Wings

3 Pages 656 Words

Evaluation
["A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and "Cathedral"]
Evaluating the two stories "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and "Cathedral" for the extent to which they open us for moral and social complexities of their theme. And comparing the stories with how the meaning of their theme leads us to consider the way their actions and issues fit in with larger cultural, social, political, and intellectual concerns.
The moral and social complexities of each story are only apparent after the whole story is read. Marquez uses the old man with wings to show how ignorant people often are to the common miracles of life. Through the very human like characteristics of the man and the genuinely authentic town and citizens Marquez established and anonymous stance on what took place except for the details he places in the story.
Similarly, Carver uses the invitation of a blind man into his home, breaking the restriction people often place upon themselves when it comes to dealing with people of different qualities. This invitation at first is a troubling experience for the man telling the story. At the end though he is seeing the world in whole new perspectives.
In Marquez’s story the reader is left with a feeling of emptiness when the man just flies off, never sharing his origin. Also the tone of the story makes the reader pity the town for their treatment of this man, which never goes resolved. The emptiness and pity the reader has helps to make the assumption that the people are totally stereotypical and will continue to be after the story ends.
However, unlike the continuance of stereotyping in Marquez’s story, Carver contradicts these stereotypes by allowing the voice to see thing in non-stereotypical ways. Most of the stereotyping can be directly related to the physical condition of the main characters and also the ambiguity.
The reader finds the old man, “lying down in the mud, who in spite of his tremendou...