A very old man with enormous wings
Introduction
The story “A very old man with enormous wings” is one of the most known fictional stories that enable the author to identify the diverse characteristics of human beings. The author of the fictional story, Gabriel Marquez Garcia, compiles the short story in the year 1955. The short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is categorized as in the genre of magic and realism. This is for the key reason that the short story encompasses various incidents of magic related to the religious world.
The short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” majorly revolves around the lost angel and the society. The society is perplexed by the appearance of an old man with wings. Since the entire society has never seen such a creator before, it becomes almost impossible to tell what the old man is hence identifying him as an imposter (García, and Gregory 87). To make matters worse, the priest is introduced who is supposed to identify the old winged man but he further misleads the people. Gabriel the author writes that, “The old man with worn out wings does not resemble an angel but an imposter” (García, and Gregory 111). Eventually, a woman recognized to know matters associated with life and death identifies the old man with wings as an angel of death. The author, Gabriel Marquez uses various literature features to make the story more appealing and interesting. For the purpose of this paper, the theme of religion, the character father Gonzaga and the symbolism of human naivety illustrated by the author, Gabriel Marquez in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” will be discussed in details (García, and Gregory 129).
Theme of Religion
In the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings”, the author Gabriel Marquez solemnly deals with the relations of the society with religious deeds. The short story focuses on the theme of religion more than any other theme in the entire fictional story. In the fictional story, “A very old man with enormous wings” the author Gabriel tries to indicate the poor connection between the human and religion. The theme of religion is well illustrated in the story as the main characters in the entire story revolve around the religious aspects (García, and Gregory 94). In the entire fictional story, the author Gabriel criticizes need for perfection of the religious deeds that are supposed to lead the daily undertakings of the human society.
The human in the entire fictional story are supposed to be guided in the daily chores and endeavors by the religious doctrines. However, none of the members of the society reacts in accordance to the religious deeds when the old man appears with wings. All the members of the society fail to identify the old man with wings as being an angel regardless of their position. Gabriel in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” implies that the members of the since the old man with wings does not speak Latin then he is not an angel. This is denoted in the story when the society illustrates that, “The old man cannot understand the language of God” (García, and Gregory 122). In accordance to the humans in the fictional story, all the angels are supposed to understand Latin, which is a language, related to God.
The function of the theme of religion in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to bring out the false impression of the people in the story. Using the theme of religion, the author, Gabriel was capable to inform the reader about the perception of religion in accordance to the people in the short story (Zingher 132). Gabriel also uses the theme of religion for the key purpose of informing the audience that not all people act in accordance to what people might perceive one to be. This is identified in the short story when the father also fails to identify that the old man with torn wings was an angel (García, and Gregory 116).
The value of the theme of religion is to inform the reader and the entire society concerning concepts regarding religious issues. The significance of the theme of religious in the story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to explain diversity that exists between the occupation of the human beings, traits of individuals and religious issues. The meaning of the theme of religion in the short story “A very old man with enormous wings” is to inform the reader that not all priests and people related to church affairs really know what the actual heaven is all about (Paul 148).
Symbolism
The humans in the story, “A very old man with enormous wings” all expect the diverse version of the angel. For this reason, they decline the notion that the old man with wings is an angel. To most of the people in the story, the old man is associated with an imposter rather than an angel. The people in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” all have weird expectation of an angel. The people argue that an angel ought to understand the language of God, which is Latin. According to the people, the angel ought to be “Sublime and with white youthful creatures that is attractive in appearance” (García, and Gregory 107). In this case, Gabriel the author of the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” identifies the people in the short story need an angel to be symbolic. According to Gabriel, to the people in the story, an angel ought to be “an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea” and not an old tired man with worn out wings stuck in the mad.
The function of symbolic in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is important in the entire short fictional story to denote the naivety of the people in regard to religious aspects. Although the members of the society boast to live a holy and just life, they lack the knowledge concerning the appearance of the angel (Peyre 101). To them, the angel is supposed to be symbolized by a dot in the sky with bright white light. The angel is also supposed to be in white and glorious attire that is appealing to the eyes. However, since the angel in the short story is symbolized with the old man, it becomes almost impossible for the people to accept that fact. Until almost the end of the fictional story, do the people in the story accept that the old man with wings was an angel? This is denoted by the statement, “the old man disappeared into heaven after gaining back his health” (118). After gaining back his health, the wings gain strength and shape enabling the old man with wings, angel to fly away into the skies (García, and Gregory 118).
The purpose of symbolism in the fictional story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to bring out the doubt concerning the religious understanding of the people (García, and Gregory 137). Gabriel uses the old man with torn wings to symbolize an angel sent from heaven. The value of symbolism in the story is also vital in ensuring that the actual behavior of the real life humans is revealed in the short story. The value of using symbolism in the fictional story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to reflect the actual behavior of humans.
The significance of symbolism in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to illustrate how the traits of the human beings in relation to the beliefs and culture. The cultural aspect of the human beings and way of lifestyle has interfered with the way people eat, behave and reason. This is identified in the short story as the old man with torn wings is an angel and used to prove the fact that human beings have the tendency of disbelieving in things that appear in extremely diverse ways expected in the ordinary lifestyle. The meaning of symbolism in the story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is that humans ought to change the way they believe with the occurrence of nature (Moehler 126).
Character
In the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” one of the key characters is father Gonzaga who is the senior priest in the entire society. Father Gonzaga is also a respected person with authority in the town. According to the author, Gabriel, Father Gonzaga plays the function of identifying who the old man with the torn wings is in the story. Gabriel the author of the fictional story, “A very old man with enormous wings” uses Father Gonzaga to identify the role of the priests in the society. In making the story more relevant, the Gabriel identifies the purpose of the father Gonzaga as making key decisions that might affect the society (García, and Gregory 123).
In assisting to identify the old man, the author shows the importance and value of the priest to the society. Gabriel denotes that it is the duty of the priest, using Father Gonzaga to inform the society regarding any superficial being. The significance of Father Gonzaga in the short story, “A very old man with enormous wings” is to inform the reader that not all the priests are aware of what God and other heavenly beings appear like. For this reason, the meaning of the father Gonzaga is to identify that not all priests are well informed about heaven hence the society ought not to relay on the priests for final judgment concerning other facts (DeRoche 139).
Works cited
DeRoche, Edward. Character Matters: In Classrooms, at School, at Home. Port Chester, NY: National Professional Resources, Inc, 2008. Print.
García, Márquez G, and Gregory Rabassa. Leaf Storm and Other Stories. New York: Perennial Classics, 2005. Print.
Moehler, A. John. Symbolism Or Exposition on the Doctrinal Differences Between Catholics and Protestants as Evidenced by Their Symbolic Writings, New York: Kessinger Publishing, 2003. Print.
Paul, James G. Moodle 1.9 Theme Design: Beginner’s Guide. Birmingham: Packt Pub, 2010. Print.
Peyre, Henri . What Is Symbolism?S.l.: University Of Alabama Pre, n.d.. Print.
Zingher, Gary. Theme Play: Exciting Young Imaginations. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Print.
