Kalfka and Maarquez
This essay will examine the similarities along with the differences between the two stories, "A Hunger Artist," by Frank Kalfka, and "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. By comparing these two stories one is able to understand the struggle the two individuals face. The first comparison in the stories is the fact that both Kalfka and Marquez focus on the facscination with things that are different and unique. For instance in "A Hunger Artist," the hunger artist demonstrates his ability to fast for long periods of time. He is put in a cage in the center of town for people to come and see. They even hire permanent watchers whose task is to sit there and watch the hunger artist day and night to make sure he receives no kind of nourishment, but when the respect and interest wears off, he is merely set to the side and placed among animals at the circus and forgotten. The way the people treat the hunger artist shows how society abuses and neglects those who are unique and different. In the story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" the same basic cruelty is displayed. When the man with enormous wings is discovered, he is placed in a chicken coup for people to come and see. It i
This is shown in "A Hunger Artist" when the hunger artist is a very popular attraction for people to pay money to come and see. At the end of his fast they would have a parade for him and a beautiful woman would help him out of his cage. He is the main attraction and becomes so popular that Pelayo and his wife charge admission for people to come and see the man with wings, but one day when a woman who has been changed into a spider comes along no one seems to want to see the old man anymore. In the story "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" the old man with wings also represents a religious allegoric symbol. He says he would like to fast for longer to test his limits. Pelayo and his wife have no one to guard him so he is free to leave whenever he pleases. The first similarity in both characters is the way they become popular but when something new comes along they become unpopular. Although the hunger artist has no physical attributes such as wings on his body like the old man has, the way the old man is treated is with the same kind of dehumanization. This happens to the old man as well. The next comparison is in the way the two authors use allegorical symbols of a religious tone to represent the characters. In the bible Jesus is shown to fast for forty days. The people now would only get a glimpse of the hunger artist as they passed him on their way to see the animals. Since no one has ever seen anything like that before the people stereotype the man for not being normal and treat him like an animal and not a human being. In conclusion to both Kalfka's story and Marquez's story we see how the two stories have very similar comparisons and how both the characters share the same references to symbolism. It can be interpreted that the man with wings may represent the angel of death come to take the sick children, but as we see the old man is to old and weak and he cannot fulfill his task.
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Acceptance Essays
