A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia - Book Report/Review Example

This story is considered to be a folk tale. It embodies every characteristic which takes place in a regular folk tale. Because this story is geared for children, the message is much more simple and light. The message is about being a nuisance or taking up space. As the story progresses, the main characters, Pelayo and Elisenda, encounter a fallen angel. He was old and frail and had no energy.The rough winds had pushed him down and there he was, to stay. Both people helped the angel out but not for free.

As news spread quickly of the new found spiritual being, Elisenda and Pelayo decided to make a profit off of their findings. The child they had was getting better. The more the angel was taken care of, the better the child got. But people did not understand and struggled to make the obvious connection. The angel was waiting for its time to fly.He was not here to bring death to anyone. But he himself could be considered dead because he was of no use. He could not really physically help anyone, several people feared him and even a pastor considered him to be “devil-like” which is extremely ironic.

Towards to end of the story, the angel flies away into the distance and he is no longer an annoyance to the people who “cared” for him. He was awaiting his own freedom, his time to really fly. While being part of that word, he was ridiculed and meshed in with the “extraordinary” characters from a typical circus. He endured and he persevered. His goal was to fly. As he took flight, death could not hold him down. He ascended and in wonder, became a distant spot. All life is similar to this angel.

At some point, we too want to spread our wings and become that distant thought, the spot, the thing that we can barely see as we glide into the universe of wonder and the afterlife. When we come to save, we come to heal. As the angel was saved, his unique powers also healed those around him.