Human Reception Of The Unknown

Human Reception of the Unknown

We humans tend to be afraid, and ultimately rejecting of what we do not understand right away. If something is too complex or we do not understand it, forget personal growth, give us quick and painless. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", the main theme is how people perceive the unknown. The tendency of humans to greet the supernatural and the unknown, with indifference and ignorance is clearly played out in this story. By nature we are afraid and cautious around what we do not understand and are, unfortunately, often unwilling to work at making our lives better when presented with a possible opportunity for growth.

The story begins with a kind of odd description, almost allegorical. Phrases like "On the third day of rain" and "The world had been sad since Tuesday" (451), paint an eerie picture of this supernatural world and its strange behavior. The swarming of the crabs into the house and the weakness of the sunlight, though it was noon, seem to foreshadow the arrival of this other-worldly being, the old man. Yet these bizarre circumstances do not seem to bother the characters in the story. The crabs are but an annoyance and the old man with wings protruding from his back is at first met with fear, but is then simply dismissed as a lost sailor (451). He is an angel, but not what they would believe an angel to look like, so they write him off. It seems that with all that was going on around them, they might be looking for something, no matter how different, to save them from their predicament.

The town's people then great the old man with an ignorance and cruelty. Marquez understands the fallible side of human beings and portrays it well. Pelayo and Elisenda "skipped over the inconvenience" of his wings and assumed he was a "lonely castaway" from a foreign ship (452). And why not, he had a strong sailor's dialect (451). When Father Gonzaga tries to communicate with the old man, he concludes that he must be an "impostor" for not understanding "the language of God" (452). The wise old woman is convinced he is part if a "celestial conspiracy" and suggests clubbing him to death (452). Also, one of the town's people takes a hot branding iron and brands the old man (453). A portrayal of how people tend to label and classify things they do not understand. Each character interprets the angel differently. However, no one has the curiosity to learn his language and try to communicate with him or understand him. They would rather not understand who or why