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

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 bosh by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most famous Latin American authors, was introduced to the world in 1955. By examining the witching(prenominal) and realistic elements of this short story, the theoretical term given up to an emerging art form of the mid- twentieth century can be employ 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 out into his house. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda thought that a stench from the many crabs was the cause of their daughters fever. The whole world had been sad, with the sky and sea turning to a single ashy 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... ...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 t erm 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.