Comparing The Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The first zoo was opened in 1847 for scientific research in London, England. The role of zoos are seen as a way to study and preserve animals. Zoos are also seen as harmful because the animals placed in zoos were forced out of their natural habitats. In “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the old man is put into captivity by the people who discover him. The treatment of zoo animals is represented in the old man because they are used for people’s self interest and this mistreatment is signified through their confinement, entertainment value, and abuse.

Animals in zoos and the old man are both confined. To begin with, animals in zoos are taken out of their habitat and put into a new unknown space. The setting in

In the article “5 Secrets Zoos Don’t Want You To Know” it reports, “ … animals in zoos are kept in cramped spaces with virtually no privacy and have very few opportunities to exercise or keep their minds active” (1). When animals are kept in captivity, they do not have the same freedom as they did in their natural habitat. In zoos, they are not accustomed to where they are because they do not have the same space as they did in their prior environment, leaving them confined. Furthermore, the old man is believed to be a fallen angel when he is found by villagers. Marquez comments, “ … he dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop” (1). The villagers keep him in their chicken coop with other animals for a prolonged period of time. The old man is confined in a relatively small space against his will. Both animals in zoos and the old man are

People come to zoos to see animals in person. Visitors want to see animals that are not just in photographs. There isn’t necessarily a scientific purpose for people visiting zoos. In the article “Zoos: Animal Prisons” it concludes, “Study after study has shown that most zoo visitors only spend a few minutes—sometimes just seconds—at each display and walk away having learned little or nothing about the animals” (1). Animals in zoos are used to satisfy and entertain visitors. Since it is reported that people barely look at these animals, people only go to zoos as a form of amusement. Visitors aren’t thinking about what animals experience in zoos because they are benefiting by seeing them locked up. People are entertained with seeing them locked up because it satisfies their curiosity about animals. They are not using a trip to the zoo to learn, they are using it to witness real life animals in captivity. Moreover, people pay to see the old man in confinement. The villagers who found him charge people to see him when he is in the chicken coop. The villagers use the old man as a way to entertain themselves. Marquez notes, “The most unfortunate invalids on earth came in search of health … the line of pilgrims waiting their turn to enter still reached beyond the horizon” (2). People paid to see the old man in hopes that he would help them with their health. They enjoy what they believe the old man is doing for them