PEER BLOG (ISABELLA'S BLOG):
Monday, November 7, 2011
Garcia Marquez wrote this as part of a book of short stories, originally aimed towards children. Here are some of the characters from the story:
Old Man/Angel- fell to the Earth one day. Is very old and has crappy looking wings that don't work. Is held captive by Pelayo and Elisenda who make a ton of money off of him. It is never found out if he was actually an angel, as believed.
Pelayo- the husband; originally concerned but then exploits the angel
Elisenda- wife; comes up with idea to charge admission to see the old man in the coop. Is relieved when he "flies" out of her life
Father Gonzaga- doesn't believe the old man is an angel; sends word to higher religious authorities to check out the man
Neighbor woman- she "knows everything" about life and death; suggests the old man was an angel on his way to pick up Elisenda's sick child and take him to heaven
The spider girl- turned into a "spider" for sneaking out of the house one night; becomes carnival attraction and takes away the old man's attention.
Though there are many interpretations, I believe that Marquez wrote this simply as an entertaining children's story filled with magic-realism elements. He meant it to be a moral fable to teach children a lesson. A major theme was uniqueness. The old man with wings is NOTHING like the townspeople. He speaks a different language and has enormous wings growing out of him. He also just fell out of the sky one day, mysteriously. Instead of treating him with respect, the townspeople harass him for his uniqueness and see him as an object, an animal to exploit for the own well-being.
Marquez wants to teach the children reading the story to embrace people for being different, not condemn then. Marquez recognizes that not everyone is the same, and he wants to ensure children understand and love everyone.
Old Man/Angel- fell to the Earth one day. Is very old and has crappy looking wings that don't work. Is held captive by Pelayo and Elisenda who make a ton of money off of him. It is never found out if he was actually an angel, as believed.
Pelayo- the husband; originally concerned but then exploits the angel
Elisenda- wife; comes up with idea to charge admission to see the old man in the coop. Is relieved when he "flies" out of her life
Father Gonzaga- doesn't believe the old man is an angel; sends word to higher religious authorities to check out the man
Neighbor woman- she "knows everything" about life and death; suggests the old man was an angel on his way to pick up Elisenda's sick child and take him to heaven
The spider girl- turned into a "spider" for sneaking out of the house one night; becomes carnival attraction and takes away the old man's attention.
Though there are many interpretations, I believe that Marquez wrote this simply as an entertaining children's story filled with magic-realism elements. He meant it to be a moral fable to teach children a lesson. A major theme was uniqueness. The old man with wings is NOTHING like the townspeople. He speaks a different language and has enormous wings growing out of him. He also just fell out of the sky one day, mysteriously. Instead of treating him with respect, the townspeople harass him for his uniqueness and see him as an object, an animal to exploit for the own well-being.
Marquez wants to teach the children reading the story to embrace people for being different, not condemn then. Marquez recognizes that not everyone is the same, and he wants to ensure children understand and love everyone.
MY RESPONSE:
I truly admire your view that Marquez wrote these stories for a purpose to teach children a lesson. It is a great way to look at it because so often people overanalyze and sometimes miss the message in the story. The idea that the angel is nothing like the rest of the community (communication and appearance) is accurate and clearly depicts why he does not fit into society. In addition, the portrayal of him as an animal is also accurate as the townspeople poke him and throw things at him, while he is locked up in a cage, and "was the only one who took no part in his own act (Marquez 2)." In conclusion, the insight in magic realism includes the mystery behind the story and the idea that this would most likely not occur in today's world. Another idea is the topic of human nature. This is where the audience views their own nature and how it reacts to life's miracles, thus the treatment of the angel is understood through human nature. Some characteristics of human nature include attention, for example the more the spider girl interacted with the people the more attention and food she received, and also the ungratefulness, such as when Elisenda was elated to see the angel leave even though she received much profit because of him.
I agree that this is certainly a story which goes to teach children a lesson. There are definitely certainly themes seen throughout the story. Things like the darker side of human nature and how inhumane it can be. Also, how selfish people can be. Uniqueness is a good way of putting it. Anytime someone is different it is usually because they somehow stand out and by doing so they have become unique. This can go to anyone or any group which does not fit into society's picture of acceptable. Those disregarded by society, those that are different, tend to be treated unkindly and in this case used and abused like an animal or piece of property.
ReplyDeleteI will say that there is a more pragmatic way of looking at the story if you want to see the flipside, not necessarily a good one though. This could also be seen that even though it is not a kind way of seeing human nature it is very factual and those in need will do what is needed to make it in this world even if they have to take something different or even miraculous and bend it to benefit them. Humans in general are usually selfish and this just shows how a poor family took the opportunity they saw before them and worked it to their advantage. It is not nice, but I can easily see others in real life doing something similar if they were given the chance.