Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" is a short story that greatly exemplifies the reactions of the characters towards the angel. Though this piece of literature is widely known for Marquez's use of magical realism, he used vivid imagery and profound symbols to help contribute to the overall theme.
The author's use of imagery is particularly effective in creating the atmosphere that introduces the story. "Sea and sky were a single ash-gray thing and the sands of the beach, which on March nights glimmered like powdered light, had become a stew of mud and rotten shellfish."
Thereafter, the author vividly portrayed the angel's condition. "He was dressed like a rag-picker. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked, were forever entangled in the mud." Reading these lines compels the audience to reflect on their perceptions of the actual appearance of an angel. Though no one knows for sure, many depict angels as young and filled with proud dignity...