A very old man with huge wings - Free Essay Example

Gabriel Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez is known throughout the world for his literary works, and especially his success with the magical realism style. This style creates a world where everything is mixed; the reality and the fantastic are together, and this strange world draws the reader inward. In the story A Very Old Man with Huge Wings by Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez, there are many elements of magical realism, but the purpose goes beyond just this. In the argument of this creative and fascinating story, there are comments on the world and on the second one there are many more levels of significance. Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez makes many comments on life and human nature. This analysis speaks of the human reception of the supernatural, examines the human character, and criticizes the church. In this story, an angel appears suddenly in the backyard of the house of Pelayo and Elisenda. Pelayo discovered it when he was killing crabs and throwing them in the sea because it had rained for three days. The angel was dressed like a ragpicker and was in a pitiful condition covered in mud (Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez 11). There were many talks in the town because the event was very curious, and nobody knew what to do with the angel. Some thought that the angel should be mayor of the world, while other people had bigger thoughts like creating a new, wiser race. Elisenda decided to charge five cents to see it, and people came from all over the world. Many people tried to provoke him, but the angel did not respond to the food or the much damage they cause. Pelayo and Elisenda received enough money to build a bigger house and take away the work. After some time, people abandoned him to see the girl turned into a spider. After this, for many years the angel lived there with the family unt il one day when he had more effort to go and fly. In the end, Elisenda felt relief because she thought of the angel as a hindrance in his life. You can already see many elements of magical realism in this story. Magical realism has the purpose of combining elements of realism and fantasy at the same time. From the first moment, the reader has to accept time that is not measured in a normal way. It is the third day of rain and the world was sad since Tuesday do not give a specific time or concrete (Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez 11). The story has an angel and a woman turned into a spider, and these main people are fantastic but also parts integrated and accepted in the story. Also, other people with strange foods are mentioned briefly, for example the girl counting the beats of her heart that no longer has numbers and the man tormented by the noise of the stars (Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez 15). In the end, the improvement in the health of the angel does not make sense because it has already passed many years without improvement, but one day already has effort. But these elements are juxtaposed with a people that appears normal with p eople who gossip, houses with gardens and chicken coops, children who attend school, curious people who like the strange, and poor people who need money. Garcà ­Ã‚ ­a Mà ¡rquez interweaves the realist and the fantastic to create a tale of magical realism. But this story is not only an example of magical realism, but also a commentary on the world today. What would you do if I had an angel in your yard? The first comment is of the human response to the supernatural, and in this the limits of human reason are seen. The reaction of Pelayo and Elisenda is to put him on a raft with food and water to send him out of his home because they cannot explain the existence of the angel. The absurd attempts to explain the angels appearance logically and to discover his raison detre demonstrate the limits of human reason (McMurray 118). A lot of the time, its human nature if you just like explainable and understandable things. But all of the angel is not explainable. There is never an explanation of his fallen or of his purpose or of his appearance or of his exit at the end of the story. Bell-Villada also talks about this, especially about how his presence does not fit into our ideas or stereotypes of angels. Rather than stereotypically young, heroic-looking, and blond, with sumptuous garments and wings all in white, Garcia Marquezs mysterious str anger is dressed in rags is nearly bald and toothless and has soiled buzzard wings strewn with parasites (Bell- Villada 137). It is clear that the angel is not natural in this place, because the doctor does not understand how the wings are so natural in his body or how he performs some miracles. But the human ones do not understand anything about the angel, and in addition they give preference to the girl turned into a spider because she has an understandable explanation. Unlike the old man, she talks about her affliction. Where the old man refused, she encourages responses There is nothing ambiguous or submerged about our perception of her (Gerlach 84). To the simple people of this town, he likes this girl. Although she has made a mistake and disobeyed her parents to become a spider, she likes the understandable explanation. While she receives the food she wants, people treat the angel like an animal or something without feeling or feeling. Gerlach says, similes used to describe him did not even grant him human attributes: matched with the villagers who stood around his cage he looked like a huge decrepit hen among fascinated chickens' and says that this is meant to diminish the splendor and greatness of the angel (82). In all of the treatment and guess of its existence or purpose, the people show the smallness of human reason, especially when you want to understand the supernatural.

Religoius Studies Annotated Bibliography - 1375 Words

Religoius Studies Annotated Bibliography (Annotated Bibliography Sample) Content: RELIGION AND THEOLOGY: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Studentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Name Class Date Barnes, M. Theology and the Dialogue of Religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Michael Barnes explores the issue of Christianity in a multi-religious world. His work is a series of reflections on various issues revolving around the different religions of the modern world. He does examine not only the Christian faith but also other faiths as well. He looks at how individuals can practice their faith while respecting other faiths and beliefs. The source is imperative to understand the practice of different religions in a singular environment without conflict.Greatfulness.org. Religious Values and Human Society. n.d. /readings/dl_values.htm (accessed May 31, 2015). The Greatness organization provides a reading from the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso where he talks about religious values. He claims that the problems ailing humanity are caused by our mental defects, differences in ideology and lack of compassion for others. The website is important to understand the religious values that the Dalai Lama and his followers deem most important.Hick, John. A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths. Louisville: Westminister John Knox Press, 1995. John Hick, a renowned theologian, and philosopher, examines the perspective of Christianity in light of other faiths in the world. The author acknowledges the presence of a multi-religious society, as a result of globalization among other factors. He asks the tough questions such as whether it is possible to remain a Christian while still respecting and acknowledging the presence and diversity of other beliefs. Additionally, he recognizes that it is no longer true that Christianity is the only true religion; Christians have grown to realize and respect the presence of other religions. He introduces a three-fold distinction; exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralist that exist in Christian theologies of religion and within which Christians explain concepts such as truth and salvation and how the difference relate to the other religions.Hill, B.,, P.F., Knitter, and W. Madges. Faith, Religion and Theology. Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications, 1995. Faith, Religion, and Theology offers an introduction to the subject of religion and theology. It helps the reader understand the concept and nature of both human and Christian faith. It also examines the value of religion, beliefs and behavior from a personal and social point of view. The authors offer a brief examination of major religions of the world and also analyzes the relationship between faith and theology. The book is important because it will help understand the concepts of faith and religion.Karrkainen, V. An introduction to the Theology of Religions, Biblical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Madison: Intervaristy Press, 2003. Karrkainen examines the springing and growing relevance of other religions in the world. While Western Christian missionaries went to the East many years ago to spread the word, today missionaries are coming to the West from the East. Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist spirituality values are being preached all over the world posing new challenges to all Christians not only to those in traditional polytheistic societies. It is no longer possible to speak of Christianity as a dominant religion in the world as other non-mainstream religions such as Islam and Hinduism come into the picture. Karkkainenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work revolves around confessional movements and opinions of a multi-religious globe in the contemporary scene. His work is important because it helps understand the relationship between Christianity and other religions.Kraft, D. Examples of Religious Values. n.d. http://people.opposingviews.com/examples-religious-values-9409.html (accessed May 31, 2015). Kraft examines religious values common to Christians, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims. While the religions are different and, therefore, values are expected to be different, most of them have similar origins or meanings. Kraftà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s work is important in understanding the similarities in religious values of the different faiths.Lukens-Ball, R.A. "Between Text and Practice: Considerations in the Anthropological Study of Islam." Marburg Journal of Religion, 1999: 1-10. Lukens-ball's work reviews trends in the anthropological study of Islam. He examines the work of various authors in a bid to understand various patterns such as Orientalism and concludes by suggesting theoretical directions to guide future research.Mahoney, A.,, K., Pargament, A., Murray-Swank, and N. Murray-Swank. "Religion and the Sanctification of Family Relationships." Review of Religious Research, 2003: 220-236. Mahoney and colleagues studied how religion influences dynamics in a family. Their work helps to understand how sanctification and religiosity apply to relationships between spouses and also between parents and their children to affect the functioning of the family.Orsi, R.A. "Is the Study of Lived Religion Irrelevant to the World We Live In? ." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2002: 169-174. Robert Orsi explains the importance of studying religion in a bid to understand global, political situations. He poses the question whether the scientific study of religion and theology helps the political situation in the world in any way, particularly the volatile regions where religious conflict continues to claim lives. The article is important in putting the study of religion and theology into perspective.Pasternack, L. The Influence of Kant's Philosophy of Religion. 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-religion/supplement.html (accessed May 31, 2015). Pasternack examines the influence of philosophy on religion. He uses Immanuel Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theories of philosophy to explain the origin of the philosophy of religion, arguments for the existence of God and the relationship between morality and religion. He also explains Kantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s philosophy of religion influence on theology and concludes by examining religion as both a non-cognitive and symbolic claim. This work is imperative to understanding religion and theology from a philosophical angle.Peach, C. "Islam, Ethnicity and South Asian Religions in London 2001 census." Transactions of the...