"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"

[[deleted user]]

García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?

[Lizette]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I think that Garcia Marquez, had a good point. Because, in most Latin Americans have many beliefs and stories to educate and keep the a magical story that may or may not happen. Especially when they use a mixture of the Supernatural and Religion. A lot of people think that they live normal lives. But, there is no such thing is normal. What is normal or crazy living for someone, is not the same for another. Every goes through some type of an orthodox event that will give the allusion of some symbolic meaning or reason. Like in the story of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," for example, there were various characters believe that the old man with wing was an angel, other said that he was the angel of death, and last but not least they even said he was sent from the devil. It even said that the old man with the wing was even a mythical creature. That is what I think.

[Elvia]

If Garcia-Mendez did in fact state that magical realism is only for Latin American’s, I ardently disagree with him. Truly, that is a false statement if ever there was one. The following are authors of magical realism that are not Latin: Sarah Addison Allen, “Garden Spells” and “The Girl Who Chased the Moon”, Erin Morgenstern, “The Night Circus”, Haruki Murakami, “Kafka on the Shore”. In reading this particular short story, it immediately gave the reader insight as if the short story was a fairy tale when Pelayo finds an old man stuck in the mud in his back yard. “He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn’t get up, impeded by his enormous wings.” Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, go to their all-knowing neighbor to find out what the old man is in their back yard. This know-it-all neighbor, in her wisdom, tells Pelayo and his wife that the old man is an angel that came to get their sick child, but being old and frail, the rain must have slapped him into the mud. “He must have come for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down.” They refused to follow her advice in clubbing him to death when she paraphrases biblical writings regarding of the time that Lucifer and hosts of angels rebelled against God and were cast from heaven. “Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive survivors of a celestial conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death.” Another example of magical realism in this short story was of the woman that was turned into a spider, in fact an ugly tarantula with a head of a sad woman. This happened for disobeying her parents. “…there arrived a traveling show of the woman who had been into a spider for disobeying her parents.” “She was a frightful tarantula the size of a ram and with the head of a sad maiden.”

[Jorge]

I think Garcia Mendez mentioned a good point of view due that many people falls into innocence when beliefs show up on peoples life.For example, people tend to belief that wear a certain color in a special day will bring luck into their lives but the reality is completely different. However, in the short story " a very old man with enormous wings" Pelayo and Elisenda belief that some creature that look like an Angel was actually a God"s Angels who was send in their lives to bring prosperity and health due that since the angel showed in their house their child started to get better in his health, so they started to believe that it was actually an angel who came to help them out. During a certain time Pelayo and Elisenda started to make money from the angel due that people started to have interest on him so they put a quota so people could be able to see him, time past and after a while they made a big house and their lives were completely different due to that creature that they though was an angel but the reality is that it was just a symbol that didnt helped them on anything but on their minds they thought it was something good for their lives that showed up for their well in future things. In this story I think Garcia Mendez tried to demonstrate the incredibility of people"s mind that think that something or someone that do not represent anything could help them on their lives.

[Lindsay]

I think that different cultures use different means to communicate fundamental life lessons. These various means may include components of religions, beliefs, or superstitions. García Márquez most likely had a Latin American audience in mind when he wrote the short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. He was able to use components that were familiar to his audience to drive home a point. The author’s use of magical realism leads the reader to examine past actions and their motives, and encourages future actions to be thoughtful and considerate. This is accomplished through the tale of an old man with wings, whom the villagers assume must be an angel. Initially, the man that discovers him debates on whether or not to kill the angel based on information received from the “wise neighborhood woman”. A decision is made to spare his life, but send him away on a raft with “provisions for three days”. The man and his wife feel that letting fate decide if the man lives is generous. The villagers hear about this angel and flock to see for themselves. The husband seems to take pity on the creature and drags him into the chicken coop. Seeing an opportunity for profit, the wife begins charging admission. Time passes and the family is able to assume a life of luxury. Eager to see his wings, the villagers attempt to rouse him by burning “his side with a branding iron”. Villagers lose interest in the old man when he does not perform as they feel an angel should perform. Instead they flock to see the spider girl that gives the villagers the performance they want. When the couple should be grateful to the old man for the riches he has brought them, they sadly view his presence as bothersome. After the family’s condition is improved, he gets well and flies away. The family and the entire village had an opportunity to welcome someone who was visibly different. Even Father Gonzaga, “the parish priest had his first suspicion of an imposter when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers”. Father Gonzaga had most likely spoke to his congregation regarding the welcoming of an alien resident. However, everyone in the story put their own needs before this creature because he did not meet their preconceived expectations. With or without the religious perspective, this story reminds us that individual differences do not justify the mistreatment of anyone.

[Paula]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I believe that although Garcia Marquez makes a good point, it can also be said that many different cultures have “crazy” or outlandish ideas. What, in reality, is to make an idea “crazy” or “fantastic”? It really all comes down to different believes and faith. Garcia Marquez might have had a Latin based audience when he wrote the short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” because we can see many elements familiar to catholic religion and in doing so made the story relatable to his audience. The author uses magical realism and describes the “angel” so well we become familiarized and somewhat un-enchanted even though we are still talking about what’s suppose to be a celestial being. He is described as having “dirty and half- plucked” wings which had parasites. He was also described as old, almost bald, and having almost no teeth. At final view of this reading I personally realized that this story wasn’t much of a culture one for me but of human nature, and the complexities of how we view others and ourselves. The family that found this angel could have be thankful for their child getting better, for the monetary advances that came to them, or even just for the luxury of having an angel for a companion, but the sad truth was that because the angel did not meet their expectations of what an angel should be, they pushed him away and belittled him. Even without the Catholic point of view, we can interpret the message of being kind to others despite our differences or backgrounds.

[Amanda]

In this short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" written by Gabriel García Márquez tries to say how magical realism is actually just realism to us Latin Americans because of our faith, culture, beliefs, our background, and especially our imagination. On the opposite of the other culture it appears they are straightforward and actually need the action to happen in front of their eyes. Pelayo the father of the sick newborn that had a temperature assumed it was because of all the crabs in their home, but until he heard something moaning by the bushes and found an old man with wings that looked similar to an angel. It was not an angel we expected in our imagination such as a beautiful angel with big white wings, it was “dressed like a rag picker with only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had.” In that statement they are already judging the angel by his appearance instead of viewing the good side on how that angel might have been the one that cured their newborn. The manner they described the angel in this statement shows realism and how straightforward people can be. You never know when an angel is standing right in front of you; the angel was put in to the real world and is an example of magical realism. The perfect example of Latin’s believe in their culture, in their beliefs and mainly having faith proofs “the most unfortunate invalids in earth came in search of health: a poor woman since childhood had been counting her heartbeats and had run out of number; a Portuguese man who couldn’t sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him; a sleepwalker who got up at night to undo the things he had done while awake”

[Elizabeth]

I think that the idea of Garcia Marquez is accurate. Many other cultures may read this story and claim as magical realism. To Latin Americans it is much easier to believe in the super natural, hence Garcia Marquez idea that for Latin Americans it comes to simply realism. In this story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” we are told that there is “a neighbor woman who knew everything about life and death.” In the Latin American culture we can make a comparison or assimilate this neighbor woman to be a “bruja.” With one we go to know what is going on in your life as they see beyond what one individual can see in their own lives. It is easier for Latin Americans to interpret magical realism as just realism for it is all more natural in our cultures. Believing that a baby’s’ continuous crying comes from a person who gave them the evil eye and the cure is to rub them with an egg for Latin Americans is believable (realism) for other cultures might seem unreal (magical realism).

[Maria]

In the short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", I believe that the writer Garcia Marquez makes a good point. Although, there are many other cultures that have different beliefs. Everyone has different faith and different beliefs depending from what culture they come from. For example, Pelayo and his wife did not ever thought that the sickness of their son with something supernatural or from God they thought it was because of the crabs. Even when he first saw the old man with wings he did not see him as an angel he was "frighten by that nightmare". It was not until they went for the neighbor how is said to know "everything about life and death". She was the one that told them that the old man was an angel. I could notice from there that Pelayo and Elisenda did not believe in angels or supernatural because first they did not make resembles from it. Then, they lock him up and they do not even treat him well in the contrary they are using him for their own needs. Everyone has different beliefs and most come from their culture.

[Dave]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I believe this is an interesting idea. However, I believe that many cultures themselves use magical realism to either teach a lesson or prove a point across to their families whether it be superstitions, religion, or folklore. Seeing as Garcia Marquez was of a Latin American, he based the story to resonate with the Hispanic culture. In the short work that Marquez wrote, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" there is an elderly man with wings that "seemed so natural on that completely human organism" (100; paragraph 11). Due to his appearance, he was seen as different and unnatural in the eyes of the world. At first, many were in awe of him, but his was fame was short-lived. "There arrived in town the traveling show of the woman who had been changed in to a spider for having disobeyed her parents,...[and]a spectacle like that, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. (100; paragraph 10) Ovetime he became to be boring and bothersome and was treated rudely for being 'stale and uninteresting'. "They burned his side his with an iron for branding steers, [and] he awoke with a start, ranting in his hermetic language and with tears is his eyes" (100; paragraph 8). What would cause such behavior among the villagers? Simple. He was different and was an attraction for mere pleasure; a side-show circus. Whether it be because of religion, superstitions, or different appearances, I believe the author was trying to prove a point, that no matter the difference, people should be more considerate of others besides there differences.

[Monica]

I think that Garcia Marquez is right in saying that magical realism is just realism for Latin Americans. When I read this, the first thing that came into my mind was some family members that I have like my grandmother and aunts that believe in things like witchcraft and witches. When I say witches I don't mean like the ones with pointy hats and flying broms, but the ones that can tell the future or can read cards. I'm not sure how that really works but I always used to hear my grandmother says "te embrujaron", when ever something was going wrong in someone's life. In fact there are a lot of beliefs that people have in our culture that back up the idea that magical realism is just realism in our culture.

[Senaida]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"


I think Garcia Marquez lived a crazy, fantastic live because he was one of the sixteen children of telegraph operator. He uses magical realism to describe fantasy and realism. This tales has a lot of fantasy like “The world had been sad since Tuesday.” Because the child is sick and had a fever. Pelayo finds this old man in the mud that has wings and him and his wife capture the old man because they think he came for their sick child. The people form the town heard and came to see this angle they paid to see him until a new fantasy came along. The spider woman also is another crazy, fantasy. Latin Americans are very religious and believe in many supernatural things. As, I was growing up I heard many supernatural stories from my parents and grandparents.

[angel]

Latin Americans have their own lore, and mythology to tell which is inspired by their culture that may be heavenly influenced on religion, and superstition. Moreover, when we try to apply that same lore on life; we may get the bad perception of what is acceptable, and what is not. An example would be in the short story, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" the old man has is being misjudge by the people since everybody has a theory of what the old man could be. Some say that is a product of the devil, other tell that a dirty old man like that cannot be an angel... and there is some that actually think that the old man is an angel. Therefore, Garcia Marques makes the point of how a culture may impact that same culture, and this will only provoke people to stay in an ignorant status where only a few think outside the box.

[Luis]

I believe Garcia Marquez was correct on that. Ever since growing up I have head many stories and urban legends that people think are true. The same way that in the book people were not surprised of learning that angels existed, but just surprised at the fact that they were lucky enough to see one. Ever since growing up I have heard of mythological creatures for example, the chupacabras, that white owls are in reality witches, and the “llorona”. Also the fact that even though many latin american people may be God fearing christians believing in the power of God that can beat any evil spirit, they still rely on putting a egg in cup of water below their bed to remove the evil spirit, bad vibe or aura. Also ever since I was a child and they told me that white owls are in reality witches, I am still freak out by them every time I see one at night; I have to run inside my house when that happens.

[Maria L.]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I like García Márquez works, but I liked more “Cien Años de Soledad.” This particular story, ““A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” is a magical and fantastic story that of course reflects that Latin American culture in it. The Latin American culture tend to create believes in magical (real) events or creatures easier than other cultures. Latins are more susceptible to believe in “angels” such as the old man, in a “spider girl” like the one who turned into spider because of a punishment, or in a “bruja” such as the neighbor woman who believes in the mystical process of life and death. For example, some Latin cultures believe that putting a red ribbon behind the entrance door may save the house and the ones who live there against bad vibes. Therefore, magical realism is just realism for Latin Americans according to their believes, traditions, and cultures who “live with crazy events every day.”

[Viviana]

García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?

I do agree with Garcia Marquez when he says that magical realism is just realism for Latin Americans. This story has a sense of superstition and the supernatural in it. There are people nowadays that do really believe in all that stuff. If you honestly think about it who really reads things about old men that have angel wings and girls who turn into spiders because they disobeyed their parents. It is true that Latin Americans are very religious and they have many beliefs in different things such as the supernatural. They really get into all that stuff such as witchcraft. The angel and the spider can be seen as figures that are examples of the superstition people have nowadays and their fantasies.

[Kristina]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I completely agree with Garcia Marquez that Latin Americans do live lives with magical realism as just realism. In his story,"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" Pelayo and his wife " called in a neighbor woman who knew everything about life and death" and for them it is something natural and normal to have someone who "knows everything about life and death". They believe this women and take what she says as complete truth when she says "He's an angel........ He must of been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down." In other cultures people would never believe that this old man was an angel and would try to find a scientific reason for his being. I believe that the author was trying to show the reader how blind following of magical realism can hurt others in the process. Pelayo and his wife hurt the angel by keeping him in the chicken coop and letting other people go to the point of pocking him with a hot poker used for branding animal. I think that this short story gives a message to the reading by showing the reader what may happen if you just live with magical realism.

[Rebecca]

Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I would have to disagree with Garcia Marquez. Magical Realism is seen in various works around the world. In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Garcia Marquez, we read about two out of this world characters, an old man described to be a fallen injured angel of sorts by Pelayo and Elisenda’s neighbor and a woman described to have the body of an ugly tarantula and the face of an old maiden. We see other out of this world characters resembling humans in other works such as the story of Paul Bunyan, who was somewhat portrayed to be the Hercules of the west. From what I remember, he was an abnormally large logger of a man, strong enough to wrestle bears, was able calm wild animals and he even had a blue ox named Babe. Then there is Big John or Big Bad John, a character we hear in an old Jimmy Dean song who was strong enough to save twenty men from a collapsing mine. Another prominent character that sticks out in my mind growing up would be Edward Scissorhands who like his name shows to be a “man” with scissors for hands. In looking at the folklore aspect of magical realism and superstition that comes with our culture Hispanics, we have stories with characters in them like “La Llorona” or “El Cucuy”. Then we also have stories that get passed down through the generations and altered in our families like my growing up that as a child have some sort of realism to them since they are shared by elders who we look up to and respect. When I was little my dad used to tell me that the oil stains in the street or parking lot were really marks of blood from kids who got hit by cars for not holding a grown-up’s hand. As time goes on, all of these stories have an underlying message or point to teach us a lesson we just have to find it.

[Ilze]

I don't agree with him I believe we all have myths we believe in no matter what culture we are.

[Eduardo]

Some may say its magical realism but I totally agree with Marquez . For the reason that the motifs of the story mainly focus on prosperity , they found prosperity with the angel.The angel brought life in to their life's and economic wealth as well. Even though this story is fiction we can still see that the author focuses on limitless freedom by what the symbolism reflects. The story had a really profound meaning to it and we should all relate to the angle and be more humble.

[Lindsay]

Amanda wrote: "In this short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" written by Gabriel García Márquez tries to say how magical realism is actually just realism to us Latin Americans because of our faith, cul..."

Amanda, I appreciate your comment about not knowing when an angel could be standing in front of you. The society in which we live is very judgmental when it comes to appearances. Because the angel in the story was ugly on the outside, everyone assumed he must be ugly on the inside as well. This reminds me of a common saying: “Do not judge a book by its cover”.

[Lindsay]

Elizabeth wrote: "I think that the idea of Garcia Marquez is accurate. Many other cultures may read this story and claim as magical realism. To Latin Americans it is much easier to believe in the super natural, henc..."

Elizabeth, I agree with your opinion of García Márquez writing of this piece perhaps being more real than surreal. Interestingly, the way in which he wrote appeals to people in all cultures. This could be compared to mythological criticism in the sense that this is a story with archetypes which everyone can identify.

[Jorge]

Maria L. wrote: "Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I like..."
I agree with you maria regarding to the latin"s traditions they tend to imagine certain thing some of them in good way but some other in a wrong way depending on the circumstances but I think this story explains more about society in general, it tells who we are and how do we treat others regarding on education and morals

[Jorge]

Maria wrote: "In the short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", I believe that the writer Garcia Marquez makes a good point. Although, there are many other cultures that have different beliefs. Everyone h..."

I think similar to you in the way we all have different thoughts about somethings and beliefs depending in our own religion and also on our around for example how the society is in the place we live, in this story we all can see that society treats the angel like trash after he is useless for them and wan to take rid of him as many people in real life in certain circumstances.

[Jorge]

Elvia wrote: "If Garcia-Mendez did in fact state that magical realism is only for Latin American’s, I ardently disagree with him. Truly, that is a false statement if ever there was one. The following are authors..."

I think that in the story the main point is that we all have to see the reality of our society and the angel was only a symbol of how humans treat others with what type of humanity we see other with no education, certainly we all have different beliefs but the most important is dignity in how to be with someone who needs our help I think this is what the story was about.

[Maria]

Dave wrote: "Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"

I beli..."

I totally agree with you because people believe and see what they want to. Most of their beliefs come form peoples religions.

[Rebecca]

Senaida wrote: "Monica wrote: "García Márquez claimed that magical realism is actually just realism for Latin Americans, who live with crazy, fantastic events every day. What do you think about that idea?"


I thi..."

I agree with you that Garcia Marquez lived a pretty amazing life. It seemed to be filled vibrant life experiences rich in color and culture. What a man he must have been.

[Rebecca]

Luis wrote: "I believe Garcia Marquez was correct on that. Ever since growing up I have head many stories and urban legends that people think are true. The same way that in the book people were not surprised of..."

I agree with you. I grew up with similar stories and experiences like my grandma rubbing an egg on me because she thought someone gave me ojo as a baby. I just don't agree that this type of realism is a lifestyle strictly reserved for Latin Americans eventhough they may be more known for it.

[Rebecca]

Eduardo wrote: "Some may say its magical realism but I totally agree with Marquez . For the reason that the motifs of the story mainly focus on prosperity , they found prosperity with the angel.The angel brought l..."

I agree with you and your views towards this story. I think the angel in this story taught us a lot about humanity more importantly our own. I like stories like this that you can actually relate to and take a lesson from.

[Dave]

Maria wrote: "In the short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", I believe that the writer Garcia Marquez makes a good point. Although, there are many other cultures that have different beliefs. Everyone h..."

I agree with your statement on how everyone has their own beliefs and traditions based on their cultures. Many of the tales we hear as children are based off of folklore, religion, or our cultural backgrounds. The way you state how Pelayo and Elisenda didn't believe in the angel, nor showed him any kindness or compassion: "frightened by that nightmare". (100) This shows how humanity is far from anything human. Marquez questions our humanity because of our corrupted nature. I believe his short work, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", is not only a brilliant piece of literature based off the Hispanic community, but it presents a lesson that we as readers can gain from and practice.
For instance, along with being Hispanic, I'm also part Irish and British. Many of my 'lesson stories' we're either from my Hispanic background or my Irish background (They're weren't that many English ones I could find.) There was one such story my mother once told me from Ireland called "Taggart's Tale" This short story revolved around the life of a boy name Taggart and how he found a magical elderly being and aided him in a problem. In return, Taggart was shown the magical being's realm. He would go and play there for many a day. However, on one such day, he took something from the realm without permission; a little golden ball. Before even setting foot out of the realm, he was caught and dubbed a 'thief!' Taggart then returned the little golden ball and apologized. Life resumed as normal for Taggart, but he never saw the magical being, nor his realm ever again. So, the lesson I learned was to never take anything without asking for it first. As you said, our cultures influence teh stories we hear, but they are told for a reason. Whether you be a Pelayo, Elisenda, or Taggart, there is always something to learn from these tales.

[Maria L.]

Jorge wrote: "I think Garcia Mendez mentioned a good point of view due that many people falls into innocence when beliefs show up on peoples life.For example, people tend to belief that wear a certain color in a..."

Jorge, I saw the same lack of humanity. Mr. Marquez had a really good sense and perception of magic and realism together. The fact that the family saw "the angel" as an investment of a good business was just a big lack of humanity and compassion, but the reality is that there is a lot of thoughtlessness in this world.