A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings -

The story begins with the finding of a Angel, who can no longer move. It isn't long before he is put on display and becomes a huge attraction. The onlookers taunt the Angel profusely, however the Angel ignores it. The more it goes on the the more effected by the ridicule the Angel gets. He starts to hide from the watchers, and slowly grows his feathers back. Once he is able, he flies away. 

I see a huge resemblance between this story and that of the hunger artist. Both cases the person or Angel has been put on display, and both had to deal with ridicule. Just like the hunger artist, I see the story as a criticism of human society. The fact that we as humans would put something as holy and sacred as an angel in a cage for our amusement proves this.


Turning point 1 - Angel can't move and is captured

Turning point 2 - The Angel is put on display

Turning point 3 - The Angel is taunted 

Turning point 4 - The Angel escapes

Quote for turning point 4 - She kept on watching him until it was no longer possible to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.

Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon

Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon - 

Balthazar lives in a poor area of Venezuela, and has been working on a particular bird cage for 2 weeks. This birdcage is beautiful, and people would come from far and wide just to see it. His wife told him to sell it for 50 pesos to the rich doctor in the town. However things don't go according to plan. He gives the birdcage away for free, lies about selling it, and then gets drunk. This is considered by Balthazar to be the happiest dream of his life. 


I view this story to be a tale of artisan who loves what he does, but doesn't know how to make money off of it. The lesson I believe that is hidden in the story is that you should do something for your love of it, not the monitory gain.


Turning point 1 - Wife tells Balthazar to sell the cage

Turning point 2 - Decides not to sell the cage to the doctor 

Turning point 3 - Balthazar tries to sell the cage to Jose Montiel

Turning point 4 - He gives Jose the cage for free to pacify the screaming child. Jose pays nothing

Turning point 5 - Balthazar tells his wife he sold the cage for 60 pesos

Turning point 6 - Balthazar gets drunk, and enters the happiest dream of his life 

Quote for turning point 4 -   "Take your piece of furniture home and don't be silly. I have no intension of paying you a cent."  said Jose 

"It doesn't matter" said Balthazar 

I see a lot of Camus in this quote

There are no Thieves in This Town

There are no Thieves in This Town -

This story is about a thief named Damaso. Damaso is not very good at his profession, for instance, he stole billiard balls instead of anything of value. This narrative prospective is there so you feel bad for Damaso, however he is not respectful of his wife, and instead, is full of himself. The crime that Damaso commits is blamed on what is referred to as the "blackman". No one argues for his freedom. Damaso gets whats coming to him in the end.

The blackman takes the blame for Damaso’s crime. Neither Rouge or Damaso stop the wrong persecution. This makes Damaso a hard character to like. The perspective shows irony because the story implies the town is full of thieves. This contradicts the title.

Turning point 1 - The blackman gets blamed for the crime. No one stands up for him.

Turning point 2 - Damaso is caught by Rouge while he was returning the billiard balls. He then accuses him of taking 200 pesos, which he never actually took. However no one will believe Damaso at this point.

Quote  for turning point 2 - "There were 200 pesos" said Rouge "And now there going to take them out of your hide, not so much for being a thief, but for being a fool."

. 

Tuesday Siesta

Tuesday Siesta  -

This story follows the footsteps of a mother and her daughter on a trip to visit the burial site of the recently deceased son. The son had been executed prior for being a thief. They have to deal with the hardships of judgement from many different sources.  

I believe this story is supposed to give the lesson that we shouldn't care about how we are judged by others. The whole story, the women is judged, by the people, and even the priest. However she holds he head high and shows great courage and determination.

Turning point 1 - When the Women tells the priest that she is the mother of the thief that was killed last week. 

Turning point 2 - When the crowd gathers outside the priests home, and wait for the women and the daughter to leave the house. 

Turning point 3 - When the Women and daughter leave even though the crowd poses a threat. 

Quote referring to turning point 3 - 

"Wait until the sun goes down" said the Father

"Thank you" said the women "We will be alright this way"

Quote 2: this one I just liked - 

"God's will is inscrutable" said the Father.

But he said it without much conviction.

Small Introduction to Marquez

Marquez is an interesting writer. He resembles Kafka and Camus in his pattern of writing and plot. However he presents his arguments on logic and society in a manner that seems less dark then that of the others. The setting in which the stories take place is also unique, as society in the stories is less what we are used to and more closely resembling the south american societies of today. This still however, doesn't stop the message. Marquez presents his point of view through stories like Tuesday Siesta and Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon which are foreign in plot and setting, but still completely relatable to the masses. So far Marquez is one of my favorite writers that we have read about this year.