Sunday, April 6, 2014

What do the three people who are consulted about the angel symbolize in the story?"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A most unconventional story, "A Very Old Man with Enormous
Wings" presents along with its magical realism a bit of satire in the three people who
are consulted about the old angel with buzzard wings,dirty and
half-plucked.


1.  Elisenda -
The wife of Pelayo is called by her husband to examine the appearance of the very old
man with huge buzzard-like wings.  As the husband and wife, Pelayo and Elisenda, stare
for long periods at the unsightly angel, they


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very soon overcame their surprise and in the end
found him familiar. 



But,
when they try to speak to him, the angel replies in an incomprehensible dialect with "a
strong sailor's voice."  So, they consult a neighbor woman who "knew everything about
life and death." Still, in true capitalist fashion, Elisenda becomes an opportunist
and decides to sell tickets to see it.


2. The
wise neighbor woman
- The neighbor who "knew everything about life and
death," the woman takes only one look before she determines that the angel has come for
Pelayo and Elisenda's child.  As a satiric representation of the superstitious character
of the Columbian people, the neighbor woman suggests that the club the old angel to
death--one must eliminate what one does not understand.


3.
Father Gonzaga - representative of the Roman Catholic
Church which also exerts great influence in the lives of the Colombians, Father Gonzaga
follows the canon of the church--"he reviewed his catechism in an instant"--in dealing
with this fallen angel.  The priest speaks to him in Latin, which all celestial beings
understand since it is the language of the Holy Church. 
However,


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nothing about him measured up to the proud
dignity of angels.



So, in
observance of the hierarchy of the Church, Father Gonzaga determines that he must write
to his bishop so that he, in turn, can write to the Pope, the Supreme Pontiff, "in order
to obtain the final verdict from the highest courts."  Thus, nothing is really done
because of the bureaucracy of the Church.


All three of
these characters interpret the existence of the man with enormous wings within the realm
of their particular delusions thereby creating the ambiguity and absurdity that is
thematic of Marquez's narrative.

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