A very Old man With enormous wings

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ story of an angel with wings was very confusing to me. I am not sure what the writer was trying to convey to the reader, because to me it just seemed like he tried to make a somewhat interesting tale. I got the use of imagery at the beginning of the story with the rain and the wind and the stormy skies making the surroundings very gloom, and that added to the effect of the possibly dying child, or something ominous to come. When the “angel” actually did get spotted, the reader is never led to know whether or not he is truly an angel. It was the neighbor woman who led them to believe it was an angel, but it still seems rather suspicious that the title even does not call him an angel, just “an old man with enormous wings”

There was some sense of a message presented in this story, which was the human capacity for thinking of themselves. When the population started to become aware an “angel” was present, they went over to try to get something from him, whether it was cured of a disease or possibly wealth. When the half woman-half spider came into town, no one else cared about the angel anymore because there was someone else to give them the attention they craved on themselves. And once no one really cared about the angel anymore, the family that was taking care of him let him get pushed to the back of their minds too. Most religious families would be amazed if an angel graced their presence, let alone their home, but this family was just irritated. The woman described it as hell living with him.