A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings The Supernatural Quotes

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Quote #1

Frightened by that nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife, who was putting compresses on the sick child, and he took her to the rear of the courtyard. (2)

Pelayo's first reaction to the supernatural presence is it's not real at all, just a nightmare. So, we know immediately that Pelayo is kind of wimpy and not as hardcore as his wife. Sorry, dude.

Quote #2

His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked, were forever entangled in the mud. (2)

This image of the man's wings, his main supernatural attribute, literally brings the supernatural (dude with wings) down to earth (dude with wings covered in mud). This is basically the opposite of what you'd expect of an angelic vision.

Quote #3

"He's an angel," she told them. "He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down." (3)

The neighbor woman reveals the common belief that an angel of death comes for the sick, dying, or otherwise doomed—that, or maybe she just really was sick of hearing the baby crying all night. And check out how the supernatural (angel) mixes with the totally mundane (an angel who is so old that the rain can knock him out of the sky).