Which character (other than the man with wings) do you think best conveys García Márquez's message about human nature?

Consider the spider-girl. In contrast there is the Spider-Girl. The narrator notes that the spider girl is a much more appealing attraction because her story is full of human truth. Because her story is simply and straightforwardly moral, she is appealing, whereas the old man - full of mystery and complexity - is unappealing. Garcia Marquez invites us to consider that the truly human qualities in life are the Old Man's - uncertainty, mystery, strangeness, open-endedness - whereas the trite moralizing of the Spider-Girl is actually far from human experience. It merely consoles the people, whereas the Old Man - by revealing our cruelty - shows them their true nature.

In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," there are several characters who convey García Márquez's message about human nature, but I believe that the character who best conveys this message is Elisenda, the wife of the man who finds the old man with wings.

Elisenda initially shows compassion towards the old man with wings and takes care of him. However, as the story progresses and people from all over come to see him, she becomes more interested in making money off him than in helping him. She charges people admission to see the old man with wings, and she and her husband become wealthy.

This demonstrates a darker side of human nature, where people can become obsessed with money and fame at the expense of others. Elisenda is more concerned with the financial benefits of the old man with wings than with his well-being or the reasons behind his appearance.

Furthermore, Elisenda's behavior shows how easily people can be swayed by the opinions of others. When the townspeople start to lose interest in the old man with wings, Elisenda and her husband lose interest as well. They no longer see him as a wonder or a miracle but as a burden and a nuisance. This shows how fickle human nature can be and how easily people can turn on someone they once revered.

Overall, Elisenda's character demonstrates how human nature can be both compassionate and cruel, kind and selfish, and how easily it can be influenced by money, fame, and the opinions of others.