A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez

 

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About this story:

·   Main idea: This story was first published in 1955. The story, which mixes reality with fantasy, is about an old, weak angel who appears in a small coastal town. The townspeople react to him in different ways—some are amazed, others are doubtful, and many take advantage of him. ·   Setting(place and time): a small coastal village likely in Latin America, during an unspecified time period ·   Characters: 1.Pelayo: A man who finds an old man with wings in his courtyard. 2.Elisenda: Pelayo's wife, who decides to make money by charging people to see the old man. 3.The Old Man (The Angel): A strange, old man with wings who shows up at Pelayo and Elisenda's house. It's unclear if he's really an angel. 4.The Neighbour Woman: A local woman who claims the old man is an angel and gives advice on what to do with him. 5.Father Gonzaga: The local priest who doubts that the old man is an angel and looks for answers from the church. 6.The Child: Pelayo and Elisenda's baby, who is sick but gets better after the old man arrives. 7.The Onlookers/Crowd: The people, who come to see the old man with wings and treat him poorly, almost like a sideshow. 8.The Spider Woman: A woman who was turned into a giant spider for disobeying her parents. She becomes more popular than the old man among the townspeople.

Summary:

One day, during a long rainstorm, Pelayo finds an old, dirty man with large wings in his courtyard. The man is confused, speaks a language no one understands, and seems lost. Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, think he might be an angel who came to take their sick child to heaven. A neighbour suggests they should kill him, but they decide to keep him in their chicken coop after their child recovers.

Soon, people from the village and beyond start coming to see the old man, believing he has special powers. Father Gonzaga, the local priest, doubts the man is an angel because he doesn’t fit the image of one and doesn’t speak Latin. He writes to the Church for advice but gets no clear answer.

As more and more people come to see the old man, Elisenda starts charging them money. Despite being mistreated by the crowds—who pluck his feathers and throw things at him—the old man remains mostly indifferent. The excitement dies down when a new attraction arrives in town: a woman who has been turned into a giant spider as punishment for disobeying her parents. People quickly lose interest in the old man and flock to see the spider woman instead.

With the money they made from the visitors, Pelayo and Elisenda become wealthy. They build a bigger house, and the old man stays with them for several years, even after the chicken coop collapses. He becomes a nuisance, wandering around the house. Just when they think he’s going to die, the old man regains his strength, grows new feathers, and one day flies away, disappearing over the horizon.