A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Themes
Suffering
Talk about suffering. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," the very old man starts off in bad condition, and it just gets worse. He crash-lands in the storm, gets trapped in a chicken coop, end...
The Supernatural
Any time you get a guy with wings running around in your story, it's a pretty good bet that the supernatural is one of the themes. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," we get dueling views on j...
Old Age
Even if you strip out all the supernatural woo-woo, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" sends a pretty clear message: be nice to old people. Even though the angel is an amazing, fantastic being, w...
Foreignness & 'The Other'
When it comes down to it, the very old man with enormous wings is an outsider, a foreigner, a stranger, and—we say this lovingly—a weirdo. He's not like anybody else. He talks funny, smells fun...
Religion
No one sets foot in a church—but they don't need to. Religion is all over "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," from the neighbor lady who thinks that the old man is an angel; to the priest who d...