1. Although
the angel is "disappointingly ordinary and human," he evokes a number of feelings from
the reader:
- Repulsion - Originally described as a
"ragpicker" with only a few strands of hair upon his skull, suggestive of a vulture,
he also has "buzzard wings" that are "dirty and half-plucked." This
repulsion is from the image of the old man with wings as well as the aura of death that
surrounds him. - Pity - As he speaks with some type of "sailor's
voice," there is the suggestion that the old man with wings has been propelled from some
violent storm and sea and is a castaway. Later, when he is abused by spectators and exploited by
Elisenda and Pelayo. - Fear - Because this old man with wings defies
conventional description, the reader becomes apprehensive about what he truly is. This reaction,
then, is the "fear of the unknown." - Disgust - The old man with
wings "took no part in his act." He is passive to those throwing stones at him, hens
pecking at him, etc. "He tolerated the most ingenious infamies with the patience of a dog
who had no illusions." - Admiration - As he is able to regenerate
feathers after suffering abuses and neglect, the old inspires a certain admiration for his
survival and victorious flight.
2. The narrator evokes a myriad
of emotions from the reader with his realistic detail and his portrayal of the cruelty (he is
driven out of rooms and suffers "the most ingenious infamies"), foolishness (the
traveling carnival), and foibles (Father Gonzaga) of those who would exploit him as a carnival
attraction or transform him in their minds and with their language as something other than what
he is. The exploitation of the angel is best exemplified with the profits that Pelayo and
Elisenda make on him, but when he departs, the petty Elisenda merely "let out a sigh of
relief" that this "annoyance in her life" is gone.
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