Gabriel Garcia Márquez's short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” shows that we as a people persecute and torture people who are different because we refuse to put in the effort to know and understand them as people. No one in the entire town shows the old man any form of sympathy or support, especially Pelayo and Elisenda. This showcases the almost non-existent humanity within the village. Society has always exiled anyone who was different. Any minority in this society is mistreated and treated as less than. These groups are abused and continually reject even the most basic forms of kindness, not that different from Elisenda's treatment of the old man. It is only until the old man flies away that Elisenda can reflect on his disgusting and wild behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Marquez's depiction of Elisenda's abuse and exploitation of others Elisenda's exploitation of the old for her own selfish gains expresses that people do not recognize their horrible treatment of others until they are left alone with themselves to reflect on themselves and their unforgivable actions. It's clear that the old man wanted nothing to do with what Pelayo and Elisenda put him through. He had to “force himself to feel comfortable in his hidden nest” and endure the “infernal heat”. He is trapped like cattle and has to live in a chicken coop. They force him to live in a place where animals are supposed to live and the citizens never try to help him. At one point the old man had parasites eating his wings, the chickens pecked at him and he was thought to be dead. No one came forward to help; Elisenda began to ask for a fee to see the old man and earn some extra money. In any case, none of that money went to help the old man. It was used to buy a mansion for Elisenda and Pelayo and to improve Elisenda's wardrobe, and no money was spent on building a better house for the old man. Elisenda sucked all the money she could from him. The town's treatment and torture of the old man shows how cruel people can be to others simply because they are different. In addition to being put on display in front of the townspeople, the old man was also tortured, they threw stones at him, plucked out his feathers, branded him with a hot iron and beat him until he started to move, with tears in my eyes. his eyes. It's astounding to think that a city full of people could treat this old man in such an inhumane and downright selfish way. At first the reader is under the impression that this must be a city of truly vile people, but digging a little deeper it is obvious that this is just like any other city. It sends the message that we as people are programmed to take what we can for others to better ourselves. Elisenda and Pelayo never try to communicate effectively with the old man. When the old man first arrives in Elisenda's yard, she calls a neighbor "who knows all about life and death" to give her opinion on the man. Elisenda doesn't try to talk to him or get to know him to express her own judgment on him. The neighbor declares him an angel and says he should be beaten to death because he must have done something wrong to have fallen from heaven. She has never met the old man, nor has she ever spoken to him but she gives him a judgment which results in his death, and Elisenda takes the judgment as fact.