Angel Perceptions in Gabriel García Márquez’s A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

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Society has placed an emphasis on perfection in a modern day world where a slight deficiency labels good people as failures. A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez demonstrates how mental depictions of past perfections can change an awesome being into merely an aberration. The common conception of angels that has been passed down throughout generations is extremely specific, leaving no room for error. Much as the past can change your expectations of the future to unattainable heights, angels of the past allow a normal man to be the opposite of an angel to everyone around him. Although the angel was mistreated to an extent, he maintained his innocence throughout the entire short story. Our own past causes our ignorance. The common conception of an angel is a blonde, pale, beautiful being with large white wings. This is the idea that people’s past has given them, as their parents have told them stories of these epitomized perfect beings. The angels of our past cause a narrow-minded view of what an angel can be, with no room for blemishes. As the family that find...

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