a very old man with enormous wings
...escription of the old man was that he looked like a “rag-picker” with little hair on his head, a few teeth in his mouth, and looked like a pitiful “drenched great-grandfather” (Marquez, 1998, p.192). The old man, according to the story, had “huge buzzard wings” that were “dirty and half-plucked” (Marquez, 1998, p.192). These descriptions and others were used to help bring realism to the nature of the old man. The second fictional creature that was personified with magical realism was the girl who had been turned into a spider for disobeying her parents. She had somewhat of a minor role in the story, but nevertheless her character was explained as if it were in reality. The girl was described as being a “frightful tarantula the size of a ram and with a head of a sad maiden” (Marquez, 1998, p.195). This description impressively introduces reality of an insect-woman. The reader knows that this is impossible, but for the time he is reading this story, he is temporarily a supporter of the magical realm where anything is possible. Marquez brings these two mythical characters to life by showing them with human characteristics in ordinary situations. When Marquez uses the human trait of competition, he compares the loyalty of the citizens. Marquez states, “The admission to see her was … less than the admission to see the angel … the woman who had been changed into a spider finally crushed him completely ” (Marquez, 1998, p.195). Humans can easily understand the spirit competition and the quest for making money. This quote shows that even mystical characters can encourage human traits. The third mystical character mentioned in the story is the man who had wings like a sidereal bat. The bat-man traveled with the circus but surprisingly didn’t receive much attention. Both the people in the town, and the author seem to be uninterested in this phenomenon. It is written as though having wings like a bat is a common occurrence and hardly worth mentioning. As Marquez states, “… the town seemed to care more about what would not fly for...