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Compare and Contrast Essay
The plot of ‘A man with enormous wings’ by Gabriel Garca Mrquez begins with Pelayo and his wife Elisenda, who find an old man with big wings lying in their courtyard after a rain storm. They try to communicate unsuccessfully with the bald winged man but after consulting with the neighbor, she identifies him as an angel. Pelayo later drags and locks the angel in a chicken coop. The following day a huge crowd gathers to see the angel, first to mock then to seek miracles. The local priest, Father Gonzaga, soon arrives and tries to establish the truth behind saga. Elisenda decides to charge the crowd to view the angel and after some time they raise enough to build a mansion. Later on, the crowd deserts Pelayo’s courtyard after a carnival boasting a spider girl arrives town. She appeals more to the masses because she is more interactive that the priest. They neglect the angel prevent their child from viewing the angel. The story ends with the angel flying in disbelief of Elisend (García).
Whereas the plot of ‘A pair of tickets’ by Amy Tan plot based upon a woman named June May who is on journey through China, her native country. From June’s background, we learn that she was raised in San Francisco, California. However, after the death of her mother she embarks on a journey to rediscover her Chinese roots. During her journey, she encounters her other siblings including her twin stepsisters who she never met before. The narrator utilizes symbolism to illustrate the theme that June is ‘becoming Chinese’ into each part of the story (Booth, 2006). Through her journey, she learns and embraces her mothers’ life long dream giving her a feeling of satisfaction she never had.
The main theme of Mrquez story is based on human reception of the supernatural. The two main supernatural incidences are the old man with wings and the spider-girl from the town carnival. The characters in the story despise the old man and treat him as an oddity, more of freak than a heavenly creature. The old man’s appearance, frail and old, subjects him to criticism and his heavenliness is questioned. This is illustrated by father Gonzaga who disputes the old man being angel because of his squalid condition. Nevertheless, the old man is very patient despite the harsh treatment. The spider girl incident is a contrast of the above. She is an instant crowd puller despite the vagueness of her story. However, nobody contests her story this further demonstrates the gullible nature of humans in accepting supernatural reasoning’s for moral tales whereas we vilify the same for complex tales (García).
For the case of Amy Tan, her works explores the mysteries of personal identity and self-awareness. The physical journey symbolically represents the cultural experience of self-enlightenment. She acknowledges the fact we must come to terms with our own past, family past, in order to rediscover our selves. This is illustrated when she said, “Someday you will see…It’s in your blood, waiting to be let go.” A clear understanding of our individuality boosts our foundation on which we build our future. Her journey to her roots Guangzhou was a journey to her past to bond with her family members (Booth, 2006). An understanding of our cultural heritage assists us in defining our selves since we are product of our past.
In comparison, both stories dwell on the nature of humans not to appreciate or cherish what we have. As of Marquez, his emphasis is on showing the ungrateful human nature we poses. These lines clearly outline the state the authors massage, “She kept watching him even when she was through cutting the onions and she kept watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.” Elisenda does not appreciate the contribution the angel had in her life, in terms of wealth, security and health, she is however relieved to see him go. This also explores the unwillingness of human beings to foresee the value of what we have. In “A Pair of Tickets” when June is exploring her home China, she faces the internal conflict of misconceptions about her homeland. This remark, “I am in China, I remind myself” further illustrates the mental anguish the narrator is going through to come with terms with her home (Booth, 2006).
Both stories use the external setting to assist the narrator convey the internal message to the audience. In the story “A pair of Tickets”, the theme grows naturally from setting. June’s symbolic journey to China represents both self-actualizations. On discovering China, her homeland, she discovers herself. She exclaims, “I am becoming Chinese.” China becomes a psychological mirror linking both her mothers past and her personal past. Through her experience, she discovers herself by discovering the rich cultural heritage of China. For the case of ‘A man with enormous wings’ the sleeping of the old man in a chicken coop exemplifies humility in his part and the ungratefulness of Pelayo and Elisenda. In addition, the setting of the spider-girl in the town carnival is intended to show the absurdness’s of accepting her story without questioning it (Kennedy, 2007.
Both artists have used symbolism as an artistic device to narrate their story. In Amy Tan’s fable, she has used the journey to China to symbolize June’s pursuit to self-awareness and identification. The journey symbolizes June’s systematic activities that lead to her establishing her self-identity. This activities range from her meeting her siblings, relieving her past and families past and accepting her Chinese roots all merged in one (Kennedy, 2007). For the case of Marquez, he used the tale of the spider girl to show how superstitious humans are when it comes to simple moral issues. The winged old man symbolizes the good things that we have but we take them for granted. Despite his positive contributions the lives of Pelayo and Elisenda, Elisenda shows no remorse when she sees him fly away.
Works Cited
Booth, A., Hunter, J. P., & Mays, K. J. (2006). The Norton introduction to literature. New York u.a: Norton.
García, M. G. (n.d.). Very old man with enormous wings.
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (2007). Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. New York: Pearson Longman.
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