writer, is known for his creation of the literary genre called "magic realism," where magic exists along with reality, blurring the division between the two. This genre is evident in Marquez's works, from his novel 100 Years of Solitude to his short stories, of which the humorous yet truthful depiction of religion and poverty in a small village is illustrated I the short story, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.

In the story, a couple's and small village's life has changed with the arrival of an angel, allowing readers to get to know the characterization of the townspeople and couple better, as well as see prevalent themes that best illustrates the development of the plot in the story. In this literary work, magical realism is shown with the presence of an angel, interspersed with the sad realities of life among the story's characters, such as subsistence to religious dogmatism, conservatism, and poverty.

This paper discusses how the author develops the following prevalent themes in the story: (1) the theme of religious dogmatism; (2) conservatism by being intolerant to differences of other people/individuals; and (3) the existence of magic in the midst of reality, i.e., the use of magic realism. Through illustrative examples and passages from the story, this paper posits that the short story A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings depicts the realities of life in human society as the author (Marquez) perceives it: a life motivated by strict adherence and belief to religion, resulting to dogmatism, intolerance to differences of other people, and a life of poverty, resulting to the blurring of distinction between illusion (magic) and reality.

The theme of dogmatism is evident from the start of the short story. The use of the angel as the main character of the story illustrates the prevalence of religion in Elisenda and Pelayo's town. Indeed, religion became manifest when the "neighbor woman who knew everything about life and death" identified the old man with enormous wings as an angel. However, despite this information, the angel became a mere spectacle and subject of ridicule, rather than respect and reverence, in the small village. This is because he is portrayed as physically unappealing, shown in the following description in the story: "He was dressed like a ragpicker. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away and sense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked were forever entangled in the mud... he answered in an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice... he was a lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by the storm."

This description directly negates the popular notion that angels are clean and looked young and innocent. Thus, because he does not fit the stereotype of the village people's perception of an angel, the old man with enormous wings is not given respect. Instead, he became an object of fascination and ridicule, as evident in the following passage, wherein the village people are "tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if weren't a supernatural creature but a circus animal." Furthermore, the village people's attitude towards the angel is reinforced further by the village priest, Father Gonzaga, who considered the angel as an "impostor," mainly because of his dirty and sickly appearance. In fact, the almost human appearance of the angel did not earn him any respect from the villagers, despite the apparent presence of his enormous wings.

The seemingly predominant belief that all things good and clean embody the ideal Christian beliefs becomes apparent in the story. The lack of respect for the old man, despite his poor and sickly appearance and disposition, did not elicit any sympathy from the villagers. It is ironic that while the villagers give value to religious beliefs such as angels and miracles, their disregard for the old man shows their inhuman treatment for individuals whom they perceive are in a 'sorrier' and poorer state than they are.

Apart from dogmatism, intolerance to differences of people is also a prevalent theme in the story. Elisenda, Pelayo, and the villagers consider the angel as a 'mere human'; however, despite his common appearance, there is apparent dislike for his being 'different.' Differences, in this case, are more internal than external qualities: the angel, despite being an old man with enormous wings, displays enormous amount of patience ("His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience ") and humanity not seen among the humans in the story -- the villagers. This is illustrated in the incident where the villagers "burned his side with an iron for branding steers," wherein the angel's reaction, which is "not... one of rage but of pain," shows how his character of good-heartedness, providing a sharp contrast to the villager's rudeness and likeness for peculiar things and individuals (such as the angel and the circus attraction, the spider woman) as objects of ridicule and 'entertainment.'