Gabriel García Márquez

This week we are presented with two stories by Gabriel García Márquez that connect the same theme of perception. A theme which is eye opening because today in the 21st century we have all been victims of a superficiality.  Márquez criticizes the stubbornness of people and how they limit themselves to only seeing what they want to perceive. It's exhilarating how Márquez takes two pieces of literature on opposite ends of the spectrum, and connects them with the same underlying theme.

Story number one: "A very old man with enormous wings"

The story starts with a young child who is very ill.  An angel has fallen into the courtyard of the family. It is questioned whether or not he is an angel because he doesn't look or act the part of what an angel is 'supposed to be like'.  The angel had "very few teeth in his mouth" and "huge buzzard wings, dirty and half plucked". Everyone in the town comes to the see the angel. He is judged, tormented, and even branded.  In the end, he really is an angel who heals the child, and brings the family wealth.  The family was never thankful of his miracles and the wife even claims that "he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea" once he has left. 

Story number two: "The handsomest drowned man in the world"

A dead man floats ashore from sea.  The women of the small village clean up after the dead stranger and notice that he is "the tallest, strongest, most virtue, and best built man they had ever seen".  These woman become obsessed with this dead man because he is so good looking. They name him, claim him as their own, make special clothes for his large body, feel sorry for him, and throw him a very meaningful wake.  In the end, they hold onto his memory by changing their homes in honor of him, and planting flowers.

So, in story number one, we have people who have too many limits and standards on what and angel is supposed to look like. And in story number two, we have people who don't have any limitations, so boundless that in fact, they do more for an attractive dead man, than they would do for their own husbands. Both of which prove how ignorant we can be when we don't see things the way they really are, instead of what our mind tells us we want to see.  It's comical how our thoughts can be deceiving and mask us from reality.


I feel that today people are less superficial than they were ten or twenty years ago, and perhaps stories like these have helped opened people's minds to resolve these issues.  For example, when one is buying a car. Ten years ago when the economy was good and people were sharing the wealth, one may have purchased an expensive SUV. They saw it as a good-looking car, with a nice stereo system.  Really that car burned fossil fuels, and probably gave that person bad credit after they lost their job. Today, people aren't necessarily learning from the mistakes but rather looking at the pros and cons. In other words, seeing the car for what it really is: a terrible idea. Today, after doing research they may decide on going for the hybrid toyota because its cheaper, and environmentally friendly. Yeah the car might look a little goofy but it's solar roof may save enough energy to keep us on this earth a little longer. Now, I'm not saying Márquez has changed the world, because obviously many factors contribute to this kind of reasoning, but I do feel that he's reaching out and trying to wake people up from their terrible nightmares.  Márquez is saying, "HELLO! Are you an idiot? There's meaning behind everything you see! If you just open your eyes a little wider you might see what I'm seeing!" 


Perception is a gift.  Everyone may use it as they please. It's important to look beyond the surface and see things for what they really are.