Response Essay Old Man With Enormous Wings

Kayla MurphySeptember 28, 2011Wilder, English 3610Response Essay 2Upon reading Gabriel García Márquez’s short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”, I was repulsed by the imagery of such a grotesque angel. Having gone to Catholic school for nine years, I was always taught that angels were beautiful and majestic creatures. A description of an angel such as this one calls into question everything that I thought I knew about angels. The angel in this story perfectly epitomizes magical realism. As magical realism blends the fantastic with the realistic, so does García Márquez’s description of this angel. The angel is described as having “…only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth…” (446). To anyone having learned the Christian depiction of angels, this image contrasts starkly with the blindingly beautiful angels that are supposed to exist. The disgusting descriptions of the angel subvert the readers expectations, particularly when his wings are described as “strewn with parasites” (447). With such characterizations, it is increasingly difficult to accept this creature as a purveyor of God’s message. Had the angel lacked wings, he would have been seen as a beggar or homeless person. The addition