The short stories “A very Old Man with Enormous wing” and “A young girl turned into spider by God”, both by Gabriel Marquez, are about the mysterious decaying angels who fall to earth. They are kept in backyard chicken coops by families who dislike him and treat him poorly. The author wants to show how people react to someone who appears to be supernatural.
Pelayo comes across an old, frail man that looks similar to an angle. Elisenda Pelayo’s Wife believes that this old man, who is frail, could in fact be an angel, sent by God to bring their dead child back to life. Pelayo, his wife and their neighbor were encouraged to throw out the old man but instead they kept him in the chicken coop. The priest informs the village that the man in question is not an Angel, but the people still come to him and ask him to cure their illnesses and do other things. Elisenda decides that anyone who wants to see the old gentleman will have to pay a visit fee, even though the man doesn’t seem to care. People pluck feathers and throw things at this man. The town’s people are more interested in the spider woman because she has a more relatable story of a family tragedy that involved her disobeying authority and being punished. Her virtuous tale is easy to digest, even though she’s physically less humanoid. A haughty and otherworldly angel would be defeated by a show like that. The Spider woman’s simplicity makes her easy to comprehend. She’s also the star of a traveling carnival, so she attracts a lot of attention. Her fee is lower than that for the “old man” with huge wings.
In conclusion the old man had large and enormous wings, but he was never asked any questions by the villages. They plucking feathers from him and branding him. They also used him to benefit themselves which led him to suffer. In contrast, the spider woman was welcomed by the villagers because of their curiosity and desire to learn her story. Thus proving that the author intended to prove people’s understanding can change their viewpoints.
