A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

If the lesson of the spider woman’s story is to not lie or misbehave, what might be the lesson or moral of the old man’s story? How does the author communicate this lesson?

Rewrite the story, replacing the realistic elements with more fantastic ones, until the story is only magical. How does it compare to other fantasy stories you have read? What does this say about the power of magical realism?

Both the old neighbor woman and Father Gonzaga present themselves as “experts” on the matter of the angel. Compare their depiction and behavior. What gives them this authority? How is it upheld?