Critique Through Characters: "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings""A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" is a fascinating narrative that can be enjoyed as a engaging tale for children as well as an intriguing narrative for the adult reader. This children's story develops in a mixed scenario of fantasy and realism, which characterizes the style of the author of this story, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (Norton 428). The narrative concerns the apparition of an old man, with the physiognomy of an angel, who appears in the courtyard of the house of Pelayo and Elisenda, a poor couple, originally from a town near the coast. Despite appearances, the fundamental aspect of this story is not the supernatural aspect of this old man, but the community's attitude towards the unknown. It can be observed as the news of the arrival of a "flesh and blood angel" spreads quickly among Pelayo and Elisenda's neighbors, and comments and judgments do not take long to appear (Márquez 270). While the villagers consider him a true angel, the shepherd is wary of his celestial nature, since the creature does not speak "the language of God" (270). Therefore, in this short story Marquez uses the characters in this story as a way to criticize the way people think without looking beyond what they are facing. The role of the old man, or angel, antihero serves to give shape to the ideas behind the central theme of this tale. In addition to his strange arrival in the story, the reader is only able to know more about the old man's outlook than his personality. The first concise description of the main character is found in the title of the story, it is not about an angel, but about "a very old man" (269). The only thing that allows us to recognize this mystical creature as an angel are its "enormous wings", because without them... middle of paper ......according to the wisdom of the wise neighbor it was the food prescribed for angels (270). This ignorance into which they fell was later the subject of disappointment, as they believed that the angel would fulfill their requests which did not come true. “A very old man with huge wings” is a social critic of people's mentality regarding different ideas. It is also a story that provokes extensive discussions on symbolism, which allows for many interpretations, but the main message as social criticism presented by Márquez comes mainly through the attitudes and actions of the characters. The angel therefore, acts as a representative of the unknown world and the treatment of his hosts and spectators shows their way of not accepting the unknown. In other words, the angel's role in the story is to reflect the limitations of human reasoning about things other than everyday life.