A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Short Story Analysis

Human nature derives from flight or fight responses.In the short story “A very old man with enormous wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, we see how more often than not, people choose to freeze as a solution. When presented with a problematic circumstance that conflicts with an individual's beliefs and morals, they are compelled to choose to keep themselves ignorant, even if they could have further enriched their lives through the exploration of their unfamiliar situation. This occurrence shows up in various forms throughout the story, as seen in the three main parties with similar reservations on their circumstances;the married couple, the catholic church, and the old man. When faced with circumstances that obligate them to respond, they remain stagnant as a solution, choosing to ignore the situation in the name of reputation, self preservation and safety. 

The introduction of Pelayo and Elisenda characterizes the married couple as extremely caring towards their sick infant child. When faced with the surprise crash landing of the apparent angel, they immediately discredit the old man and come to the conclusion that he is a “lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by a storm”(1, Marquez), completely overlooking the glaring legitimacy of the angel before them. Ignoring what is right before their eyes, it is evident that they don’t want to take part in almost any part of the old man’s misfortunes in the name of the self preservation of their family. This is possibly due to the notion that if the old man was an angel, then he would have been grounded unquestionably due to the sickness  of their child, that “He must have been coming for the child.” (1, Marquez) to bring him to heaven according to Pelayo and Elisenda’s beliefs. Due to this glaring flaw in their own faiths they decide to remain impartial to the old man himself, only exploiting him for financial gain in order to negate their pre-existing issues. By indulging in  “a two story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during the winter and bars on the windows so that angels couldn’t get in” ( 5, Marquez), the married couple make their disposition on the angel crashing into their lives extremely clear: that because of his appearance conflicting with their preconceived notions deriving from their own faith, they choose ignorance in order to preserve the well being and the fortunes they came upon. 

Throughout the short-story Marquez explicitly points out the behavior of the catholic church when their own faith is questioned. When Father Gonzaga witnesses the unquestionable divinity of the Old Man, the sight before him contradicts his own preconceived notions on what an angel should look like, so he begins to contrast his catholic church-specific characterizations in order to reaffirm the safety of his own religion. When “Father Gonzaga went into the chicken coop and said good morning to him in Latin.” (2, Morquez), the priest's prior faith and beliefs were being proven wrong in broad daylight. From this, Gonzaga’s only attempt to find any summation of truth is by deflecting the question upon the Pope himself. When the letter takes an eternity to arrive, Marquez shows how the Catholic Church was only making a superficial effort to prove whether or not the Old man really in fact is an angel or not. They used deflecting questions that reaffirm their own beliefs, but hinder any real answers emerging, questioning the Old Man on everything from his dialect, to “how many times he [The Old Man] could fit on the head of a pin” (4, Marquez). This blatant prolongation of the truth only proves how desperately they want to hang onto the idea that the Catholic Church is in itself omnipotent, despite the circumstances directly contradicting their own theories. 

The Old Man himself fails to display any real sense of direction, especially when faced with arguably the most jarring circumstance that in most cases would require action of any sort. He makes the decision not to impact the situation he was thrust into, in the name of remaining invulnerable. As seen on many accounts throughout the short story, the Angel could have gone home with any of the hundreds of people who seemed to worship him, but instead chooses to remain in the only familiar location he is attune to, despite the lack of accommodation given by those supposedly taking him in. By choosing ignorance and immobility, the angel displays the earthly desire to stay stagnant when faced with the unknown. Even when “the sun and rain caused the collapse of the chicken coop.” (5, Marquez) the Old man stays with the married couple, only leaving when his wings become fully healed. Due to his lack of action stemming from a desire to keep himself safe, the Angel denied himself a myriad of other options that could have served his needs better and in turn, provided a way out of the circumstance that he was burdened with at a swifter pace. 

Marquez juxtaposes these three separate factions in the hopes of conveying how despite their extremely different motives, when humanity is faced with situations that require action, the route most traveled is often the path of least resistance. The lack of action seen in the Married couple, the Catholic Church, and even the Old Man, shows how there is an innate instinct within humanity to freeze when plunged into any form of position where a performance is required. That no matter the background or intent of those involved, most of the time society sees ignorance as a viable alternative.