About the Note
In Gabriel García Márquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," a mysterious and elderly man with large, tattered wings appears in a small coastal village after a storm. The villagers are initially astonished and intrigued by his appearance, interpreting him as a potential angel. However, their fascination quickly turns to exploitation and cruelty. The old man is confined to a chicken coop and subjected to harsh conditions as the townspeople treat him more as a spectacle than a divine being. Despite his suffering, he endures the villagers' mistreatment with patience. As time passes, his once-remarkable wings become dirty and his miraculous qualities diminish, leading the villagers to lose interest and eventually disregard him altogether. The old man’s presence becomes a mere curiosity of the past as the villagers return to their everyday lives. The story underscores themes of human nature, the tendency to commodify and exploit the extraordinary, and the fleeting nature of wonder and miracles in a world driven by practicality and indifference.
