A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
...ags. Everyone knows angels wear long flowing white robes trimmed in gold. After all, the pictures show neatly groomed angels with hair in abundance and smiles to rival the very gates of heaven. Despite the fact that “ they skipped over the inconvenience of the wings…”(472) the people in the story focus too greatly on the literal man. Angels, being a part of what most celebrate as their religion, should be easily recognizable to our religious leader(s) Not necessarily as is apparent, when father Gonzaga, the local parish priest, comes to see the mysterious man. “[…] when Father Gonzaga [goes] into the chicken coop and [says] good morning to him [the angel] in Latin. The parish priest [has suspicions] of an imposter when he [realizes the angel does] not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers.” (473) Father Gonzaga likewise notes that, “he [is] much too human:[and that] he [has] an unbearable smell of the outdoors, the back side of his wings [are] strewn with parasites and his main feathers [have] been mistreated by terrestrial winds[…] (473) He only “warned the curious against the risks of being ingenious.” (473) Not even having the same compassion that he would have had for the poorest of his parishners. He did not pick up the man and dust him off. He made no effort to tell the people to be kind or even humane. His sermon didn’t include anything about loving your neighbor or being a good Samaritan. Another important aspect of this story is how people treat one another, especially those who are different in some way. When Pelayo finds the angel, he runs away. He leaves him in the mud. Any common decent person would try to help a creature that is suffering. Many people would be reluctant to place a being that fit into our definition of an angel in a chicken coop. The people do not care who he is or where he is from. The angel does not seem to want to be on display. “The angel [is] the only one who [takes] no part in his own act.” “[…] the only time they [succeed] in arousing him [is] when they [burn] his s...