A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
The short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is ultimately an analysis of the human response to those who are weak, dependent, and different. Within this there is a coexistence of cruelty and compassion. This is most evident through the actions of the main characters, such as Elisenda and Pelayo, along with the hordes of people who gathered to see the “angel”. From the moment the old man is found, his humanity is disregarded because of one thing that makes him seemingly inhuman, his wings. Based on the existence of his wings alone, the old man is seen as being different and is treated with the utmost cruelty by Pelayo and his wife, as it is common human nature to mistreat those who are different. On the other hand, there exists seemingly a bit of compassion by the old man as he transforms the lives of Pelayo and Elisenda.
The story begins with Pelayo discovering the incapacitated old man while disposing of crabs that had made their way into his courtyard. Upon discovery of this winged-man, it is stated that he is “frightened by that nightmare” and immediately seeks his wife. From the start, both Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, regard the old man with a negative manner. Pelayo and Elisenda are both perceived as being very ordinary people concerned only with the practical matters involving themselves and their newborn child. Pelayo comes off as being very frightful and a bit useless. The man ran out of fear to seek his wife after seeing the old man for the first time. Usually, one would think that the wife would do such a thing and seek the aid of her husband. Their cruelty of this old man is evident throughout the entire story. They drag him through the mud and lock him up in a chicken coop and leave him there without any sort of aid. Never at any point when the old man is under the household of Pelayo is any sort of compassion shown to him. When the hordes of people arrive, Pelayo allows them to do just about anything to this old man, which includes burning him with a branding iron and pelting stones at him. Ultimately, Pelayo and Elisenda originally see him as this horrible creature, then as a source of monetary income, and finally a nuisance that needs to be disposed of. However, upon seeing the old man fly away, I believe it can be inferred that Elisenda perceives him no longer as this burden, but as this majestic creature as she sees the power of his wings exemplified.
Throughout this multitude of cruelties brought upon the old man, he shows the utmost patience with the villagers. Never does he show any sort of sign of trying to leave until he actually does in the end. I perceive this as the old man acting compassionately towards Pelayo and his family as the longer he stays the greater their income. Prior to the old man coming into the lives of Pelayo and Elisenda, they lived an impoverished lifestyle. After he leaves, the family is left with a two-story mansion, gardens, and nice clothes. Never at any point, do Elisenda and Pelayo acknowledge that their great new fortunes were brought about by the old man. After the hordes of people leave, the old man stays and putters around in which I perceive as him witnessing the positive outcomes of his compassion and once he is satisfied with all that he has done, he decides it is time for him to go.