Enormous Wings Symbolism

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This story starts with Pelayo’s newborn child having fevers through the night. This changes when an angel appears in the courtyard. The angel’s presence shocked many characters, some believing in his existence while others were in disbelief. The very old man with wings influenced many of the characters’ lives. He instilled hope in those who believed he was an angel, but also indirectly helped Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda’s, family. Marquez’s representation of the character as an angel links him to spirituality. Though the angel was ridiculed and questioned if he was real, he remained humbled to the people. This is similar to the story of Christ and how he was tortured by those who do not believe, but he still showed mercy. The very old man with enormous wings is a symbol of faith. Pelayo and Elisenda are shocked by what landed in their courtyard. It was a very old man with enormous wings. They observed his body, describing him as a ragpicker. When they dared the old man to speak he spoke in a sailor…show more content…
He refused the food people offered him and remained patient when he was being pecked by hens, or had stones thrown at him. The angel reacted once to the crowds harassing. They crowd decided to brand the angel for amusement. “He awoke with a start, ranting in his hermetic language and with tears in his eyes, and he flapped his wings a couple of times, which brought on a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust and a gale of panic that did not seem to be of this world” (356). Marquez’s use of imagery for the lunar dust seems to infer that the old man was an angel, and that it was evident that he was not of this world. The angels reaction shocked the crowd. They understood that the angel’s reaction was not of pain, “…but that of a cataclysm in repose” (357). The angels rant, tears, and flapping was due to the violence brought upon him in his attempted time of rest. The angels rant was not of anger, but more a weep of

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