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| A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez | Summary and Question Answer |
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings’ is a supernatural story based on magical realism that relates fantasy and myth into everyday life. It is also based on religion. Besides, it consists the theme of cruelty, greed and compassion. The story shows how the modern people have become more business minded to turn everything into money making. Similarly, the story shows sheds light on human attitude that they feel joyed at other’s pain and suffering. From the story of the Spider Woman, the author suggests the children that they should not disobey their parents which can ruin their life.
On a rainy day, Pelayo was throwing dead crabs into the sea when he saw a filthy and weak old man with enormous wings at his courtyard. He called his wife and they observed the strange creature. They tried to talk to him but they could not understand his language. Then they called a neighbor woman who told them that he was an angel. She blamed him trying to take their child and suggested killing him. They imprisoned him in the chicken’s coop.
When they were assured that the old man was not interested in taking the child, Elisenda thought of making money by charging the people for viewing the old man. Many people came to see the man. There were arguments on whether the old man was an angel or not. Father Gonzaga tried to investigate about the old man but could not.
The couple continued making money and people started mistreating the old man as he did nothing to impress them. He was unresponsive to people’s reaction. They poked him and tried to burn him with a branding iron. Then the old man becomes violent due to pain.
There appeared the Spider Woman in the town and the people were attracted to her as they could ask her any questions. She told her interesting stories to the people. Moreover, it was less expensive to see her. Because of the woman, people’s attraction to the old man slowly faded. However, the couple had collected enough money to build a two-story house to be safe from the crabs and angles.
Finally, the chicken coop got collapsed and the old man went out dragging. One winter, with few attempts, the old man flew towards the horizon of the sea and Elisenda kept watching.
Also Read: Human Rights and the Age of Inequality by Samuel Moyn
Understanding the Text
Answer the following questions.
a. How does the narrator describe the weather and its effects in the exposition of the story?
Ans: In the exposition of the story, the narrator describes about a rainy day. It has been raining for three days. The rain has caused much to Pelayo. He is busy in picking crabs from inside of his small home and the courtyard and throwing in to the sea. The sea and the sky seem similar as ash-grey thing and the sand of the beach seems glittering.
b. Describe the strange old man as Palayo and his wife first encounter within their courtyard.
Ans: The old man looked like a ragpicker. He wore ragged clothes. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald head. He had a very few teeth in his mouth. He looked weak and he had enormous and dirty wings. When he was first seen, he was entangled in the mud with his dirty wings half sunk in the mud.
c. Why did Pelayo and Elisenda imprison the old man in the chicken coop?
Ans: Pelayo and Elisenda were spellbound when they saw the old man. They hurriedly called the neighbouring woman to find out the truth about the old man. She examined closely and told him to be an angel who had come to treat their sick child. They thought it was benevolent. So, they imprisoned the old man into the chicken coop.
d. Why was Father Gonzaga not sure about the old man being a celestial messenger?
Ans: Father Gonzaga was a religious convicted man. He could know the god’s language. The old man seemed to be a celestial messenger. When he talked to the old man in the god’s language, the old man was incomprehensible in response. So, he was not sure about the old man being a celestial messenger.
e. Many people gathered at Palayo’s house to see the strange old man. Why do you think the crowd assembled to see him?
Ans: It was the old man who was extremely surprising because he looked strange and was different from a common human being. He had enormous wings and he seemed to be coming from another planet. The event and the creature were both surprising to the people. Therefore, many people gathered at Pelayo’s house to see the strange old man with enormous wings.
f. Some miracles happened while the crowd gathers to see the strange man. What are these miracles?
Ans: When the crowd gathers to see the old man at Pelayo’s house, some miracles happen. First, the sick child of Pelayo cures by midnight. Secondly, the blind man who didn’t recover his sight but grew three new teeth. Thirdly, the paralytic who didn’t get to walk but won the lottery and fourthly, the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers.
g. State the irritating things that the people did with the strange old man.
Ans: The strange old man was not responsive to people when they teased him. Despite people’s treating to the old man, he remained non-reactive. People threw thing at the old man but he remained motionless and ignoring. They started irritating him by poking him with branding iron. Then, he shouted violently in pain.
h. How and why was the woman changed into a spider?
Ans: The story of spider woman is more educative. In her childhood, she sneaked out of her parent’s house to go a dance party without their permission. She enjoyed wildly in the dance party. While she was returning back through the woods after having danced all the night, a dreadful thunderclap rent the sky in tow and through the crack came the lightning bolt of brimstone that changed her into a spider.
i. Describe how Elisenda saw the strange man flying over the houses.
Ans: Since the spider woman appeared in the village, all people were diverted towards her. The old man dragged out of the coop when it was broken down by a stormy rain. One winter evening, Elisenda was busy at the kitchen, she felt something strange happening outside. She saw the old man trying to fly. With his hard attempts, the old man flew off and disappeared in the horizon of the sea.
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Reference to the Text
a. The arrival of a strange old man at Palayo’s courtyard arouses many suspicions and explanations. Explain how the neighbour woman, Father Gonzaga and the doctor speak of the strange man. Why do you think these three people give three different kinds of interpretations?
Ans: Unexpected arrival of the strange old man with enormous wings at the courtyard of Pelayo aroused many suspicions because the people had never seen such a man with wings before. Having seen the old man with his supernatural look and activities, the villagers made their own interpretations. The poor fisherman couldn’t know who the strange old man was and where he had come from. Many people made their suspicions and explanations regarding the presence of the old man. They are presented below.
Father Gonzaga who was the enriched authority of the community reported the old man to be a human because he couldn’t understand the god’s language. He had unbearable smell of the outdoors but he was definitely the celestial messenger.
The neighbouring woman was bossy in nature. She could understand all about the life and death. According to her, the old man looked like an angel and he must have come to treat the sick child. She further said that he was too old to fly and was knocked down by the rain. Similarly, the doctor discovered that the man was too old and suffering from heart and kidney disease because he had a whistling sound in his breadth. He himself was shocked to learn about the man having wings which he had never seen in men before.
b. This story belongs to the genre of ‘magical realism’, a genre perfected by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his novels and short stories. Magical realism is a narrative technique in which the story-teller narrates the common place things with magical colour and the events look both magical and real at the same time. Collect five magic realist happenings from the story and argue why they seem magical to you.
Ans: The story writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the exponent of magical realism technique which describes the events as both magical and real at the same time. Some magical and realist happenings in the story are mentioned below.
As Pelayo first saw the old man, he looked strange and magical. Generally, human don’t have wings in real world. Secondly, the old man spoke in incomprehensible language/dialect which Pelayo and his wife didn’t understand. From this, they suspected him to have come from another planet.
Thirdly, the neighbouring woman suspected him to be angel who had come there to treat their sick child. The presence of angel is itself a magical reality. Fourthly, the old man had a whistling sound in his heart and kidneys which means the old man wasn’t alive for a long time. Similarly, his feathers fell down and grew up immediately. This event is magical and surprising. Fifthly, the story of the spider woman is magical itself. She is said to have changed to a spider woman from a normal womanhood.
c. The author introduces the episode of a woman who became a spider for having disobeyed her parents. This episode at once shifts people’s concentration from the strange old man to the spider woman. What do you think is the purpose of the author to bring this shift in the story?
Ans: In my opinion, the shift of concentration of the readers from the strange old man to strange spider woman is to make the story more magical. The author introduces the episode of a woman who changed suddenly from a normal woman to a spider woman. The presence of the event of the spider woman is magical as well as educative. She is changed to unnatural state after she had disobeyed her parents. The shift in the event provides an educative touch t o the readers. Similarly, the shift of the episode related to the human greed as well. The Pelayo couple had earned a lot of money by the means of the old man. As the spider woman arrived in the village, their source of income was stopped. This event adds greed in the couple as well.
d. The story deals with the common people’s gullibility. How do Palayo and his wife take advantage of common people’s whim?
Ans: The story is incredible as it shows many magical events. Along with the magic, there are some real situations as well. The arrival of the old man is unbelievable but at the same time it is real. The old man looked more like a human although he had enormous wings in his body. The common people easily believe what the neighbouring woman and father Gonzaga said about him. The pelayo couple took advantages of the common people’s gullibility. Since their son was cured from the illness, they captured the old man in the chicken coop. they spread the message so quickly that many people approached their home to see him. Elisenda created a trick to play with the belief of the people and charged entry fee to the people who wanted to see the old man. In this way, they earned a lot money from the common people’s whim.
About the Author:
Tanka Bhattarai is a Second class Secondary Level English teacher currently teaching at Shahid Smriti Secondary School, Dharan, Sunsari. He is also an MToT of Education Training Centre, Koshi Province.
