Hamlet Essay, Research Paper

A Man with Enormous Wings

Angels don t just fall from the sky everyday, but in the story A Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez a creature was found with a man like body and wings. The family that came across this mysterious angel was very overwhelmed and beleived that this angel was an oracle sent from God to save the life of their very ill son. Tears of joy and disbelief covered the young couple s face when this oracle sent from above immediately healed their ill son. The whole town soon heard the wonderful news of this miraculous angel. It was not long before the town began to gather around the angel in hopes of receiving some of the angel s miraculous healing. Despite the negative challenges that the angel was forced to endure, the angel managed to persevere and fulfill his main purpose for his visit by healing the young boy.

When the Angel was first found he was treated with pure curiosity not concern. They both stared at the fallen body with a mute stupor. (192). The reaction of the family when they first saw the angel was very nonchalant. It seemed like the family was not interested in getting him any medical attention. The only thing that concerned them was

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that the angel was in pitiful condition and was in need of immediate medical help. Fr. Gonzaga, the priest who came to examine the angel was puzzled, because that he could

not communicate with the angel. He did not understand the language of God or know how to greet him (193). This made the angel feel even more uncomfortable in his foreign surroundings. The family threw him in a chicken coop and the chickens pecked at him. They treated him like he was a stranger. He seemed to not be welcome anywhere. The people were not concerned about how the angel got there or his well-being. They were more concerned with his healing ability and how he miraculously healed the young boy.

The news of this new found fame did not improve the way he was treated. Everyone wanted to meet this new found healing angel (194). Most people came for selfish reasons. Others came because they heard of the strong healing powers and others came to persecute the angel. The most merciful threw stones at him (194). This showed that the town s people thought that the poor angel had no feelings at all, or yet they disregarded any feelings he may have had, in order to justify their brutal actions. The angel becomes popular and the family had to take control of the chaos the angel was unintentionally causing. They had to call troops with bayonets to disperse the mob that was about to knock down the house (194). The people who came to see the angel came were pushy and willing to pay the admission fee to the family. The angel seemed not to

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react to the harsh treatment he was receiving from the growing number of spectators. The angel was the only one who took no part in his own act (194). He seemed to be very humble and kept to himself. It was as if he did not know how to stand up for himself, during his vulnerable state of health. It was sad that the very same people that came to be healed treated the angel with such indignity. They succeeded in arousing him when they burned his side with iron for branding steers (194). The people of this town seemed to have no compassion for this very beautiful creature.

No one really took the time to see what it is the angel really wanted. At first they tried to make him eat some mothballs, which according to the wisdom of the wise neighbor woman, were the food prescribed for angels (193). Just because this woman said this everyone thought that she must be right. They even thought that she was right when the angel seem not to respond to the wise women. Everyone just assumed that she must know what she is talking about. The angel did not seem to cry out for help but even if he did no one would of heard him. His super-nature virtue seemed to be patience (194). The angel seemed to have the patience to put up with his not so pleasant surroundings. The angel just seemed to be content even though he should have been sad because he was not being treated well.

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The angel brought great only goodness to the family and they soon forgot where all of their unearned fame came from. The family used the angel. They ended up charging an admission to the eager townspeople to see their angel. This must have made the angel feel like he was just a freak show and his healing powers were unappreciated. The family became very rich from the attraction. With the money they saved they built a two-story house mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs would not get in during the winter, and metal bars so that the angel wouldn t get in (196). The family came along way from being poor and they did not care that the angel was the one who gave them the fame and when it was over they did not even let him stay in their house. He was shunned away. This must have made the angel sad. He must have felt unwanted but he still went on which takes great vigor. He seemed to stick around for some reason. He may have been staying around to see that the boy was healed. When he finally did leave no one cared. She kept watching him even though she was through cutting onions and she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for he r to see him because then he was no longer an announce in her life (197) This quote shows that she was glad he was gone and out of her life forever. This must have made the angel feel lost that the family he had helped so much thought of him as a burden on their shoulders.

As quickly as the angel came into the families life he was gone. He had great strengthen through out the story. The angel showed that he could for fill his goals even if

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it was a hard and he was not given much support. Although the angel had a lot of turmoil to go through he was never weak and he knew that he did have great importance even if everyone else did not.

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