In closing, 'A very old man with enormous wings' portrays human nature in a bleak light.

In a world that values spectacle over humanity, this illustrates the dangers of letting our base
instincts override our capacity for empathy and compassion. The last paragraph of Gabriel
Garcia Marquez's 'A very old man with enormous wings' emphasizes human nature's inherent
selfishness, cruelty, and narrow-mindedness. Despite his magical powers and potential to bring
them wealth and prosperity, the old man is rejected and mistreated by the villagers.

The final paragraph demonstrates the inherent selfishness of human nature through the
townsfolk’s actions toward the angel. We see this in the quote "But when they went out into the
courtyard with the first light of dawn, they found the whole neighbourhood in front of the
chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat
through the openings in the wire as if he weren't a natural creature but a circus animal." The
quote illustrates how the townspeople treat the angel selfishly. They lack reverence for the angel
and view it as an object of curiosity, akin to a circus animal. This behaviour is disrespectful and
shows a disregard for the angel's needs and feelings. The townspeople prioritize their
amusement over the angel's worth as a living being. The story also uses symbolism linked to
inherent selfishness in a quote. “Pelayo watched over him all afternoon from the kitchen,
armed with his bailiff's club, and before going to bed he dragged him out of the mud and locked
him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop.” Pelayo's bailiff's club symbolizes his authority
and power over the old man as if he were a criminal who needed to be punished or controlled.
Pelayo treats the old man like an animal by dragging him out of the mud and locking him in the
chicken coop with the hens. Symbolically, we are inherently selfish, and we often prioritize our
own needs and desires over the well-being of others.

In the final paragraph, it emphasizes the townspeople’s cruelty towards the angel. As
seen in the quote "The majority understood that his passivity was not that of a hero taking his
ease but that of a cataclysm in repose." The quote is cruel because it reveals how the
townspeople view the angel as something other than human. This is as if he were a force of
nature rather than a living being worthy of respect and compassion. The phrase "cataclysm in
repose" suggests that the townspeople perceive the angel as a destructive force that has been
temporarily subdued, rather than as a helpless creature in need of care and attention. This
dehumanizing language implies that the townspeople do not see the angel as an individual with
feelings and needs. Instead, they view him as a spectacle to be gawked at and feared. By
reducing the angel to an abstract force of nature, the townspeople can justify their cruelty
towards him and distance themselves from any feelings of empathy or responsibility. There is
another quote that shows the townspeople’s cruelty towards the angel using irony "They did not
have the heart to club him to death." This line is ironic because it suggests that the couple has
some compassion for the old man with wings, yet they still treat him cruelly by locking him up
with the hens in the wire chicken coop.

The paragraph reveals the townspeople’s narrow-mindedness towards the angel. This is
explicit in the quote: "He's an angel," telling them. "He must have been coming for the child, but
the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down." It shows how even when faced with
something as incredible as an angel, the townspeople try to fit it into their limited worldview.
Elisenda's interpretation of the angel's presence is limited to its potential effect on their lives,
specifically the welfare of their sick child. She doesn't consider that the angel might have a larger
purpose or meaning, and her focus on the practical aspects of the situation reveals her narrow-
mindedness. Similarly, the townspeople's reactions to the angel are based on their preconceived
ideas and biases, rather than a true understanding or appreciation of the supernatural being in
their midst. Narrow-mindedness can even be seen in the literary device of tone shown in the
quote "The world has been sad since Tuesday." Setting a melancholic tone from the beginning of
the story hints at the overall mood and atmosphere of the setting. The narrator's perception of the
world is also narrow-minded. By asserting that the world has been sad since Tuesday, the
narrator implies that his own experience is the only reliable basis for interpreting the mood of the
world. Readers may be influenced to question the narrator's credibility and reliability throughout
the story if they suspect that the narrator has a limited understanding of the world.

Gabriel Garcia Marques reinforces the idea presented throughout the story in the last
paragraph: human beings are often driven by selfishness, cruelty, and narrow-mindedness. When
the old man fails to meet expectations, the townspeople become disgusted. Those who first cared
for him became cruel and abusive. Ultimately, the old man flew away, forgotten by the
townspeople. There is a sense that the townspeople have returned to their narrow-minded and
selfish ways as the crabs crawl toward the discarded wings. In Marquez's story, we're warned not
to let our basic instincts override our ability to empathize and care for others. Rather than
treating others as fellow humans, we often treat them as mere objects.