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Religious Stuff : A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

By: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Summary 

In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez presents the arrival of a mysterious old man with enormous and tattered wings in a small village on the coast. Pelayo and Elisenda find the old man and is mistaken (or not) for an angel, though he shows no signs of divine life. They then imprison him, and soon the villagers come to view the man out of curiosity, many believing him to be an angel sent down to perform miracles. Despite his suffering and captivity, the villagers eventually start exploiting the man for profit. Over time, the fascination with the old man dies out, and he is forgotten, then living with the couple for a while, then inexplicably left, never doing any good nor bad (that we know of). 

Evaluation of The Theme of Religion 

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marques offers a critique of faith and human nature, particularly in the way people respond to the mysterious and potentially divine. While the man’s true nature was never revealed. He could simply be an angel or a strange old, winged creature. His treatment by the villagers reveals how quickly people can exploit the foreign, when it fails to meet expectations. The arrival of an old man with enormous wings in a village raises questions and criticisms on, faith, the church, and human nature. 

This idea of this old man being an angel begins from the neighbor woman who is proclaimed to, “know everything about life and death,” (Marquez 67) but this raises a question of who truthfully knows everything about life and death? The couple along with the village buys it, but the village needs confirmation. This is a main striking point in the theme of faith, the negligence of Father Gonzaga becomes apparent as the narrator explains, “The parish priest had his first suspicion of an imposter when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers.” (Marquez 67) This concept of people expecting faith to look a certain way, Father Gonzaga is reinforcing the way of the corrupt Christian religion by having a certain way that this angel is supposed to greet him. The angel is supposed to know how to speak Latin and know how to greet the holy people. When that does not happen, Gonzaga concludes that because the angel is not acting the way his faith is supposed to be acting it is not an angel. Then he claims, “if wings were not the essential element in determining the difference between a hawk and an airplane, they were even less so in the recognition of angels.” (Marquez 68) 

Another criticism of the church is the fact that they are charging money to see this old man with wings. The old man’s arrival is first met with curiosity. He is locked in a chicken coop and treated as a circus animal by the villagers. There seems to be no other thought than to keep him in a cage and use him for material gain. If this is a connection to faith, it brings up the history of the Catholic religion when they were trying to make money off faith. For example, historyextra.com states, “The bottom line: if you gave the church money, you would be awarded salvation. Such a purchase even came with a receipt, or letter of indulgence.” The church in this story again is connected to the reality that the church is/was trying to make money from miracles. 

Another interesting point is the spider in the story that lures people away from the angel which could be interpreted as faith. “It so happened that during those days, among so many other carnival attractions, there arrived in town the traveling show of the woman who had been changed into a spider for having disobeyed her parents. The admission to see her was not only less than the admission to see the angel, but people were permitted to ask her all manner of questions about her absurd state and to examine her up and down so that no one would ever doubt that truth of her horror.” (Marquez 68-69) She could represent the idea of wisdom because they can interact with the spider and talk, but the angel offers nothing. Even the little detail that the admission of the spider costs less than that of the angels' beings, luring the village away from faith. This is the idea that faith is not built on knowledge, it is built on belief. Again, it brings up a little critique to the Catholic religion that there are multiple ways to see what the Bible teaches, and it may not be the exact way that people see it. Many examples in this story support this theory, though there are no halos this man still could be an angel. Then that raises a question, is the bureaucracy of the church overtaking the beauty of the philosophy?  

[theiceman9047]

Religion and Loyalty : Lean Times in Lankhmar

Lean Times in Lankhmar : The Values of Religion 

The story begins with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, two famous adventurers that find themselves in a chaotic world of religion in Lankhmar. These two men used to be friends, but they now have different lives to lead, in a world where religion functions as a marketplace. The temples are dedicated to lots of deities competing for the follower's donations, and the religion when it becomes larger moves closer to the Citadel. Fafhrd joins a minor god, Issek of the Jug, and becomes a preacher alongside Bwardes. This religion is all about peace and resilience. While the Gray Moser works for what is essentially a thief's guild, under the head named Pulg, men steal and have an eye for gold. Fafhrd and the Grau Mouser’s loyalties through the story grow to the point of tension between the two (Though it is one-sided due to Fafhrd’s beliefs). Eventually there is a violent fight between the goons of the thief's guild and Fafhrd. Fafhrd prevails, and Pulg is disappointed in Mouser. Mouser then sets out to trick Fafhrd into drinking himself dumb, then the followers then think that Fafhrd is Issek of the Jug. The two friends then reunite and set off once again 

In Lean Times in Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber shows how religion can be corrupt when it is more about money and power the real beliefs and values. In the chaotic city of Lankhmar religious temples are there to make a profit, and they compete for followers. As the text states, “Lankhmar itself and especially the earlier-mentioned street serves as the theater or more precisely the intellectual and artistic testing-ground of the proto-gods after their more material but no more cruel sifting at the hands of the brigands and Mingols.” Though that is the beautiful thing about Issek of the Jug, the people were poor, and the money did not matter. The values came first for what we could see for the first time in the story and maybe the history of Lankhmar. There are temples for all kinds of obscure gods, and each one tries in their own unique way to bait in people in, whether that be through offering miracles or blessings or protection. This may be just out of actual belief; but the realists see that it is a way that these temples make money and have influence. Unless there is a religion that is pure peace and where money means nothing. Furthermore, in the text we see that these temples are advertising and competing with one another rather than having a spiritual experience.  

Again, religion is treated like a hot commodity here sure that could work, but when there are few intelligent conversations about the deities that were, “as numberless as the grains of sand in the Great Eastern Desert.” There was much talk about money stealing and hierarchy, but the exploration of the religion was few even though there were mentions of philosophers. Reaching, philosophers did send a message because they stopped so often to hear Fafhrd and Bwardes preach they were mesmerized by a religion that could swoon people without the glorious aspect of moving closer to the Citadel. Perhaps an idea so unfamiliar their minds were changed or amazed. This however does not matter because of the fact that even the main characters did not believe the idea that Issek was real as other people did though make a thoughtful impact on the future of what the religions of Lankhmar could look like, the author states: 

‘Not I,’ he said at last. ‘There are always other tales to be woven. I served a god well, I dressed him in new clothes, and then I did a third thing. Who'd go back to being an acolyte after being so much more? You see, old friend, I really was Issek.’”  

He recognizes that Issek was gone forever. However, he did something good for that religion, showing that it was possible to become great in a world full of capitalism, and life ran by money.  

While the religion in Lankhmar is wondersome, and interesting to read about, there was another prevalent theme that need not to be ignored: Friendship and Loyalty. The friendship between fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is changed from their past adventures when they chose different lives in Lankhmar’s religious sea. Fafhrd follows humility, peace, and compassion, while the Gray Mouser, was hired by a mafia (Pulg) of sorts being a mercenary of people's money and lives. The division of friends creates a direct opposition. Thier relationship then seems lifeless at the time, in a way, other than Mouser setting people up to contest Fafhrd. This then shows that there is still love in the Mousers heart, there were direct orders for Mouser to go and contest Fafhrd but instead the greed took over and he took valuables from someone else instead of having the perfect tactics to tear Fafhrd down. The sneaky thought though is in the conversation between Pulg and the Mouser we see the love in Mouser's heart with the following, “’You're not still soft on him, are you, son?’ The Mouser arched his eyebrows, flared his nostrils and slowly swung his face from side to side.’” Pulg sensed it from the beginning, there is no other reason for him to be asking that question to former comrades. All of this does not matter though. In the end of the story when “Issek” appeared and ran into the darkness with Mouser, then we see them reminiscing about each other and the time that they had in Lankhmar. The ending states: 

“’I have no regrets for Lankhmar,’ he said, lying mightily, though not entirely.   

‘I can see now that if I'd stayed I'd have gone the way of Pulg and all such Great Men-fat, power-racked, lieutenant-plagued, smothered with false-hearted dancing girls, and finally falling into the arms of religion.’  

Even though the deception, and the opposite paths, they stay the people they were before, and I assume that there were more adventures after this with the other books that were published. Would anyone be able to stay friends when they attempted to kill you, or get you so drunk you pass out? What kind of person does that take? How much loyalty do these two have? 

[theiceman9047]

THE MOLE KING : summary and analysis

THE MOLE KING: summary and analysis This story begins with a king that fears his duties as a monarch. The king then finds that he loves nature and places where he could rest without worrying about a massive war that is about to break out. This responsibility was the last straw for the king, he went to his normal hole and started digging into the Earth. “And on that day, his underground life began.” He stayed underground as long as possible, eating worms, making peace with the animals (moles and badgers) that dug along with him, and drank from the same water they had. This was his peace; he was free because no one could see him. He stayed underground for an immeasurable amount of time, although he did hear a loud rumbling along the way (we can only assume that it was a war). Time moves on, and his body adapts to the mole’s lifestyle. He gained features that made him look like a mole: limp legs, shovel-like hands, a strong neck, pale skin, and eyes that were swollen to adapt to the darkness. Then the perspective switches to Princess Esmeralda, she is beautiful, intelligent, and unwilling to marry any man that her father lay out for her. Then, one night she goes on a walk with her lynx and sees the former king halfway out of the ground passed out from the wounds of digging. She later learns that he is of royal blood and is old, because the war that he experienced was fifty years ago. Esmerelda takes him in and names him the Mole King, for obvious reasons. She likes him and provides everything he needs, but she wants to marry the Mole King. The newlyweds have a seven-day ceremony where the current king dies in front of the crowd, and the Mole King then relives his past. The Mole King does not want the crown, neither do the people of the kingdom as they make fun of him. They then go as far as to throw him into a cell in darkness. Time goes by Esmerelda leaves the kingdom to live elsewhere waiting for news of her husband. When that does happen, they find nothing but a hole in the cell. They will never find him again. A new king takes his place and war strikes again. This story has a large theme that is about one’s desires and responsibilities, and connections to the consequences of choices would also fit the bill. The story kicks off strong with thus, “There were demands on him to make wise decisions, to allow and to forbid, to lead and command, condemn, punish and reward. He neither wanted to nor knew how to do any of this.” The king of the kingdom did not want to be king; how does that usually end up? He needed to step up and “be a man,” but a theme of selfishness arrives as Hermanson states, “The King was not afraid of dying himself, but he didn’t want to lead other young men to their death.” For this was too much for the king so again he runs and hides, and until further notice he burrows himself into the ground. There he stays, for a long time, enjoying his peace. Later in the story when Esmerelda carries him back, we learn that not only did he kill those young men, but he killed the entire kingdom. The king hid from his duty and because of his decision people could learn from him. Life is not fair, and your responsibility is given to you by destiny; people should try their best especially when lives are on the line. In the story all it would have taken as a king was to face his fears and lead the men, or at a minimum if he did not want to deal with it make peace, even some critical thought could have gotten any man out of that jam. There we see a sense of selfishness bleed through the words, this man would rather go after his own peace then save the lives of a kingdom. How does one weigh their desires opposed to one’s responsibility? Hermanson is giving everyone food for thought.

Moving on, the story is relatable with the theme of isolation. Stress is often more than people can take in this world there are more than enough escapes, but in this story Hermanson uses the Earth. Hermanson states, “In the darkness, I found comfort, a strange solace that the surface world could never provide.” This is the duality of isolation from the world. Yes, the Mole King may be comfortable and enjoying his underground life, but it is a withdraw from reality. A limit to the outside world is good for no one and again he dodges what it really means to be a human being.

Then, we see the progression of pure love. The Mole King is described as a wretched creature that resembles a mole, who would want to love a mole? However, Esmerelda finds beauty in the Mole King. In his complexion and the way, he loves the indoors and shies away from the light. Love comes in many ways but loving a mole man is on the brink of insanity, but we see that means nothing to Esmerelda. Then comes the religious aspect of the story. Their faith was never described, but Hermanson provides a nice picture with a seven-day wedding and that is tradition in the Jewish religion. She then marries the Mole King, in what we assume is the Jewish religion. Following customs marriage is about making a stronger relationship between the partners and God. If that is what Esmerelda really believes, the Mole King must be more than special for this decision. Further, Esmerelda puts on a mole skin suit to make love with the Mole King. She wants him to feel comfortable and tries to better the man what greater love is there? Trying to make him a better person is the only love that anyone would need, trying to help him walk, trying to help him not shy away from the crown, and defending him when he was not there. In the closing scene we see that pure love again and see that she might have been the only one to understand the Mole King. When he digs out of the cell to finds eternal peace Esmerlda says, “-They’ll never find him.” It may seem a one-sided love but on the Mole Kings death bed he is in his head feeling what he is feeling before he dies, and he thought about Esmerlda and her mole skin cloak.

Reaching for another theme we could even say that there is a cycle of life. There is a war in the beginning that the Mole king avoided, then the very last sentence of the story fifty years later another war starts. Then the question arises, are wars inevitable?