A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Summary

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A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: Analysis In the short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the main characters Pelayo and Elisenda demonstrate cruelty to the very old man with wings, whom closely resembles a worn out angel. Marquez writes about how cruel and inhumane the angel is treated in his time with Pelayo and Elisenda. The level of cruelty that is used on the old man by Pelayo, Elisenda, and several visitors through out the story closely parallels the issue of dehumanization. From the beginning of the text we see the old man with enormous wings is treated very poorly from the first time he is seen by Pelayo. The old man is seen as a freak of nature because he is no ordinary old man, he has wings on his back. The old man has not done anything to Pelayo or Elisenda to provoke them to treat him like he is less than a human however, that is how he is ended up treated. It is stated “he dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop” (1), demonstrating that he was dragged and locked up as if he was less than a human. The neighbors also participated into treating the old man like he was a show animal. Marquez writes “tossing him things to eat through the opening in the wire as if weren't a supernatural creature but a circus animal” (1). The neighbors are fascinated with the old man …show more content…
The use of dehumanization is prominent throughout history. Not only has dehumanization been a problem in past history, but is still occurring in todays society. The narrator shows us that anyone can be dehumanized, even a very old man that has supernatural wings on his back. Overall the characters feelings towards the old man are not feelings of someone they treat with everyday respect, and the narrator intended it to be this