Angels are one of the most primordial archetypes of the supernatural realm, identical to humans in almost every way except that they have wings, thus creating an inevitable moment of recognition: when an angel appears in this world, you will recognize him by his wings. In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” author Gabriel Garcia Marquez leverages this recognition to use his main character to challenge cultural assumptions about deeply held religious traditions and spiritual beliefs. His story of a winged man appearing in a village without explanation reveals the superficiality of real faith that lies beneath the thin shiny veneer of ritual; The villagers of Garcia Marquez become a collective symbol of the cruelty with which people treat things that are foreign to the narrow values ​​they have used to define their culture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The true nature of the main character is intentionally left ambiguous by the author in order to leave this decision entirely to the villagers. Although the old man's true nature and purpose are never revealed, his actions clearly indicate a lack of desire, will, or ability to do harm. By eliminating the possibility that the old winged man poses a threat that could cause conflict within his culture, his arrival becomes a moral instruction on how mistreatment of an outsider can be spurred when a community enters into conflict with their own cultural assumptions through unexpectedly facing a challenge to their cultural expectations. The theme of alienation runs through the story from the beginning, but it quickly becomes apparent that this is a particular type of alienation. Although physically repulsive and completely at odds with traditional artistic depictions of angels, the true nature of this theme only becomes apparent when the town priest expresses suspicion that the very unique creature with wings is probably an imposter because “he saw that he had done it”. I do not understand the language of God and I do not know how to greet his ministers. This hypothesis is only confirmed among the villagers by their rejection of mothballs and their blind acceptance of the flimsy principle that they are "food prescribed for angels." Gradually it becomes clear that this dark creature is not alienated by the villagers because of inexplicable ignorance, but because of its explainable ignorance. Unable to resolve the contradiction of a man with wings inconsistent with the angel they know, they can rationalize moral justice to their rejection on the basis of what he definitely is not rather than what might possibly be. Seen as an outsider and something that is foreign to constructed cultural values, the old man can, without guilt, be unceremoniously thrown into a henhouse as a reward for not being bludgeoned to death. At this point, the entire town is aware and therefore complicit. This dehumanization of a possible winged angel by forcing him into a henhouse built for winged food becomes an example of a response to alienation through ethnic prejudice "an ideology that makes an incomprehensible world intelligible by imposing on it a "system of answers” ​​simplified and categorical. » (Seeman, 1959). The response system in this case consists of "finding out if the prisoner had a navel, if his dialect had any connection with/2088565