A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Gabriel García Márquez
- First Published: 1968
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: The twentieth century
- Setting: A Latin American village
- Principal Characters: Pelayo, Elisenda, Father Gonzaga, An old man with wings
- Genres: Fable, Short fiction
- Subjects: Twentieth century, Miracles, Catholics or Catholic Church, Latin America or Latin Americans, Old age or elderly people, Angels
- Locales: Latin America
The Story
One day when Pelayo, a coastal villager, goes to dispose of crabs that have washed ashore onto his property, he discovers an old man with wings lying face down in the mud. The toothless creature is bald and dressed in rags. As Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, carefully examine the creature, looking for clues to its origin, it responds to their questions in a tongue that they cannot identify. They suspect that he is a castaway from a ship. Other villagers who see the old man offer theories about his origins and appearance. The couple plan to set him adrift on a raft,...
[The entire page is 1332 words long]
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