Category: Coffeehouse #2 (Page 1 of 2)

The House of Asterion” written by Jorge Luis Borges and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”written by Gabriel Garcia Marques are very similar in Gothic Elements. In “The House of Asterion” and “A Very Old Man with Enormous wings” include characters that are both fear and ostracized by those in their community and society. Asterion (the main character) in “The House of Asterion” is described as half human half bull (Minotaur) however his story begins with the refuting his accusers – making him reveal his arrogance, ostracized, and his depression. “Every nine years nine men enter the house so that I may deliver them from evil. I hear their steps or their voices in the depths of the stone galleries and I run joyfully to find them. “ (Borges 2) The villagers in the community decided nine villagers with the community as a form of sacrifice to satisfy the wrath in Asterion in his labyrinth. A maze waiting for not only company but also his redemption. 

In the story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” – like the title he happen to be an old man with wings, his appearance of a bald head, few teeth, and in a homeless like condition. As well, he doesn’t speak in a regular language – making it very difficult for his to be understood. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda have a sick child who they so desperately want him to be cured . At the beginning of the story, The old man with wings is at first believed to be an angel, making Christianity a big influence of this stories. Pelayo and his wife decide to imprison the Old Man with wings, to take advantage of the situation and make some money. Being locked in cage, creates an Gothic element of “infinite” doors – saying that there is always an escape the trouble is when. 

This semester I read slightly mystifying pieces of Gothic literature: “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garica Marquez. These two stories are undoubtedly Gothic in nature as they share Gothic elements that can be easily identifiable as Gothic fiction.

In “The House of Asterion”, the Gothic elements featured are mysterious people, the dream/death, and dark spaces. This is prevalent when the main character, Asterion, who is revealed to be a minotaur, can be easily seen as mysterious as his perception of himself and society are very cryptic and vague. He acts more intelligent than he is, although he displays a rather childlike personality. His cryptic personality also ties into where Asterion lives, as Asterion himself seems to be confused as to where he lives, as it is also revealed that he lives in a labyrinth, constantly traversing his maze-like citadel waiting for anyone to appear. With that said, his personality also tie in to the plot points: when people actually do appear in the labyrinth to confront Asterion. Asterion’s dream is to confront his redeemer (i.e. the person who will kill him). This ties into the Gothic element of death as the people who enter, in which one of them he hopes to be his redeemer, all try to confront Asterion only to be impaled by Asterion’s horns and killed.

In “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, the Gothic elements featured in that story are mysterious people, the trap/the escape, and bleak/stormy settings. With this story centered around a mysterious, sickly old man with rotting, decrepit wings who arrives at a village and is locked in a cage and exploited/ treated like a pariah for Pelayo’s financial gain. From the mysterious old man’s perspective from being locked in a cage, it possesses the Gothic elements of the trap, and his inevitable departure acts as the escape.

            In the assigned readings of “The House of Asterion,” and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” the gothic elements: characters, themes, settings—that are present are more nuanced than with other gothic stories that were assigned before. In each of these stories, a level of goth was less overt than a story as chilling as “The Black Cat,” by Edgar Allen Poe. Before it matters which of the gothic elements need be attributed to the stories, gothic elements need to be outlined for what they are. Gothic elements appear in varied ways throughout literature. How a work of text is categorized as gothic depends on what presence goth shows in the characters, settings, storyline, plots, etc.

            A story which features gothic characters should be easily identifiable. Gothic characters tend to often be ones who possess traits that are more marginalized experiences of the sometimes “human” experience. The main character might be a loner, have a deformity, be of the supernatural realm, or someone with a mental illness. These are just a few examples but we can see that the character has an unfavorable quality or trait to them, whether internal or external. Other characters that will have a gothic element to them may be emotional, render a sort of catharsis to the story/main character, or have a vulnerable or helpless quality to them as well.

            Plot points serve as a great aid in identifying a work as gothic. As the plot of any story is the overall context of the story, in a nutshell. The points that create the plot will undoubtably reveal traits that pertain to goth. Gothic plot points tend to be macabre. For instance, a reader may see that in the story there is a death, or multiple. Edgar Allen Poe’s works are often characterized as gothic and a hallmark in many of his stories is death. Secrets, traumatic events, escapes, fantasy blurring reality, isolation, emotional suffering, mental illness, and more are sometimes the issues that surround characters in these stories.

            Lastly, settings of stories can also help gauge a reader whether they are reading a gothic text. The setting can “set” the tone of who the characters are, their circumstances and what issues may be prevalent in the particular time and location revealed by the author. In the settings—gothic attributes likely appear as dark spaces, confined rooms/homes, places where bad deeds occur, basements, attics, dungeons, forests, etc. There can be a wide range of settings that would fall under the goth category. But it is important to note that in these settings, there is a sense of foreboding. The setting either lends support to a gloomy character/plot point or it is the focal point of the gloom.

            In “The House of Asterion,” by Jorge Luis Borges, the main character is Asterion. Asterion is a minotaur, a Greek mythological creature. A minotaur possesses the head and tail of a bull, but whose body is that of a man. An indicator of this gothic element is that Asterion is not wholly human. He has a rather interesting identity to sort himself through in this story. One of the greater plot points of his first-person narrative is that there is a discrepancy between how he views himself, his circumstances, and his environment. He is aware that others do not repute him in such a positive light. His loneliness becomes central to the plot because of his isolation. The isolation drives him to self-destruct. He describes bringing himself to bleeding from self-inflicted injuries. In his loneliness, he pretends to have company to give a tour of his home that is so massive that it seems there is no possibility of leaving. He resigns himself to believing that his only grace lies in a redeemer coming, whom he does not know what such redeemer will look like. Only that one day, the redeemer will come.

            The gothic elements of this story are evident in each category of: characters, plot points, and settings. The mythological creature as a main character is gothic as the character is a minotaur, and of supernatural being related only to Greek mythology. In the plot points, we see themes of isolation and ostracization from the world. As the isolation continues, the main character indulges in his own undoing, mentally and physically. His psyche unravels and he relinquishes his fate inside the labyrinth of his home. The gothic elements here at losing control, self-destruction, fantasy of being saved, death, and fatalistic circumstances.

            The story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez has many complex layers of characters and themes/plot points within. There are different perspectives that a reader can take to grasp meaning. The main character in this story is also a creature of supernatural make-up, a gothic element, similar to “The House of Asterion.” An angel, perhaps one of death that appears as a child is severely ill. Plot points that reveal gothic themes are ones of confinement, such as the angel being caged and held hostage for the views of spectators. The miraculous survival as well of the child who was deathly ill at the beginning of the story is also a quintessential gothic theme when the child recovers from his sickness.

            The setting of this story features less gothic elements, but still one that is central to the story—the captivity and cage that Pelayo and Elisenda locked the angel away in. It is where the angel had pain and humiliation inflicted upon him by those wishing to get a look at the marvel in captivity.

For this coffeehouse post, I read “A very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A tale for children” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and “The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges. Both the stories had a lot of gothic elements and I will talk about the characters, plot points, and setting in this coffeehouse post.

First, let’s talk about “The House of Asterion”, Asterion is the main character in the story who is a half man half bull. He is not a regular man since he has bullhead and he doesn’t go outside his house because people are afraid of him. He is being feared by all the people and he is an arrogant person. Eventhogh he is a minotaur but most of the time he acts childish. He doesn’t have any friends, so he makes up games to play by himself. In the end, nine men die in front of him and he wants his redeemer to come for him and he doesn’t know how his redeemer will look like. Theseus believes the minotaur defended himself. Asterion lives in a Maze and he doesn’t do anything other than make a distractions for himself.

“A very Old Man with Enormous Wings”, in the beginning, Pelayo was killing crabs where he found an Old man with wings near his courtyard. The old man looked like a poor and homeless guy. Pelayo put the old man in the cage and made him stay there. When people started to come to watch the old man, Pelayo started charging them money and he got rich from it. But in the end, Old man regained his strength and flew away from the house. Eventhough the pelayo wife was watching she didn’t do anything. The main characters are Old man, Pelayo, Elisenda, and their child. I think this story happens in a village.

            A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings; its main protagonist is centered around this mysterious man – who to many in the community is an angle who has come to take away Pelayo and Elisenda’s (villains) ONLY child. In The House of Asterion – also has a mysterious character who begins his POV by refuting his accusations made against him, also arrogant, misanthropic, and ostracized. The character is then revealed as a Minotaur (half man/half bull)  in a house with no doors and furniture.

            Both stories involve death and their narrators revolve around mysterious/mythical creatures. The House of Asterion – villagers in that community send nine villagers every nine years as sacrifices to satisfy Asterion to ease his wrath towards the people. In A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings – an old man with wings is found upon the beach on the verge of death, although a miraculous survival from soothing the baby. He is tormented and humiliated by Pelayo and Elisenda. The people of the community and from far away find him as entertainment and cures for their failing health. However, he is able to leave his tormented by regaining his strength.

            The setting are also an important part of these stories and the gothic element. The House of Asterion; the setting is now known as a labyrinth. A house with doors and furniture, forking basement hallways, grey stone galleries, and rooms that are alike and infinite. It sets the stage for how Asterion feels about himself and others due to being in complete solitude. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings begins with a storm that had lasted 3 days – it shows that where the community comes from  not a lot of money. Throughout the stories a women shares her opinion to who he is and that a priest also entered the story – that religion has a part to who the character are.  

In the stories “House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges and “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, both stories include gothic elements such as mysterious characters, plot points and settings. In “House of Asterion”, the character we will be discussing is the narrator who is described as being arrogant and having a dislike for humankind which he claims to be false. At the end of the story he reveals that he is a bull with a man’s face called Minotaur. In the story “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, the character is the old man who has a human body and wings. He was bald, had very few teeth in his mouth and was in very bad condition. The angel speaks in a dialect which makes it difficult for the locals to communicate with him. He was treated like a circus animal while he was being held captive by Pelayo and his wife. Father Gonzaga had a suspicion that the angel was an impostor because he didn’t fit the description of what an angel should have been like, all because he was much too human, did not understand the language of God and had parasites. One outstanding characteristic of the angel is that he had enormous patience, despite the horrible treatment he received , he managed to never lash out of anyone. At the end, he gets enough rest and strength to be able to fly away. 

In “House of Asterion” and “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” the point plot is death/near death. In the first story, the narrator reveals that every nine years , nine people enter his house but do not leave, they end up dying. One of those nine people who entered into his home revealed that his redeemer would come. In the second story, near death is experienced when we find out that the angels’ purpose on earth was to take Pelayo’s sick child to heaven. The angel also experienced near death because while he was captured, the people would throw stones at him and try to pluck out his feathers. The old man is kept in a chicken coop for a couple of years and just when Pelayo and Elisanda think he is experiencing near death, the angel regains his strength and takes off. 

The gothic setting of the story “The house of Asterion” is described as a house with no doors or furniture and whoever steps a foot in there will find peace and solitude. He also adds that there’s no locked doors as well as no locks on the doors. He goes on to describe that his house is repeated many times and that “any place is another place”. In “ A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, the story first takes place Pelayo’s courtyard which is where he discovers the old man who turns out to be the angel. 

To begin with, both stories, “The House of Asterion” and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” have gothic elements involved. In “The House of Asterion” the main character Asterion is fearless as he doesn’t care about what others think about him even if they accuse him for his arrogance and madness. The story is taking place in a labyrinth which it’s his house who he describes to be a maze as there is an infinite amount of rooms. He believes he has his own world as he describes himself as someone who’s unique. It seems like if he is to be writing a journal as he states everything he does since he feels trapped at home. The gothic element here is that though he is a minotaur, every nine years, nine people are sent to his house which I found confusing to then realizing he is delivering them from evil. I believe that is the reason to why he doesn’t feel so lonely due to the fact that he then kills them. I find Asterion to be pretty psychotic as he does that to please himself and perhaps find it as an accomplishment.

Now the story of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is based on the old man as he was discovered by Pelayo along with his wife Elisenda on their courtyard. The oldman looked homeless and sick, he is a protagonist. Many people in the village are amazed by the oldman as it was surreal, so they question if it is a good or bad thing, they were willing to pay to see him. The gothic element here is how no one knows where this mysterious old man came from, he looked like he had a near death experience. He speaks a language no one understands. Father Gonzaga is the village priest and finds the old man to be either a fallen angel or a message being sent from heaven. Yet Pelayo and Elisenda believed that the oldman (angel) appeared because of their sick child. Towards the end, his feathers began to grow around December where he was able to fly while Elisenda was cutting onions so she kept watching him till it wasn’t possible for her to see him, she then claimed he was no longer an annoyance in her life. I strongly thought the oldman was just a part of their imagination.

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale For ChildrenGabriel Garcia Marquez

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings centers around “The Old man”, a presumed angel that came to take away the life of Pelayo and Elisenda’s child during on grey stormy night. However, due to fatigue and old age, the old man is left to reside in the chicken coop of Pelayo and Elisenda’s yard. The Mysterious man is treated with little compassion and is treated as a captive animal. Much to the disdain of Elisenda, He stood in the yard for months if not years until he eventually flies away.

The plot focuses on this surreal and almost magical experience that quickly becomes normal. It’s a satirical take on the nature of humans to take the wonder and significance out of life in general. Rather than be amazed, Elisenda is annoyed by the angel’s presence. Instead of having compassion for the old man, Pelayo and Elisenda decide to put him behind a fence and charge money. Instead of admiration, the spectators beat and brandish the old man. It is these plot points that express the eventual return normalcy within the story. The angel becomes mundane until he eventually takes flight, leaving Elisenda to watch as he flies away not as an old man with wings, but as an angel.

The House of Asterion Jorge Luis Borges

The House of Asterion begins with that of Asterion himself, as he starts by refuting claims of him being arrogant, insane, or a misanthropist. He goes on to describe where he lives, and how despite what people may call a prison, is his home. There is no furniture, and despite the “infinite” doors, none are locked. The plot focuses on Asterion’s life within this infinite maze as well as his denial of the truth. Such is the nature of life to hold unimaginable truths, as is Asterion to seek out his unimaginable truth; redemption and inevitable death. A death, at the hand of his “redemptioner”, Theseus, who notes on the lack of a struggle the minotaur (Asterion) puts up. Unbeknownst to Asterion, this is the hero he seeks.

The “House of Asterion” was kind of difficult to understand but there are gothic elements to the story. The main character, which seems to be the narrator, the Minotaur is a half human half bull creature. He seems to be in a state of depression. The Minotaur speaks of another minotaur but this seems to be a figment of his imagination. There are trails of people going into his castle, but we know it’s a labyrinth. At the end of the story there is mention of Theseus and Ariadne. I do not know Greek mythology so I had to look them up but they are the ones who defeated the Minotaur. This story takes place in a labyrinth, which is an endless maze. This is true because the Minotaur says that there an infinite number of rooms and that these infinite number of rooms look the same. The Minotaur doesn’t seem to notice that he is trapped in this labyrinth. Now the story starts off with the Minotaur talking about himself and his “home”. He seems to be unbothered by the entering of animals and men into his home. The Minotaur likes to daydream and play games with himself because he is alone. He likes to imagine he’s with another minotaur and that he is showing him around his “home”. The story then wraps up with the Minotaur being slayed by Theseus, little did Theseus know that the Minotaur knew he would did which is why he “scarcely defended” himself.

The story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” was confusing for me. I didn’t really get the message of the story or what it was trying ton convey. The character of this story are the couple Pelayo, his wife Elisenda, their son, the wise old woman, Father Gonzaga, the townspeople, and most importantly the old man with wings. The couple Pelayo and Elisenda have a sick child who they want to cure very badly. The old man with wings was believed to be an angel who fell from the sky, according to the old wise woman. Father Gonzaga is the local priest who is trying to see if the angel is real. The setting of the story is on beachfront, because of all the crabs. It also is a place where Catholicism or Christianity is a big influence, which can be around medieval times. The story starts off with the Pelayo spotting the old man on the beach. This then moves on to Pelayo imprisoning the old man in a chicken coup. This attracts a crowd and Elisenda takes advantage and starts charging a viewing fee to the people. It ends with Elisenda watching the old man spread his wings and flying away, far far away.