A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
Introduction
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings depicts different human natures. The writer used to various cases of supernatural beings to show how human beings react. The writer also shows that human beings do not always consider moral ethnic. They sometimes think about how they can benefit from the situation either by gaining wealth or having pleasure. Humans should stand by their beliefs, and they should not be changing their decisions to fit the situation.
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
The theme of hypocrisy is evident in the story. The villager’s response to the angel is different from their response to the spider, and the two are supernatural cases. In the story, the villagers are cruel to the old man. The fathers say that the old man is not an angel since he does not recognize his language. The villagers treat the old man as a circus freak, while the real circus freak is adored (Marquez, 5). Humans are expected to respect Angels since they are God’s creation, but the villagers mistreat the old man by holding him captive and locking him with the chicken. The villagers are supposed to treat the angel nice since every moral human being is expected to do so, but instead, they mistreat him going against all ethical conduct.
Paleyo and his wife Estrada are hypocrites since they had first felt sorry for the old man, and that is why they put him in a raft and provide provision to release him. The following morning their greed for money overcame them, and they decided to keep him and charge the villagers money to see the Angel (Marquez, 2). They used the money they had collected to build a mansion with the money they had received. Father Gonzaga’s hypocrisy is evident by the fact that he claims the old man is not an Angel since he does not recognize the language of God. He also claims that he more of a human than an Angel. The father should have believed that the old man was an Angel since he was a Christian, but because the old man did not fit his perception of an Angel, he was a fake.
The first human nature evident in the story is that humans are gossipy. At first, only Paleyo, his wife, and the neighbor woman new about the old man, but by the following morning, everybody knew that the angel was held captive in Paleyo’s house. The second human nature in the story is that humans are indecisive with their beliefs (Marquez, 3). The father came in and examined the old man, and, in the end, he claimed he was not an Angel, and so the villagers believed him, but when the neighbor woman said he was an angel, nobody listened to her. They fail to stand by their beliefs about what they know about angels. The third human nature evident with the villagers is that humans are opportunists. Paleyo and his wife take advantage of the situation and start charging money to people to see the angel. The fourth human nature is that human is curious. The villagers ask the spider woman all sorts of questions to quench their curiosity (Marquez, 9). They also examined the old man to determine if he was an angel. The final human nature evident in the story is that humans are greedy. Elisenda bought the most expensive dresses that are worn by the desirable women in the village.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story shows how humans react to two similar events of supernatural beings. It also indicates that ethnical behaviors that humans are supposed to poses are sometimes not considered. People change when they are faced with an unknown entity. They can choose to be helpful, opportunistic, or believers.
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Works Cited
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. “A very old man with enormous wings: A tale for children.” Leaf storm and other stories (1972).