"The Very Old Man wth Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

 

            In the short story “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez we are told the mystery story of how a couple who found an old man with wings. At first they don’t know what he is until a neighbor tells them he’s an angel who fell from the sky because of the storm. The couple decides to lock the angel up when they concluded that the angel may have come to take their sick child. Soon the word gets out about the old man with wings and people want to come see him. After a while people get tired and instead go see a young girl that turned into a spider. Many years pass and the old man heals and his wings grow out and as simple as he came to the couple’s life is disappears.

            Marquez blends reality with fantasy which he does in his short story. He writes in such a way that the story doesn’t seem unusual instead it seems like one day you too will cross pass with an angel. Reality and fantasy are equal in his story. People are willing to believe anything if they can relate, like the people could understand how a girl was turned into a spider because she sneaked out of her house to go to a party. Marquez presents the angel as an ordinary situation, like if an angel is seen all the time. Our perception of what is reality is determined by our culture and beliefs. People can believe in witches and demon but when they were told about new inventions like the portable phones, airplane and internet they are amazed and can’t comprehend.