The Function of Symbolism in Gabriel Garcia Marquezs A Very Old Man wi

The Function of Symbolism in Gabriel Garcia Marquezs A rattling(prenominal) Old Man with Enormous Wings In Gabriel Garcia Marquezs A very(prenominal) Old Man with Enormous Wings an angel symbolizes the unfamiliar. The angel is non just a celestial body, but a foreign body-someone who stands prohibited as being different from the rest of society. Consequently, the angel draws attention to civilize societys reaction, ergo the communitys reaction within the story when it confronts him. Using the angel as a symbol, Marquez shows how ignorance reveals the vulnerability of human nature often leading to crazy behaviour. At the very outset, civilised society is shown to be unenlightened and meanspirited towards the unfamiliar. sort of of offering a helping hand, Pelayo, a representative of the civilized society, runs away in terror from the angel who is an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud (487) and only helpless. The angel is falsely accused of being a fugitive subsister of a celestial conspiracy (488). Later, when the chicken coop collapses, the angel is not welcome in the house. The people fear what they do not check and belittle the angel instead of attempting to understand him to gain insight and enlightenment, and when he has a temperature, or can barely see and eat, they show him no charity. Instead, Elisenda shouts out that it is awful living in that hell full of angels(491) when in reality it is awful for the angel living in the hell of risky society. Furthermore, civilized society demonstrates suspicion, rudeness and prejudice when confronting the unknown. For instance, Pelayo and his wife immediately prejudge the angel because of his decrepit outward appearance. Indeed, they finally accept the ang... ... little world, and is so narrow-minded, that it is impossible to accept that something different from itself could possibly rank higher in the overall scheme of things. The angel does nothing to incur civilized societys disresp ect, anger, and abuse. Instead of acting in a civilized manner, society is suspicious, ignorant, savage and uncouth in its treatment to someone who is different from all the rest. Instead of fetching a civilized approach of intellectual refinement and enlightenment, society acts unsophisticated, underbred and crude. By bringing these actions to light, Marquez skillfully enlightens the reader to conclude that humanity is so vulnerable and not all that civilized after all. BibliographyGarcia M. Gabriel. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. 2004. 13 Nov. 2006 http//www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/garciamarquezoldman.html