Reynolds 1 Jennifer Reynolds Professor Keel English 1302 30 October 2019 Symbolism in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Symbolism abounds in Gabriel García Márquez’s short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. The most glaring symbol is the way the characters in the story behave. There are many similarities of the characters to people in society today. The reactions of the characters to García Márquez’s old and dirty angel symbolizes the initial reaction most people in society have to anything that is strange or different. Pelayo is frightened by the angel in the beginning of the story, just as many people are fearful of things they don’t understand. When Pelayo first lays eyes on the angel, he sees a very old man who is stuck, face down in the mud, by his enormous wings. The description of the angel is disturbing, “He was dressed like a ragpicker. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched greatgrandfather took away any sense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked, were forever entangled in the mud” (García Márquez 289). This is not the normal description of the beautiful, clean, white robed, haloed, angel most people are accustomed to. Frightened by the appearance of the old man, Pelayo arms himself with a club and chains the angel up in the chicken coop. When the village priest, Father Gonzaga arrives to inspect the oddity he notes, “Seen close up he was much too human: he had an unbearable smell of the outdoors, the back side of his wings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, and nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of Reynolds 2 angels” (290). Based on the angel’s appearance and the fact that he didn’t seem to understand Latin, Father Gonzaga warns the people that the angel could be a trick being played by the devil. All these judgements parallel so many things about people in society today. People in general judge others based on appearances without going any deeper to learn who someone really is. Just as in the story, these kinds of snap judgements can prevent someone from learning new things or having amazing experiences. Another upsetting behavior modeled in the story is the way most people in society believe it is okay to stare and poke fun at something or someone that is different; this is clearly symbolized in the way people gather to gawk and jeer at the angel. People came from all around to stare at the angel. Gawkers in the crowd threw rocks at him to try and make him stand up. The angel finally stood “When they burned his side with an iron for branding steers” (291). In all this chaos and torture, it is alarming that no one stood up for the angel. The people eventually grew bored with the angel when a carnival arrived in town with a woman who had been turned into a spider. This is symbolic of society’s voyeuristic tendencies and sheep mentality. It is not uncommon for people to stare at or watch things that are unusual, especially if the subject is trending on social media. It is easier now than ever for people to satiate their voyeuristic obsessions. This is evident in the way most people’s faces are always covered by a phone. The characters in the story were followers who were caught up in gawking at the angel with everyone else in the town. He was their version of a modern subject that is trending. And just as in the story, when people are bored of the current subject they are obsessing over, it is quickly cast aside for the next, new, exciting thing. Readers will gain significant lessons from “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” if they pay attention. The Christ-like qualities of the angel are overlooked by the characters in this Reynolds 3 story because they are so preoccupied with his appearance and their desire to be part of the voyeuristic mob. In failing to recognize these qualities, they miss out on the blessings he has brought or could bring to them. Many times, people miss amazing opportunities to learn and grow because they fear what they can’t comprehend. They would rather stare and judge than examine what is beneath the surface. Opportunities are also lost when people blindly follow what they are told is popular, instead of making up their own mind. The message of this story is, people should dig a little deeper into a subject, push past their fears, and search their own hearts and minds before making judgements, or they could lose out on something incredible. Reynolds 4 Works Cited García Márquez, Gabriel. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” The Art of the Short Story: 52 Great Authors, Their Best Short Fiction, and Their Insights on Writing. Edited by Dana Gioia and R. S. Gwynn. Pearson Longman, 2006. pp. 289–293.
