The Reality of a Cruel World What would ones reaction be if confronted by a filthy, crippled old man who spoke an unintelligible language, could barely carry himself, with very large wings attached to his back? It is such people in the short story, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, who Gabriel Garcia Marquez portrays. The story is moving in that it portrays the fickleness of faith through the character’s interactions with the Old Man. Marquez also attempts to reveal the beauty we may not recognize. Marquez uses tone, imagery, and theme in this story to urge his readers to reevaluate how they see the world and people who are different. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born on March 6, 1928, in Aracataca, Columbia. In his early life as
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When it comes down to it, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings is no story for children to be reading. So, it makes one think, what does Marquez mean? The irony of this subtitle makes us think that there is something more to it. Marquez is referring to how ignorant, cruel, and selfish people can be, much like children. People close themselves off, not letting anyone who is different in while judging them at the same time. There is a huge lack of compassion in the world today. The Old Man is surrounded by people who lack compassion and are selfish. The townspeople cannot accept the Old Man by his appearance, he does not fit into their thought of what an angel should look like. Their interactions with the Old Man is also based off of their selfishness. This includes the people who come to be healed of their disorders like the “Portuguese man who couldn't sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him,” (Marquez 220) or the “poor woman who since childhood had been counting her heartbeats since childhood and had run out of numbers” (Marquez 220). The people expect the angel to heal them, but no one ever tries to help him. This is an example of how humans can be so greedy and self-centered. The number of suffering and weak individuals are multiplying from the lack of sympathy and selfishness. This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed and worked
When it comes down to it, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings is no story for children to be reading. So, it makes one think, what does Marquez mean? The irony of this subtitle makes us think that there is something more to it. Marquez is referring to how ignorant, cruel, and selfish people can be, much like children. People close themselves off, not letting anyone who is different in while judging them at the same time. There is a huge lack of compassion in the world today. The Old Man is surrounded by people who lack compassion and are selfish. The townspeople cannot accept the Old Man by his appearance, he does not fit into their thought of what an angel should look like. Their interactions with the Old Man is also based off of their selfishness. This includes the people who come to be healed of their disorders like the “Portuguese man who couldn't sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him,” (Marquez 220) or the “poor woman who since childhood had been counting her heartbeats since childhood and had run out of numbers” (Marquez 220). The people expect the angel to heal them, but no one ever tries to help him. This is an example of how humans can be so greedy and self-centered. The number of suffering and weak individuals are multiplying from the lack of sympathy and selfishness. This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed and worked