Contemporary Connections: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings & Student Debt



A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings discuss the idea of an old, seemingly senile man, who appears in the courtyard of the two characters, Pelayo and his wife Elisenda.Old and with wings, the two decide to take him into their coop, at which point the man begins attracting the townspeople of the two characters. The crowds grow, with the Bishop telling the two that the man must be an angel because he doesn't speak Latin is shabby. Because of this, Pelayo and Elisenda begin to charge a $5 dollar admission to see the unique individual, with the crowds growing at alarming rates. Upon their charging, the crowds soon flock to the so called "spider-woman," in which the people find her story more interesting than the winged, aged man. After having his feathers plucked and stones thrown at him, the man decides to stay in the coop, eventually retreating to their shed while ageing. When both Pelayo and Elisenda realize that the man is dying and nearing the end, he suddenly begins to regain his strength, and his feathers grow back. At full health, the man sings at night, for he eventually departs from the two's house, with Elisenda watching him fly towards the distant horizons.

My contemporary connection upon reading this literary fairytale is relating it to that of student debt. Like the man who is seen as an "angel" by the various crowds and allegiant following, kids of our generation view college in the same light. Not to the extent as a savior, but merely as a means to help further our career and potentially get us a stable job. The administration, like Pelayo and Elisenda, charge the students admission fees to the college, just like they did for seeing the man. Upon our speculation, college is seen as a door to a better life, but a costly one that's never guaranteed. Disinterested, certain kids flee from college--some not having the financial means to support themselves, others realizing that it isn't what they feel their paying for. Like the woman, people our age will "flock" to whatever school has their specialized major or connections. We, the adults, are merely the crowd, going about to what interests us, forgetting the other schools in the dust. Eventually, we depart--whether it be on our own terms or the schools, as the colleges have profited greatly, regardless of the outcome. The students are left either for the better or worse, but decide for themselves whether college was really the "angel" they thought, or just the ideal standard they were holding it to. In the end, its up to the individual reading this, to determine if they got what they paid for.

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/the-ball-and-chain-of-student-debt/?_r=0