Ask The Puma Research Guides: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

(Un Senor Muy Viejo Con Unas Alas Enormes)

The short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is a classic tale written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  It concerns Pelayo, a coastal villager, who discovers an old man with wings lying face down in the mud.  Pelayo and the other villagers suspect that this old man is a castaway from a ship, or maybe an angel.  Elements of religion and of human imagination are explored.

LINCCWeb online catalog – Search Terms

Call Numbers for Browsing the Shelves

•  PN56 .M24
• PN6120.2 .F5
• PQ8180.17 .A73

Circulating Materials – A Selected List

• Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Spanish). 1991.

                           Call Number:  Audio-Visual Video PQ8180.17 .A73 V4

•  McMurray, George. Critical Essays on Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 1987. 

                           Call Number:  PQ8180.17 .A73 Z653 1987

•  Mellen, Joan. Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Literary Masters. 2000.

                            Call Number:  PQ8180.17 .A73 Z68 2000

• Pickering, James (Ed.). Fiction 100:  An Anthology of Short Stories. (4^th Ed.). 1985.

                            Call Number:  PN6120.2 .F5 1985   (See “A Very Old Man. . .” on pgs. 421-425.)

• Schroeder, Shannin. Rediscovering Magical Realism in the Americas. 2004.

                             Call Number:  PN56 .M24 S37 2004

Reference Materials

• Contemporary Literary Criticism  – Call Number:  REF PN771 .C59

o   Vol. 2, pg, 149

o   Vol. 47, pgs. 146-151

o   Vol. 170, pg. 149

• Masterplots II:Short Story Series (Revised Edition) – Call Number:  REF PN3326 .M27 2004

o   Vol. 8, pgs. 4397-4399

•  Reference Guide to Short Fiction – Call Number:  REF PN3373 .R36 1994

o   Pgs. 199-200, 958-959

• Short Story Criticism – Call Number: REF PN3321 .S5

o   Vol. 8, pgs. 160, 167-170, 182, 186

o   Vol. 83, pgs. 149-152, 183-184

• Short Stories for Students  – Call Number: REF PN3330 .S386

o   Vol. 6, pgs. 320-343

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• Academic Search Complete
• Literary Reference Center
• Literature Resources from Gale

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check the LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 21, 2021