A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

Zoomorphism is a literary device that ascribes animalistic traits to non-animals (including people). The angel in “A Very Old Man” is a clear example. His wings invite comparisons to birds, and allow Pelayo and Elisenda to rationalize locking him in a chicken coop that the narrator calls his “borrowed nest” (Paragraph 8). The comparison to a chicken—a flightless bird—is particularly significant, as the old man is unable to fly until the very end of the story. His branding is also zoomorphic, recalling cows and other livestock, and symbolizing the community’s control over him. Until this moment, the old man displayed the “patience of a dog” (Paragraph 11)—another animal reference. Later, when the chicken coop falls apart, the old man wanders about Pelayo and Elisenda’s home in a way that recalls the crabs at the beginning of the story; the old man has infested their house like the crabs brought by the storm. Zoomorphism also appears in the figure of the tarantula woman, who has literally transformed into a giant spider. These comparisons to various animals make it easier for the community to torture the old man or gawk at the spider woman, because they see them as less than human.