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| Neb English Support Class 12 |
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Table of Contents
SHORT SUMMARY
The short story was first published in 1955 in Spanish and was then published in English in the 1972 book "Leaf Storm and Other Stories."
After three days of rain, Pelayo comes back from throwing the crabs into the sea when he sees a very old man with enormous wings in the courtyard of their house. Pelayo gets his wife, Elisenda, and they try to speak to him, but the man speaks in an incoherent dialect. They call their neighbour woman and ask her about him. They get the idea about the old man from her. They think that he is a homeless man and has come to take sick children to heaven. He imprisons the old man in his wire chicken coop.
Father Gonzaga, the local priest, speaks to him in Latin, and since the man with wings doesn't recognise Latin, the priest thinks he is a devil figure and warns the onlookers that the man is not an angel.
Nevertheless, the man with the wings is told to stay in Pelayo's chicken coop after his sick child recovers. Sooner, Pelayo and Elisenda begin to attract visitors from all over to see the winged man. The crowd has grown so large that it has become out of control, and eventually, Elisenda begins to charge five cents for each admission.
Meanwhile, a new carnival arrives, bringing a woman who has been transformed into a spider, and the crowd starts to disperse and lose interest in the old and inactive angel.
Pelayo and Elisenda have grown quite wealthy from the fees they have charged the visitors. Pelayo quits his job and builds a mansion. The winged old man stays with them, but in the chicken coop, and often wanders from room to room. Later, the child and the old man had chickenpox at the same time.
Just when Pelayo and Elisenda are convinced by the doctor's words that the old man will soon die, he regains his strength. His feathers grow back.
One morning, the old man stretches his wings and flies away over the horizon, and Elisenda watches him disappear into the thin air.
TEACHERS' GUIDE
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", is a magical realist story published in 1955, written by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
▪︎ It examines the human response to those who are weak, dependent, and different. The story has shown human nature-related curiosity, greed, and cruelty.
▪︎ Characters in the story: The Old Man, Pelayo, Elisenda, The Child, The Neighbour, The Spider-Woman
▪︎ Setting: Pelayo and Elisenda's house, in a South American town, especially in the wire chicken coop, where the angel was locked with the hens.
▪︎ Main characters Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, are seen cleaning the crabs from their house. Due to three days of rainfall, their house was full of crabs, causing a horrible smell in the entire house. They were worried about their newborn baby, who suffered from a fever.
▪︎ Throwing crabs into the sea, Pelayo, while returning, saw a very old, weak man with wings lying face down in the mud within his courtyard.
▪︎ Pelayo informed his wife about that old man. Both found him in a very pitiable condition, with a few faded hairs left on his bald skull, very few teeth in his mouth, and his huge wings entangled in the mud.
▪︎ When they spoke to him, the old man answered in an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice. They thought the old man was a castaway from a shipwreck.
▪︎ They called their neighbour woman, who referred to the old man as an angel who came there for their child.
▪︎ Pelayo decided to chain him up and keep him with the hens in the wire chicken coop.
▪︎ Their child woke up without a fever and desired to eat.
▪︎ Elisenda felt good and desired to send the old man out to sea on a raft with food and water for three days and leave him in his fate on the high seas. But their plan failed.
▪︎ When they came out, they found many people gathered around the chicken coop to see the angel. They harassed the old man by treating him like a circus animal instead of a supernatural creature.
▪︎ Father Gonzaga inspected the old man. He heard a variety of opinions from people as mayor of the world and a five-star general to win all wars.
▪︎ Gonzaga decided to determine whether the old man was an angel or not by speaking to him in Latin.
▪︎ Gonzaga warned the onlookers that the old man wasn't an angel. But people did not care, and the news spread that the old man with wings was an angel.
▪︎ There was a crowd of people in Pelayo and Elisenda's house to see the angel. They built a fence and charged for people's admission.
▪︎ The old man remained motionless without any act. The audience prodded him with hot iron pokers. The old angel responded in anger, flapping his wings and yelling in his strange language.
▪︎ When a new carnival arrived in town, there appeared a woman who had been changed into a spider.
▪︎ The reason behind the transformation was the woman's disobedience towards her parents as well as the lightning bolt of brimstone.
▪︎ The audience lost interest in the old man and started moving to see a spider woman. They were allowed to question her on her show.
▪︎ When Pelayo's and Elisenda's children grew older, He was prohibited from going near the chicken coop.
▪︎ The old man became weak as time passed. The child's doctor inspected the old man and found so much whistling in the old man's heart and so many sounds in his kidneys.
▪︎ The old man survived the entire winter and seemed to have improved his health condition.
▪︎ One morning, Elisenda caught sight of the old man flying over the houses. The old man's first attempts were clumsy, but eventually he was able to gain altitude and fly away from Pelayo and Elisenda's house.
▪︎ Elisenda kept on looking at him until he was no longer visible to her eyes.
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SHORT STORIES IMPORTANT QUESTIONS' SOLUTION PACK
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
BEFORE YOU READ
a. Have you ever visited a place to see something strange or unusual? If yes, what is it?
Answer:
Yes, I have visited a place to see something strange or unusual. It is a circus, and I have enjoyed the quite strange magic show.
b. How do clever people take advantage of common people’s gullibility?
Answer:
Clever people take advantage of common people's gullibility with their crafty as well as cunning acts.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
a. How does the narrator describe the weather and its effects in the exposition of the story?
Answer:
In the exposition of the story, the narrator describes the weather and its effects by presenting the details of three days' rainfall, the condition of the weather, and its effects on the main character's house. According to him, it had been raining since Tuesday. The main character's house was full of killed crabs, which he had to clear from his house for the sake of his newborn baby. There was a horrible smell of crabs in his house and courtyard. The sea and sky seemed a single ash gray. The beach by the sea was quite muddy with rotten shellfish.
b. Describe the strange old man as Pelayo and his wife first encounter within their courtyard.
Answer:
As Pelayo and his wife first encounter the strange old man within their courtyard, they find his face down in the mud in a groaning state. He is dressed like a ragpicker. There are a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth. He seems quite weak and pitiable, whose enormous wings are dirty, half-plucked, and entangled in the mud. He has an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice.
c. Why did Pelayo and Elisenda imprison the old man in the chicken coop?
Answer:
Pelayo and Elisenda imprisoned the old man in the chicken coop because they became quite fearful about their newborn baby. When they heard the neighbouring woman's words regarding the old man's arrival for their baby, they decided to chain the old man and keep him with the hens in a wire chicken coop.
d. Why was Father Gonzaga not sure about the old man being a celestial messenger?
Answer:
Father Gonzaga was not sure about the old man being a celestial messenger because he didn't find the qualities of a celestial messenger within the old man. The old man was unable to understand the greeting in God's language, i.e., the Latin language. He even didn't know how to greet his ministers. Father found him too similar to humans, with an unbearable smell. Both sides of his wings were strewn with parasites, and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds.
e. Many people gathered at Pelayo’s house to see the strange old man. Why do you think the crowd assembled to see him?
Answer:
I think the crowd assembled to see him because they had heard about the captivated angel in Pelayo's house. Some of them were surprised and wanted to see that unique creature. While others wanted to tease and make fun of the imprisoned, strange old man as if he were a circus animal.
f. Some miracles happened while the crowd gathers to see the strange man. What are these miracles?
Answer:
Some miracles happened while the crowd gathered to see the strange man. These miracles are quite funny and are as follows:
▪︎ A blind man didn't recover his sight; instead, he got three new teeth.
▪︎ A paralytic who didn't get to walk but almost won the lottery
▪︎ Leprosy-infected people's sores sprouted with sunflowers.
g. State the irritating things that the people did with the strange old man.
Answer:
Following are the irritating things that the people did with the strange old man:
▪︎ When they found him inactive, they tried to pull out his feathers to touch defective parts and throw stones at him to make him stand.
▪︎ They prodded him with hot iron pokers.
The strange old man remained motionless for a long time, but he got aggressive at last, flapped his wings, and yelled in his strange language in pain with tears in his eyes.
h. How and why was the woman changed into a spider?
Answer:
The woman was changed into a spider due to the lightning bolt of brimstone. Behind her transformation, her disobedience towards her parents was also the reason. While she was still a child, she stealthily moved to attend a dance without her parents' permission. After her whole night's dance, while she was returning home through the wood, a fearful thunderclap ripped the sky surface, which allowed a lightning bolt of brimstone through the crack to strike, which changed her into a spider.
i. Describe how Elisenda saw the strange man flying over the houses.
Answer:
One morning, while Elisenda was cutting some bunches of onions for lunch, she felt the breeze through her window. When she looked out through her window, she caught sight of the old man flying over the houses. His first attempts were clumsy, but eventually he was able to gain altitude and fly away from Pelayo and Elisenda's house. Elisenda let out a sigh of relief "for herself and for him" upon seeing him go. She kept on looking at him until he was no longer visible to her eyes. The old man was no longer an annoyance in her life.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. The arrival of a strange old man at Palayo’s courtyard arouses many suspicions and explanations. Explain how the neighbour woman, Father Gonzaga and the doctor speak of the strange man. Why do you think these three people give three different kinds of interpretations?
Answer:
The arrival of a strange old man in Pelayo’s courtyard arouses many suspicions and explanations. All these three people speak of the strange man with their different interpretations.
The neighbouring woman speaks of him, saying that he is an angel. According to her, the strange man must have come for the child, but due to his weak body and old age, he was knocked down by the rain.
Next, Father Gonzaga speaks of his being quite doubtful. He states that the strange man with wings doesn't know the language of God or how to greet His ministers. He is too similar to humans, and his body has an unbearable smell. His feathers are strewn with parasites, and the main feathers have been ministered to by territorial winds. Father concludes that he hasn't found any matching qualities of angels within him.
The doctor, at last, puts forward his opinion after inspecting his heart and kidneys. He says that the old man can't be alive. He hears so much whistling in his heart and so many noises in his kidneys. He is amazed to see the natural wings in the human organism. He cannot understand the reason and asks why other men don't have similar wings.
I think these three people give three different kinds of interpretations because the strange man is a kind of mystery to them. All these people are well-known in their community for their knowledge of their fields. They speak out their different opinions about the strange-looking man because they want to be smarter in front of gullible people. This is the usual human tendency to respond to those who are weak, dependent, and different.
b. This story belongs to the genre of ‘magical realism’, a genre perfected by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his novels and short stories. Magical realism is a narrative technique in which the story-teller narrates the commonplace things with magical colour and the events look both magical and real at the same time.
Collect five magic realist happenings from the story and argue why they seem magical to you.
Answer:
The five magic realist happenings from the story are as follows:
1. The strange old man with enormous wings:
When Pelayo first encountered the strange old man with enormous wings in a pitiable state in his muddy courtyard, he was amazed and frightened. Here, the strange old man with wings seems magical to me because it is difficult to believe in a man with wings.
2. Prediction of a Neighbouring Woman:
The predicted word "angel" for the strange old man by the neighbouring woman seems quite magical to me because our world is quite beyond these myths.
3. The gruff and incomprehensible dialect of the strange old:
The strange old man uses a typical gruff and incomprehensible dialect in different situations. This strange dialect seems magical to me because I have only found such a kind of language in fictitious movies.
4. The woman's transformation into a spider:
The story presents the transformation of the woman into a spider due to the lightning bolt of brimstone. This transformation of a human into a bigger spider seems magical to me because this kind of transformation isn't possible in the real world.
5. The old man flying in the sky:
Finally, the old man attempts to fly a lot and finally soars up in the sky. This instance of a man flying in the sky with wings seems magical to me because I have never seen a man flying in the sky like this in my lifetime.
c. The author introduces the episode of a woman who became a spider for having disobeyed her parents. This episode at once shifts people’s concentration from the strange old man to the spider woman. What do you think is the purpose of the author to bring this shift in the story?
Answer:
I think the purpose of the author's shift in the story is to create a shift in the presentation of magic realism for his readers. He keeps on presenting the story of the strange old man with wings to his readers at first. Later, he presents a sudden twist in his story by presenting the entry of an enchanted woman who has been turned into a spider for her disobedience towards her parents. This shift is specially inserted in the story to add the concept of people's gullibility, their nature of curiosity, greed, and cruelty. This instance of presentation makes all the readers realise that gullible people are easily diverted by ambiguity, whether in stories or real life.
Here, we find people's attraction towards a spider woman with a human head without knowing the truth behind her. They are seen diverted immediately after learning about the spider woman. They lose interest in the strange old man and assemble their crowd to see the woman. Their greed is seen in getting the tickets at cheaper rates. Their curiosity is also evident in watching this amazing woman. They feel excited to hear from the woman, no matter whether she is real or fake.
Marquez has presented a community near the sea with middle-class, gullible people. Here he has inserted the events along with magic realism. The gullible people of the community are seen to have deep faith in supernatural things or creatures. The author mainly focuses on aspects of human nature and their responses to those who are weak, dependent, and different.
d. The story deals with the common people’s gullibility. How do Pelayo and his wife take advantage of common people’s whim?
Answer:
Pelayo and his wife Elisenda encounter the strange old man with wings in a very pitiable state in their courtyard. When they get informed by a neighbouring woman about the strange old man's arrival as an angel to take their child to heaven, they imprison him in a wire chicken coop. At midnight, when their child wakes up without a fever and desires to eat, both of them become magnanimous and decide to set him free from his fate, along with food and water in the sea. When they try to take him out during the first light at dawn, they find a huge mob outside their chicken coop to watch an old angel. Despite Father Gonzaga's claim, the story of the old angel spread so fast. People from all around start arriving at the place to watch an elderly man with wings. In this situation, both Pelayo and his wife Elisenda take advantage of common people's whims. They get the idea of fencing the yard and charging five for each admission to see the angel.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. An irresistible crowd queues at Palayo’s house for many days simply to look at the strange old man. Narrate an episode from your experience or from another story where people assemble in crowds, not for any noble cause.
Answer:
An Episode of Captivated Young Woman in the Movie Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters
A similar kind of irresistible crowd queue to watch a young woman has been presented in a movie called Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters. Both Hansel and Gretel have been presented at their adult ages. When Hansel and Gretel arrive in the town of Augsburg, they find a crowd of people surrounding a captivated young woman in a white dress. She is bound by ropes. All the people, including Sheriff Berringer of the town, intend to execute a beautiful young woman named Mina for witchcraft. All the people in that town are looking at the young girl with suspicious and aggressive eyes. They are making noises in favour of killing the girl. But in the meantime, Hansel and Gretel prevent all of them from committing this crime. They examine the girl and conclude that she is a simple human. They set her free from all the people's traps.
b. The taste of children is different from grown-ups. What are the elements in the story that make ‘The Old Man with Enormous Wings’ a children’s story?
Answer:
Following are varieties of elements in the story that make ‘The Old Man with Enormous Wings’ a children’s story:
Unique and memorable characters:
Here in this story, we find two unique and memorable characters: a strange old man with enormous wings and a woman with a spider's body. These two characters make this story a children's story.
Plot and setting:
Both the plot and the setting of this story are quite fascinating elements for children, which can pique their interest.
Unique technique of magical realism:
Magical realism refers to a literary style or genre that combines naturalistic details and narrative with surreal or dreamlike elements. This kind of technique fascinates children too much.
Supernatural act:
Here in this story, the last scene of the old man's efforts to fly in the sky and his success seems quite fascinating to the children. This type of supernatural act is mostly liked by children to watch or read.
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