Research Paper: “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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In the short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” there are three main characters; The Old Man, Pelayo, and Elisenda. During a rainstorm, Pelayo notices an old homeless Man who had enormous wings. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda decided that the old Man was an angel who was planning on taking their newborn son to heaven because he was sick. After going to his neighbor, who told Pelayo that she thinks that the Old Man is an angle, however she is very suspicious. So she tells Pelayo to kill the homeless Man, Pelayo decides not to because his son was getting better. Pelayo being the nice on in the relationship convinces Elisenda make the angel stay in the chicken coop. Although a chicken coop is not a good living space, it is better than living on the streets and being dead. When this happens people were starting to visit the chicken coop. The local priest Father Gonzaga even visits. Father Gonzaga states that the Man cannot be angel because he does not speak Latin. Even though Father Gonzaga tells the people that this Man was not angel the crowd of people kept growing. Elisenda already thinks that the Old Man is a nuisance, and she notices that the number of people visiting the Old Man is growing, so she starts charging people admission. Though the numbers are overwhelming, the Old Man ignores them. People started to pluck is feathers off his wings. However, when word got out about the Spider Woman, those same people got tired of the Old Man and went to go see the Spider Woman. Pelayo and Elisenda became wealthy from the admission charges. Pelayo quit his job and built a new and larger house. The Old Man lived with the family for several years afterwards. Of course Pelayo and Elisenda think that the Old Man will die eventually... ... middle of paper ... ...ts like religion, magic realism, being un-normal, and forgiveness tells us that this story is for adults. The way he ends the story makes you always question, why was the Old Man there? Works Cited "Bible Gateway." Bible Gateway. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014 "In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," How Does Marquez Utilize Symbolism and Magical Realism to Challenge... - Homework Help - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, 21 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. "Magic Realism." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . Merritt, Timothy. "DIGITAL MEDIAST." DIGITAL MEDIAST. N.p., 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. "Symbolism in very old man with enormous wings." StudyMode.com. StudyMode.com, 10 2012. Web. 10 2012. .

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