Symbolism Analysis A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Essay Example

Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Paper Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story tells us of a peculiar story of an old man appearing in the yard of a couple. The couple happened to have a sick child, and the old man happened to posses wings. This is where the story revolves: the couple’s fear that the old man might be an angel who’s going to take their child. Because of this, he was placed in a chicken coop, and was the center of attraction of the whole town. The couple decides to make a living out of the old man by charging an entrance fee for those who wish to see the other-worldly attraction. When another â€Å"unique† person shows up, the crowd loses interest with the winged man and the couple goes back to their peaceful life. With all the money they collected, they built a big house and have a good business in town. After some time, the angel was able to grow his wings back and flew away (Roberts Jacobs, 2006). Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses symbolism to give a deeper meaning to the short story. Here, the most evident symbolism is that of the old man with wings who is perceived to be an angel. He symbolizes the unknown or the unfamiliar, which happens to appear in a civilized community. In this story, the angel is not treated as someone or something from the heavens, but instead, treated as an outsider or a freak that is different from anyone in the society. The angel could also be a symbol of the people’s faith in what they believe. They were close minded in their idea of how an angel should be, so despite the enormous wings that the old man posses, it was not enough proof for the people to believe that he was indeed an angel. We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Another symbolism shown in the short story was the chicken coop where the couple kept the old man, in their fear that he is going to take away their child. The chicken coop symbolized the boxed belief of the people in the society. People from different places came to the community to know if the speculation about the old man being an angel was really true. They plucked and prodded at the old man to test whether he is what they think he is. They even tried to feed him mothballs because of the belief that it’s what angels eat. However, when the old man didn’t meet their expectations, they treated him as some freak of nature, a carnival attraction of a man who happened to posses enormous wings. This just showed how the people in the community boxed their ideas into what they believed. Instead of treating him as an angel, he was treated as some kind of wild animal or a freak of nature. Another symbolism in the short story was the introduction of another freak of nature, the woman who was turned into a spider. This symbolizes the people’s faith, and how it was easily swayed when another â€Å"unique† creature came into the community. The people finally ignored the existence of the winged old man, and shifted their attention towards the woman-spider who eats mothballs. This characterizes the weak faith of the people, and that they are ones who choose what to believe. When the old man with wings doesn’t seem to respond to their questions or give them the miracle they wanted, they turn their attention towards other things, which in the story, is the woman-spider. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,† we can see how the important things or important facts of life usually elude the weak believers. Instead of grasping the reality, they often turn to the supernatural and the magical. The truth is already in front of them: an old man with enormous wings; yet they chose to believe the story of a woman who was magically turned into a spider. Instead of the truth, they chose the supernatural. Reference: Roberts, E. V. , Jacobs, H. E. (2006). Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing (8th Edition ed. ): Prentice Hall.

UK Inflation essays

UK Inflation essays Macroeconomics History, causes and costs of Inflation in the UK economy Before starting to explain inflation it is necessary first to define it. Inflation can be described as a positive rate of growth in the general price level of goods and services. It is measured as a percentage increase over time in a price index such as the GDP deflator or the Retail Price Index. The RPI is a basket of over six hundred different goods and services, weighted according to the percentage of how much household income they take up. There are two measurements of this: the headline rate (includes all the items in the basket) and the underlying rate (RPIX) which excludes mortgage interest payments. It is the RPIX which is used more often in this country, as a feature of the UK when compared to the rest of Europe is a very high proportion of owner/occupier homeowners. This means that many people have mortgages, and as such, changes in interest rates (to control inflation) can artificially raise the headl ine rate. Causes of Inflation There are two main causes of inflation, 1) Demand Pull Inflation This is where the total demand for goods and services in the economy exceeds the total supply. This happens after excessive growth in aggregate demand, and creates an inflationary gap. Excess demand in the economy drives up prices, and high prices mean that Suppliers want to produce more units of their product in order to make more money. To supply more, they must increase their production capacity, and the easiest way to do this in the short run is to increase the amount of labour they employ. This means that they are paying more wages, so people will have more disposable income, and hence there is more demand in the economy. Demand pull inflation is often monetary in origin: when the money supply grows faster than the ability of the economy to supply goods and services. This concept is explained by the Quantity Theory of Money. The quantity theory of money hold...