Characters
Old Man/Angel: A mysterious man with wings that is discovered by Pelayo and Elisenda who keep him in a chicken coop. He becomes a local attraction and is mistreated by some of the visitors. His purpose for showing up is never revealed.
Pelayo: Husband of Elisenda. He seems concerned about the old man at first. Although he goes against the neighbor's suggestion to kill him, he puts the old man in the chicken coop. He becomes rich from the old man's arrival.
Elisenda: Wife of Pelayo. She came up with the idea to charge admission to see the angel. Once the angel is no longer of use to her, she looks at him as a nuisance. She is relieved when the angel flies our of their life.
Father Gonzaga: He doesn't believe the old man is an angel. He tries to be the voice of reason by insisting that the people treat the old man with respect.
Neighbor Woman: A friend of Pelayo and Elisenda who apparently knows everything about life and death. She believes the old man is an angel who has come for their sick child.
Spider Girl: A girl who was turned into a spider by the heavens for sneaking out of the house. She becomes a carnival attraction and takes the attention away from the old man.
A prominent theme in this story is Human Nature. Marquez is suggesting that if you are different or unique, then you aren't accepted by our judgmental society. This is why Marquez referred to the visitor as "a very old man with enormous wings" rather than "an angel". The old man doesn't fit the normal description of an angel and Marquez wanted us to him the character as an outcast. The reactions of the different townspeople also reveal more about human nature. Most of the people don't care who he is or represents, which shows how narrow-minded people are. The story proves that people are always looking for the next best thing. Once the Spider Girl came to town, they no longer paid attention to the old man. Spider Girl was even more intriguing because she had an explanation of why she was there.
Old Man/Angel: A mysterious man with wings that is discovered by Pelayo and Elisenda who keep him in a chicken coop. He becomes a local attraction and is mistreated by some of the visitors. His purpose for showing up is never revealed.
Pelayo: Husband of Elisenda. He seems concerned about the old man at first. Although he goes against the neighbor's suggestion to kill him, he puts the old man in the chicken coop. He becomes rich from the old man's arrival.
Elisenda: Wife of Pelayo. She came up with the idea to charge admission to see the angel. Once the angel is no longer of use to her, she looks at him as a nuisance. She is relieved when the angel flies our of their life.
Father Gonzaga: He doesn't believe the old man is an angel. He tries to be the voice of reason by insisting that the people treat the old man with respect.
Neighbor Woman: A friend of Pelayo and Elisenda who apparently knows everything about life and death. She believes the old man is an angel who has come for their sick child.
Spider Girl: A girl who was turned into a spider by the heavens for sneaking out of the house. She becomes a carnival attraction and takes the attention away from the old man.
A prominent theme in this story is Human Nature. Marquez is suggesting that if you are different or unique, then you aren't accepted by our judgmental society. This is why Marquez referred to the visitor as "a very old man with enormous wings" rather than "an angel". The old man doesn't fit the normal description of an angel and Marquez wanted us to him the character as an outcast. The reactions of the different townspeople also reveal more about human nature. Most of the people don't care who he is or represents, which shows how narrow-minded people are. The story proves that people are always looking for the next best thing. Once the Spider Girl came to town, they no longer paid attention to the old man. Spider Girl was even more intriguing because she had an explanation of why she was there.
I agree that human nature is a major theme in the story! It shows how truly mean spirited humans can be. I also think that a theme is right vs wrong. Marquez wrote this as a children's story, so it could be argued he wanted to teach them a moral lesson. By showing the cruelty of the townspeople toward the angel/old man, Marquez could show the kids how not to treat people who are different from you. Everyone is special.
ReplyDeleteI think your post is very interesting especially that saying that human nature is a theme of the story. I had not thought of it in that context. Especially when you mention that the old man doesn't fit your typical description of an angel. I think that in society today we see similar aspects to this. For example, if you aren't a certain weight or height you are considered different or weird. I think that this story exemplifies that by showing the angel as an outcast and a "freak-show".
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