And So the Miraculous Becomes the Despised

Before I get into talking about the actual text, there is one thing I noticed about the story right away. It is a translation. I was kind of annoyed by this. Usually translations aren't as good or as meaningful as the original. Some meanings get lost in translation due to the lack of a proper substitute for a word. Other problems are differences in culture. Something in the story could be significant to the author's culture and have no meaning to use. Look at the Bible, for a perfect example. That is just something I needed to express. Now to the good stuff.

In her blog, Victoria says "When you think you’ve read the most intriguing, confusing, weird story ever written.. Professor Corrigan assigns another one." Well, I couldn't agree more. This story was just... odd. I am not even sure if I liked it. You can tell there is a lot of meaning to this story. I just can't figure out what it is. And it says "A Tale for Children". Are you kidding me? This might scare a kid. Maybe the author is talking about someone with the mind of a child, one that is open and accepting.

In this world, it seems like they are used to seeing the "miraculous". People flock to it, stand in awe of it, question it, mock it, and then move on to the next big thing. This angel (an angel!) is found on a beach after a storm and they put it in a chicken coop, just like an animal. They charge admission for people to come and see him. There were two reactions to the angel (other than that of the family who found him) that I found very interesting. The old woman's was the first. She knew immediately what he was and what he was probably there for. She thought he was there to take the sick child. If I understand correctly, she was also the one who said to club him to death. How tempting would that have been for the family, knowing that the angel was there to take the child? The second reaction was that of the priest. He didn't think the old man could possibly be an angel. The old man was dirty, had garbage in his wings, was decrepit, and the language he spoke was not the language that the religious of this world had deemed as the heavenly language. I also couldn't believe that the family who found him despised him! The woman was so happy that the "annoyance in her life" was gone!

What is this story supposed to communicate? Is the author somehow talking about our own world? Many people hear of the miraculous and flock to it, stand in awe of it, question it, mock it, and then move on to the next big thing. Sound familiar? But do we despise it as the family who found the angel did? Or is that just the next step in the direction some people are headed?