Comparing The Story 'A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings'

Humans have a natural tendency to be selfish and put themselves before anyone else. This habit has lead to much of the cruelty and many of the wars that have been seen in this world. People are cruel to others because it makes them feel better about themselves and their lives. Countries start wars and sacrifice lives in order to gain land and riches. Both of these instances show how the natural man will hurt other people in order to achieve personal gain. This topic of the natural man is the main focus of many of the stories seen throughout history. Gabriel García Márquez tackles this topic in his story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”. In this story, these human traits bombard the angel constantly. The villagers, in the story, ostracize,

Throughout the story, the characters are shown making selfish and unsympathetic choices. On page 373 it states, “The news of the captive angel spread with such rapidity that after a few hours the courtyard had the bustle of a marketplace … [Elisenda] then got the idea of fencing in the yard and charging five cents admission to see the angel.” The villagers who see the angel treat him as a source of income, entertainment, and as an outcast. The angel is caged, stared at like a zoo exhibit, and used to make money that he won’t see a cent of. The treatments of the angel symbolize how at a human’s core they will outcast and use anyone that is different from the rest of society. The natural man will use the outcasts for personal gain until they are no longer interesting or they are no longer serve a purpose to them. When the tarantula girl comes to the village all of the villagers abandon the angel for the new attraction. This is explained when it states, “The admission to see her was not only less than the admission to see the angel, but people were permitted to ask her all manner of questions about her absurd state and to examine her up and down” (374). Once the tarantula girl comes along the angel is no longer of interest to the villagers and is left in a rotting chicken coop. The girl is the new toy of the villagers and the angel is tossed aside. This symbolizes how the humans at their core will stick around those who give them the greatest benefits until someone else comes along with a better deal. The natural man has no real loyalty to anyone but