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Gabriel García MárquezA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Gabriel García Márquez is famous for popularizing what is now referred to as “magical realism”—a genre that incorporates supernatural elements into an otherwise prosaic setting. Many of García Márquez’s works feature this strategic mixture of fantasy and reality, which he learned from his superstitious grandmother, who told stories in such a way that the supernatural seemed almost natural and mundane. Such is the case in this story, whose title speaks matter-of-factly about a seemingly supernatural being—an old man who simply happens to have enormous wings. His wings do attract attention within the story, as many characters first view him as a circus attraction. However, by the story’s end, the novelty of his wings disappears even for them.
García Márquez was politically left-leaning, and although this story is subtitled “A Tale for Children,” it’s useful to consider its historical and cultural context. Around the time of the story’s publication, both Colombia and Venezuela—where García Márquez was living—were in a state of civil unrest. Seeing people persecuted, imprisoned, and killed for their political beliefs made García Márquez especially aware of the consequences of perceived social differences.
By Gabriel García Márquez
Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon
Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon
Gabriel García Márquez
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Gabriel García Márquez
Death Constant Beyond Love
Death Constant Beyond Love
Gabriel García Márquez
Eyes of a Blue Dog
Eyes of a Blue Dog
Gabriel García Márquez
In Evil Hour
In Evil Hour
Gabriel García Márquez
Innocent Erendira
Innocent Erendira
Gabriel García Márquez
Leaf Storm
Leaf Storm
Gabriel García Márquez
Love in the Time of Cholera
Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel García Márquez
Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Gabriel García Márquez
News of a Kidnapping
News of a Kidnapping
Gabriel García Márquez
No One Writes To The Colonel
No One Writes To The Colonel
Gabriel García Márquez
Of Love And Other Demons
Of Love And Other Demons
Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez
One Of These Days
One Of These Days
Gabriel García Márquez
Strange Pilgrims
Strange Pilgrims
Gabriel García Márquez
The Autumn of the Patriarch
The Autumn of the Patriarch
Gabriel García Márquez, Transl. Gregory Rabassa
The General in His Labyrinth
The General in His Labyrinth
Gabriel García Márquez
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
Gabriel García Márquez
The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor
The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor
Gabriel García Márquez