Have you ever wished that you had your own angel? If so, how would you treat the angel if your
wish was granted? In a short story titled “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a family in poverty receives a very rare visitor
from the heavens. This visitor is an old man which is an angel that has wings
and speaks in a strange dialect. Although this family receives an amazing
visitor, they do not treat him like a proper guest. I do not believe treating
your guest to horrible conditions is the right thing to do even if the guest is
unusual. I believe the old man should have received better conditions even if
the family was in poverty.
The man was given very poor living conditions. For
example, Pelayo locks the man in a chicken’s coop. Along with poor living
conditions, the guest received great disrespect. The family turned the man into
a public attraction, charging money to witness his unusual deformities. The man
was also malnourished and mistreated by the crowd. The crowd does this the man by burning him with an iron,
and yelling at him so that he would move. After the fame, the man receives no
gratitude from the family for helping them overcome poverty. The man did not
exist to the family after he was no longer an attraction. The family went on
with their lives until one day the man began to regain his ability to fly. He
had to hide his wings from the family as they grew because he was like the
family’s prisoner. The man eventually regained his ability to fly. The rehabilitated
guest immediately left the place immediately with no goodbyes to his improper
hosts.
Although the man was of an unknown origin, the
family should have at the least greeted the man properly. Instead, the family
made no attempt to communicate with the angel. I believe you should always
treat your guest with respect and proper conditions.
WORKS CITED: García,
Márquez Gabriel. Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. Print.
