Making Connections paper 10 paragraph

MAKING CONNECTIONS: ANGELS AMONG MEN

Theme: The misunderstanding and degradation of angelic figures when found among human beings.

Course Reading: “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” Trans. Gregory Rabassa.

North Dakota State University. Pubweb, 2007. Web.

A bizarre short story with an ironic subtitle, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale For Children” chronicles the strange events that take place after a purported angel is discovered by a married couple in the midst of a terrible rain storm. Advised by one neighbor to club him to death, the couple settle on locking the angel up “with the hens in the wire chicken coop” (Marquez). Unable to communicate with him to determine where he came from, or indeed what he is exactly, the couple plan to send the angel away on a raft at sea before finding “the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel” (Marquez). News spreads about the angel and the couple become quite wealthy off of their new captive until a more popular traveling carnival comes to town. Still, the couple make enough

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money to build a new house to their own specifications and the angel eventually flies away to become nothing more than “an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea” (Marquez).

Human beings, when confronted by angels across all mediums of art and entertainment, rarely know what to make of their winged visitors and often greet them with violence, fear, and misunderstanding. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” exemplifies this thematic element in the way the angel is treated by his discoverers and visitors. When the character of the angel is discovered in Marquez's story, no one, including the town priest, know what to make of him. As noted above, the couple of Pelayo and Elisenda consider sending the man with wings out to sea and “leave him to his fate,” are told to “club him to death,” and are even reminded that “the devil had the bad habit of making use of carnival tricks to confuse the unwary” (Marquez). Despite the advice offered to them, Pelayo and Elisenda set the angel up to be a neighborhood attraction, going so far as to charge admission to people wanting to see their captive. In this story, the angel is demoralized and de-spiritualized, shown to be nothing more than a physical creature who is horribly abused and mistreated by his captors until he one day finds the strength to fly away.

Literature: Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis in The Bible (King James Version)

Genesis. Bible: King James Version. N.p., n.d. Bible Gateway. Web.

Well known and highly controversial for its exploration of sin and punishment, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis in The Bible centers around the Lord's wrath over, and subsequent destruction of, its titular cities. According to Biblical narrative, Sodom's men were “wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). Despite the “grievous” nature of their sin, Abraham pleads with the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if he can find fifty “righteous” men contained within. The Lord ultimately decides that the cities would be spared if even ten righteous men could be found. When the men of Sodom discovered the lodging of two angels who were sent to investigate the city, they called upon them wanting to “know them” (Genesis 19:5). While the exact meaning of this phrase remains disputed, it is commonly understood that the men were calling to have sex with the angels. In light of their actions, and because ten righteous men could not be found in the cities, the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with “brimstone and fire” (Genesis 19:24).

The infamous destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has, through the years, prompted intense conversation among Christians and non-Christians, liberals and conservatives, and biblical scholars alike regarding the reasons why the Lord was set on wiping the cities clean. Because the exact sins of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah remain somewhat unclear before the arrival of the angels, readers can only take the translated actions of the men after they discover the winged beings as being their worst offense against the Lord. Two primary schools of thought exist as to the nature of the men's actions: the first, that they were intent on committing acts of abhorrent sexual violence with the angels; the second, that they were detestably inhospitable toward the heavenly messengers. Regardless of the men's specific intentions, they contributed to the theme found in Marquez's story of mankind's tendency to degrade and humiliate angels when they are found among them. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels are known to be spiritual beings, not purely physical incarnations as the angelic figure in “A Very Old Man with Eenormous Wings,” yet they are still the target of ignorance, fear, and man's carnal desires.

Art: Fallen Angel Installment by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Yuan, Sun, and Peng Yu. Angel. 2008. Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. Web.

Known for using such unconventional materials in their work as human fat, baby cadavers, machinery and live animals, artists Sun Yuan and Peng Yu created an extraordinarily life-like sculpture of a fallen angel in 2008. Featured above are images of the installment in Beijing, China. The piece, simply titled “Angel,” showcases an androgynous elderly angel with balding wings laying face down in the center of an oversized green net. Constructed out of more conventional materials than usual, the artists primarily worked with stainless steel, fiberglass, and silica gel to depict the shockingly realistic centerpiece, leaving viewers startled and unsettled by the work they see before them.

Strikingly similar to the image of the angel painted in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” this installment by Yuan and Yu perfectly, and perhaps too-realistically, captures the essence of the demoralized spiritual figure. By placing the angel in its giant mesh cage, viewers are forced to ask themselves such questions as: How did the angel get there? Was the angel captured or did it land there by accident? Who is taking care of the angel? The body position, age, balding of wings and facial expression also beg the question of whether or not the being is alive or dead. While the answers to these questions may not be easily ascertained, this piece of art brings the experience of encountering a fallen angel to its audience, depicting the figure as possibly being neglected or held against its own will. When humans come across that which they do not understand, they seek to contain it until they can make sense of it and use that knowledge to advance themselves, or simply even expose it for entertainment or pleasure. Yuan and Yu's exhibition make this point with their “Angel.”

Music: “Your Guardian Angel” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. “Your Guardian Angel.” Don't You Fake It, 2007. CD.

Dedicated to eight high school students who fell victim to an Alabama tornado, “Your Guardian Angel” was released as the third single by the band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to popular acclaim. Penned by the band's leading vocalist Ronnie Winter, the song is sung from the perspective of a person giving all they have to their significant other. In plain terms, the song is the ultimate love power-ballad. Some of the lyrics suggest the partner to whom the narrator is talking may be considering walking away from the relationship. Using such phrases as “Please don't walk away,” and “I can show you I'll be the one,” the narrator is pleading with his lover to “Stay” with him so that he can redeem himself from any transgressions he may have committed and prove himself to be his lover's guardian angel, as the title of the track suggests.

Angels, as seen in Marquez's story, are an easy target for human abuse and degradation. The narrator of “Your Guardian Angel” makes himself out to be one of these targets, but willingly. While the origin of his nature, be it human or angelic, could be disputed, the narrator nonetheless makes himself available to be victimized for the sake of his lover. “Use me as you will,” he says, “Pull my strings just for a thrill.” No matter how negatively his lover's actions might impact him, the narrator takes the position of the figurative guardian angel human beings are assigned from birth. These messengers and protectors, selfless in their work, endure endless neglect from their human counterparts, knowing they are working for the greater good. As the narrator of the song states numerous times: I will never let you fall / I'll stand up with you forever / I'll be there for you through it all / Even if saving you sends me to Heaven.

Lyrics:

When I see your smile Tears run down my face I can't replace

And now that I'm stronger I've figured out How this world turns cold

And breaks through my soul

And I know, I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to Heaven It's okay, it's okay, it's okay

Seasons are changing and waves are crashing And stars are falling all for us

Days grow longer and nights grow shorter I can show you, I'll be the one

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to Heaven 'Cause you're my, you're my

You're my-y-y-y

My true love, my whole heart Please don't throw that away 'Cause I'm here for you Please don't walk away

And please tell me, you'll stay Stay

Use me as you will

Pull my strings just for a thrill And I know, I'll be okay

Though my skies are turning gray I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to Heaven I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to Heaven

Film: X Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand. Dir. Bret Ratner. Prod. Lauren Shuler-Donner. By Simon Kinberg. Perf.

Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and Ian McKellen. 20th Century Fox, 2006. DVD.

Endowed with two enormous wings, enhanced strength and durability, and superhuman senses, the character of Angel from the Marvel Universe finds himself in a pivotal role in the third installment of the X-Men series originally launched by filmmaker Bryan Singer, X-Men: The Last Stand. After discovering the angelic mutations of his son, Angel's father sets out to develop a cure for mutants, ironically taken from the genes of a mutant whose ability manifests in cancelling the mutations of any mutants in his immediate vicinity. While some of the mutant population is fascinated and overjoyed at the prospect of being cured, another faction named the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by the incomparable Magneto, is equally as disgusted and outraged. The film reaches its climax when members from both sides engage in a battle of powers with each other with no clear win. By the end of the movie, the rights of mutants are established and the cure is revealed as being temporary.

Angel's thru-line in X Men: The Last Stand follows a similar trajectory as the angel in Marquez's story. Both characters are discovered during their most vulnerable moments: Angel as a young boy shaving off his wings out of fear of being exposed, and the old man lying face down in the mud in a “pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather” that “took away any sense of grandeur he might have had” (Marquez). Following their discovery, both angels are held captive against their will and exploited for their abnormalities. Angel from the film is kept a secret in his father's mansion while the old man from Marquz's story is held captive in the chicken coop. Each character eventually finds their inner strength and fly away from the tormented existence bestowed upon them. Both film and story hold a mirror up to their counterpart and drive home the fact that men with wings are greatly feared and misunderstood by men without.