Magical Realism in Context: Analysis of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

Magical Realism in Context: Analysis of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

From the beginning of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," the ordinary begins to confront the extraordinary. This short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most famous Latin American authors, was introduced to the world in 1955. By examining the "magical" and "realistic" elements of this short story, the theoretical term given to an emerging art form of the mid- twentieth century can be applied to a work of literature.

Marquez does not waste time ushering in the "magical" elements of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings." The main character of the story, Pelayo, was coming back to his house after throwing away many crabs that had come into his house. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda thought that a stench from the many crabs was the cause of their daughter's fever. The whole world had been "sad," with the sky and sea turning to a "single ash-gray thing." As Pelayo returned from his task of removing the crabs from the courtyard, he noticed a moving and groaning presence in the rear of the courtyard. At first glance, this presence was perceived by Pelayo as just an old wanderer. Upon further examination, Pelayo noticed that there was one extraordinary feature to this man (Marquez 525).

To him were attached huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked. Pelayo looked at the old man closely and very soon overcame his surprise, in the end finding him quite familiar. He was able to arrive at this conclusion by noticing the strong sailor voice with which he spoke. Even though the "language" the old man spoke was incomprehensible to Pelayo, Pelayo concluded that the old man was a lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by a storm. Seeking...

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...t everyday life and the mundane, one gains new appreciation for his or her surroundings. He or she learns to view the world in a way that glorifies the mundane and breathes life into our natural surroundings. This mid-twentieth century art term can be applied not only to literature, but also to life.

Works Cited

Flores, Angel. "Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 109-117.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Jerome Beaty. N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996: 525-529.

Leal, Luis. Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 119-124.