Preview

Like Water for Chocolate

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
742 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Like Water for Chocolate
The film, Like Water for Chocolate, represents a story through incorporating the idea of food as feelings and expressing the woman's roles during the Mexican Revolution. The film is a romantic-comedy showing many joking ways of hard times and soft issues and the way of life. The most striking and theme seems to be how women seem to be in charge rather then males; during this time period, I thought that men were more likely to be the head of the household and in charge.

Throughout the film, the main overall theme is that a woman had an illegitimate daughter with someone while she was married, her husband left her, and she was alone with three girls and the youngest, Tita, was to never marry because she was to take care of her mother until the day she died. As Tita grew her and a boy, Pedro, fell in love, but her mother would not allow her to marry, and instead, he married her sister, Rosura, to be close to her. Pedro and Rosura had their last child and Rosura vowed she would not be able to marry because she too, like Tita, would have to take care of her until the day she died. Tita very much hated this idea, as she hated how her mother controlled her and forbade her to not marry her only love, as seen at the end when Rosura dies, Pedro and Tita are now able to get married at last. This silly tradition of the youngest girl taking care of her mother shows the power of family traditions and most likely, a Latin American tradition. The mother was in charge of her daughter, she said she was not to marry and she did not. Then the sister wanted to follow through with the same tradition that had made her sister so miserable.

To take light of the film there were many comical parts, that seemed unlikely considering the nature of the film. When Tita cooked, her feelings came through in her food. She felt bad when her sister married, so when she made her cake, everyone became sick. Rosura always had gas from what Tita made to eat and bad breath. Tita

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    enriques journey

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Maria Isabel does not say good-bye to her daughter. She does not hug her. She gets out of the car and walks briskly into the bus terminal. She does not look back. She never tells her she is going to the United States” (Nazario, 218). To me, this quote is telling me that Maria did not have a hard time leaving her daughter but without a goodbye is more spiteful. But the question really is why did she have to leave? This honestly is the worst way ever to ever leave your child in a country by herself without her mother by her side. I don’t believe that Maria is any different from Lourdes. They both did what they felt was right for their children. They both wanted to go and earn money to provide their children an education, toys, clothes, and anything else young children needed. So, why did Maria Isabel do this to her child after seeing what Lourdes did to hers? What was going through her mind? Doesn’t she know that Jasmine might have to go through the same journey? To me, nothing that she learned or seen over the years has affected her one bit. Jasmine needed her mother by her side, but Maria Isabel made her decision to go to America to be with Enrique instead of her own daughter. She’s repeating exactly what Lourdes did to…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Like Water For Chocolate is a love story that takes place in Mexico in the era of the Mexican Revolution. The main characters are Tita de la Garza, the protagonist, and Pedro, her love. They fall in love at first sight. Pedro and his father come to ask for Tita’s hand in marriage. Tita’s mother, Mama Elena, refuses. The de la Garza family tradition demands the youngest daughter must remain unmarried and take care of her mother until death. However Mama Elena offers Rosaura’s hand instead and Pedro accepts to be closer to Tita.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    great­aunt, and a man named Pedro. Pedro wants to propose to Tita, but Tita’s mother…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characterization, in The House on Mango Street, of Esperanza’s great-grandmother and Rafaela is used to convey how women were inferior to men in Esperanza’s society. According to Esperanza, her great-grandmother was a very wild woman. That is why she refused to marry until a man “threw a sack over her head and carried her off” (Cisneros, 11). This shows how unimportant women are, of that time, that a man could kidnap a woman and she could do nothing, no matter how wild she was. Also, despite her wild personality, Esperanza’s great-grandmother shows how women could be forced into marriage without a say in who they marry. Like Esperanza’s great-grandmother, Rafaela has many hopes such as dancing at the dance hall or bar. However, she never…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Eating is a fundamental activity. Food, itself, is a major component of survival, for without it there would be no life on this earth. Throughout the evolution of man, it has come to have a greater importance with multiple significances to human beings. In fact, it has become a defining factor for families, classes, and cultures all through history. Hispanic societies are no exception. Furthermore, Hispanic women writers have written articles, screenplays, and novels using cuisine as their driving force. A great example is Laura Esquivel’s novel, Like Water For Chocolate.…

    • 1871 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once Tita’s sister Rosaura married Pedro whom is Tita’s soul mate, they conceived a baby named Roberto. Tita is devastated by Rosaura’s actions and cannot believe she would go so far to such as breaking their sisterly bond. When Rosaura’s breast become dry she is no longer able…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Like Water for Chocolate

    • 2599 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The characters in the novel are Tita, the youngest daughter prohibited of loving a man since she will never marry as her life purpose is to care for her mother. Pedro Muzquiz, Tita's forbidden lover. Elena de la Garza, Tita's controlling mother who prohibits the marriage between Tita and Pedro. Rosaura, Tita's older sister which marries Pedro by suggestion of Mama Elena. Gertudis, The oldest sister which is later revealed in the novel of being the love child of Mama Elena's true love which was also forbidden being a mulato there was no way that their love would have been accepted during those times. Nacha, the family cook that taught Tita everything she knew in the kitchen. Nacha cared for Tita since she was a baby and was more of a mother figure than her mother…

    • 2599 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, Tita, the main character, learns the intensity of love through oppression and misfortune. According to the De la Garza family tradition, Tita faces a solitary life without a husband. The De la Garza family tradition clearly states that the youngest daughter can not marry in order to ensure that her mother is well taken care of; unfortunately for Tita, she is the youngest daughter. Mackenzie E. Dennard gives another theory as to why Mama Elena acts unkindly towards Tita: "Her mother is jealous of Tita and Pedro's love, not because it is wrong, but because it was something that she once had. She won't allow Tita to be happy, prohibiting her from having the life that she wants and in order to do so, she forces a ridiculous tradition upon her". In the novel, after Mama Elena dies, Tita finds Mama Elena's letter from a secret lover. After this discovery Tita realizes her mother did not permit her to marry because she was discontented with her own love life. Misfortune also contributes to Tita's unpleasant reality. For instance, Tita falls in love with Pedro who intends to request for her hand in marriage. Mama Elena refuses to let Tita marry but decides that Pedro is a suitable young man for Rosaura, Tita's older sister.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    with a new recipe, and these recipes are used to tell Tita’s life story in Like Water for Chocolate.…

    • 877 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Like Water Like Chocolate

    • 749 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the [pic]book Like Water for Chocolate, Tita has to choose between passion or stability. There is no man in between with whom she can spend her life. Though Pedro is not very caring and supportive, he and Tita have an enormous [pic]passion for one another. John does all he can to make Tita happy and cares about her a lot, but this is not enough to overcome their lack of [pic]passion.…

    • 749 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Moms, where would we be without them? In Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel this question is answered through the perspective of different characters. Placed during the Mexican Revolution Tita, the protagonists, struggles in her pursuit for happiness. Pinned down by society and traditions that date back many generations ago her life becomes a constant fight that has no clear winner. Her mother, Mama Elena, on the other hand tries to preserve the traditional life that Tita struggles to cope with. These polar opinions clash in Like Water For Chocolate and with the aid of symbolism Laura Esquivel showcases how these two ways of thinking are reflective of human nature. Laura Esquivel uses symbolism to comment…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The will to defy order in society spurs chaos, but eventually, this chaos emerges as the new order. Chaos and order seem to contrast by definition. However, I hypothesize that chaos and order both reinforce each other after analyzing Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel, and Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. Particularly, Like Water for Chocolate tells the life story of Tita de la Garza and her struggle to acquire her love, Pedro Muzquiz. The diction that Esquivel uses to narrate the preparation of specific Mexican dishes illustrate the emotions that the characters experience, and they reveal the adverse effects of unrequited love on our life. That is to say, each diverse dish represents a particular event of Tita’s life, and the recipes and remedies that…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The oldest sister, Patria, came across many complications throughout her life but she did not have to go through it alone. Patria was the oldest Mirabal sister of the four girls. She was the sister who wanted to go away and become a nun; however her Papa disagreed upon the matter “Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl” (Alvarez 11). Once Patria was sent away to school she realized being the religious one of the Mirabal family was indeed what she wanted, even if she had to disappoint someone of her family. It takes a strong willed person to be able to stand up against her family and go after what she believes in, no matter if anyone important to her has different ideas upon the matter. Once Patria realized that the school was no longer suited for her needs, she then returned home to help Papa out with the farm. Patria later married the love of her life, and they had two kids; Noris and Nelson. During this time period it was a blessing from God to be blessed with the presence of another life. Patria was so excited, until she discovered something was wrong with her third child, “And I realized I was giving birth to something that was dead” (52). No mother can ever imagine losing a child. In order to get over the incident and move on with one’s life one has to be able to believe in herself and…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Real women have curves

    • 800 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This movie is about a Mexican family. The family tradition in the movie is about late 70's or 80's. in the movie there are parents, their two daughters, two of their cousins and a grandfather. Ana is the main character in the film. And is the younger daughter and Estella is the elder daughter. Carmen is Ana's mother, who is old-fashioned, dramatic and traditional. Ana's father and her other two cousins do gardening to people's homes. Estella and her mother work at their sewing factory. Estella takes orders for dresses from a big company. Ana's mother is always critical of her. She always tells her that, "She is fat. She should lose some weight." Carmen gives her Estella's example. She…

    • 800 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Like water for chocolate

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    4. How come it was not necessary to slap Tita on the bottom at birth?…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays