Marquez gave us a very intriguing story about an angel (AKA the "very old man") and his enormous wings, expressing to his readers the complex nature of humans. Marquez offered his readers a great representation of how people normally react towards things that are strange and unfamiliar. One example would be in the beginning of the story when Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, decide to put the angel on a raft in the ocean and provide him with provisions with the mere intention of getting rid of him. However, when they learn that they could get money for showing him off to their neighbors they decide to take him back to their chicken coop.
Another example would be one of compassion and benevolence given by the angel. Instead of leaving their household when the people came to visit him, some harassing him with stones so that he would move, the angel remained there and helped the family become rich. When the angel finally leaves the house, rising to the sky after a few attempts before disappearing off into the distance, Elisenda is said to feel relief. Why does she feel relieved? My understanding is that once the angel left, her life with her family had returned to normal and this gave her a firm sense of security and freedom. The last line is one of my favorite's in the story:
"She kept watching him even when she was through cutting the onions and she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea."
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