Original and Revised Paragraphs

In Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Garcia-Marquez incorporates supernatural elements into an otherwise normal setting. The story begins with a supposed angel falling into a couple’s chicken coop and being stuck because of the weight of the mud on his wings. The story progresses to include other supernatural elements such as a young woman being turned into a tarantula or “a leper who’s sores sprouted sunflowers.” Garcia-Marquez writes in a fantastical tone and puts both the supernatural world and natural world into one. Although there is a tone familiar tone of a family being visited by an angel, he is old, clumsy, and speaks in a language that is foreign to the family. The angel also becomes an attraction to the townspeople, helping the family indirectly through the fees that they charge for the townspeople to see him. Thus, Garcia-Marquez incorporates supernatural elements in an normal setting.

In Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Garcia-Marquez incorporates supernatural elements into an otherwise normal setting. This style of writing is known as magic realism, where magical elements are meshed with everyday settings. The story begins with a supposed angel falling into a couple’s chicken coop and being stuck because of the weight of the mud on his wings. The story progresses to include other supernatural elements such as a young woman being turned into a tarantula or “a leper who’s sores sprouted sunflowers.” Although there is a tone familiar tone of a family being visited by an angel, he is old, clumsy, and speaks in a language that is foreign to the family. The angel also becomes an attraction to the townspeople, helping the family indirectly through the fees that they charge for the townspeople to see him. Garcia-Marquez writes in a fantastical tone and puts both the supernatural world and natural world into one. By mixing the supernatural world with the natural world, Garcia-Marquez shows the original intent of the angel. He had likely come to help the struggling family with the sick-child and their crab infestation. However, he indirectly helps them by attracting the townspeople, who in turn pay the family to see him. Thus, Garcia-Marquez incorporates supernatural elements in an normal setting.

After I read the first paragraph, I realized that I need to add that Garcia-Marquez was writing under the magic realism genre. In addition, I thought it was necessary to explain why Garcia-Marquez chose to have the angel indirectly help the family instead of the performing the traditional miracle.