Old Man With Enormous Wings Symbolism

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In the short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez, the most prominent theme is compassion and how it relates with a secondary theme of cruelty. The author expresses this theme through the use of allegory, symbolism, and juxtaposition. An allegory is used where the meaning of a greater concept is conveyed with the aid of a more everyday object. Symbolism is literary device that contains several meanings, often concealed at first sight. Juxtaposition is wherein the author two related entities close together in literature to highlight the contrast between the two and compare them. Allegory is utilized in the story to show how the old and beaten down angel is inherently good. Angels are typically depicted as grand saviors, and their personalities are assumed to coincide with that. …show more content…

The Angel is patient, and shows kindness through his attempts at miracles and how he refuses to leave Elisenda and Pelayo’s house for a while after he is free to do so. “His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferated in his wings, and the cripples pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing,” puts the acts of the villagers and the acts of the Angel into comparison. The two conflicting types of people is meant to show how differently they show compassion and cruelty. The short story serves as a way to examine the human response to those who are weak, dependent, and different. There are moments of cruelty and callousness throughout, mostly at the hand of those who came to visit the angel. However, amid the exploitation, there are moments of compassion, although they are few and far

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