Gabriel Garcia Marquez curiously intended his macabre short story, “A
Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” to be a tale for children. In planning a
magical realism unit for eighth graders, I have paired this story with a
chapter from Skellig, by David
Almond, which was based on Marquez’s story and is perhaps more suitable for
children.
E.B. White and Maurice Sendak would have appreciated Marquez’s approach
to writing this “tale for children.” Neither of them believed in sheltering
children from the realities of the world. When I was a child, after my dad died,
I took comfort in the news that my heroine, Pippi Longstocking, talked to her dead
mother in the clouds while her father was off at sea. My
mother was a travel writer, so in a way, she was also off at sea. As an adult,
Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical
Thinking, C.S. Lewis’ A Grief
Observed and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s
Room, have given me insight into the grieving process. But it’s important
to remember that children also need books to help them make sense of their
emotions too.
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is deep and mysterious. The angel,
who remains motionless for most of the story, is like a surface against which flaws
of the human characters ricochet for the reader to scrutinize. When the
angel falls ill, a man and woman's immediate response reveals their indifference to
the angel’s well-being. “That was one of the few times they became alarmed, for
they had thought he was going to die and not even the wise neighbor woman had
been able to tell them what to do with dead angels.” Instead of fearing for the angel’s life, the
human are preoccupied with what to do with his corpse.
E.B. White and Maurice Sendak would have appreciated Marquez’s approach
to writing this “tale for children.” Neither of them believed in sheltering
children from the realities of the world. When I was a child, after my dad died,
I took comfort in the news that my heroine, Pippi Longstocking, talked to her dead
mother in the clouds while her father was off at sea. My
mother was a travel writer, so in a way, she was also off at sea. As an adult,
Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical
Thinking, C.S. Lewis’ A Grief
Observed and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s
Room, have given me insight into the grieving process. But it’s important
to remember that children also need books to help them make sense of their
emotions too.
Maria Popova has included reviews of seven children’s books that tackle
the subject of grieving on her website, Brain Pickings. All these books look
amazing. I might also include Michael
Rosen’s Sad Book, written from the perspective of a father who lost a son.
Sorry to be such a downer, but I think giving children books that teach empathy
is crucial. Otherwise, they might end up like the people in Marquez’ story who
put iron bars on their windows to keep angels out.
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