In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez the angel, old man, is treated maliciously by the society in which he "falls" in. Pelayo and Elisenda, Pelayo's wife, treat the old man as they would treat a poor wonderer at first and then a slave after they begin to exploit the old man. The preacher as well as the rest of the society regard the old man as a "fake" because he gives no reason for his coming and because ho does not represent the stereotypical image of an angel and as a result is diminished to the treatment that of a circus animal, treating him by throwing rocks and tossing him bread crumbs. Due to the fact the town has the arrogance to believe that they can explain everything, thee angel is sent to disapprove the towns view on the world.
Pelayo and Elisenda are the first to discover the angel who had "fallen" on their property. Because of the angels grotesque appearance: " there were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull very few teeth buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked were forever entangled in mud- (310), Pelayo and Elisenda do not recognize his true form until their next-door neighbor clarifies it. Pelayo and his wife let the stranger stay in the chicken-house as they would an insignificant beggar instead of how a messenger of God should be treated. After the news about the man with enormous wings spread people from all over came to see such a spectacle. Seeing this Pelayo and his wife exploit the angel by "fencing in the yard and charging five cents admission- (312) to see the man with enormous wings despite how the angel feels. It is not until the Pelayo and Elisenda start to make money that the old man is called an angel, questioning the true purpose of angels. Although the old man helped Pelayo and Elisenda by making them rich, despite how mistreated he was, Pelayo and his wife treat the old man no different than the rest of the society.
