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The Old Man With Broken Wings

This story is written in a style which is called magical realism. What does that mean? Some writers
like to create moments when what passes for reality crosses paths with magic in order to challenge
our assumptions. Other writers simply expand reality to a size large enough to include myth, magic and
other extraordinary natural phenomena. This second sort is the one we are dealing with in this story.
When the Old Man falls to earth there are many different opinions about just what he is, but no one doubts
his existence. It is not impossible in the world of this play to believe in mystical beings dropping from the sky.
On the following page is a short list of books that might acquaint you with magical realism and Latin American
culture.

At first it may seem to us that Pelayo is cruel to the angel, but think about this. What would you do, or
not do, to feed and clothe and care for the people you love dearly? The people seem selfish with the angel's
feathers, but how far would you be willing to go at another's expense to get yourself a miracle?
The Function of Symbolism in 'A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings' In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" an angel symbolizes the unfamiliar. The angel is not just a celestia
l body, but a foreign body-someone who stands out as being different from the rest of society. Consequently,
the angel draws attention to civilized society's reaction, ergo the community's reaction within the story when
it confronts him. Using the angel as a symbol, Marquez shows how ignorance reveals the vulnerability of human
nature often leading to uncivilized behaviour. At the very outset, civilized society is shown to be unenlightened
and uncharitable towards the unfamiliar. Instead of offering a helping hand, Pelayo, a representative of the civilized
society, runs away in terror from the angel who "is an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud" (487)
and totally...