Like Water For Tita Esquivel Analysis
Burk e 1
Omar Burke
World Lit
Mrs. Bregeth th December 11
, 2014
In the novel,
Like Water for Chocolate
, Esquivel “represented the written counterpart to women’s socialization” (de Valdes 1). Esquivel wrote
Like Water for
Chocolate
with women as the head of the household. Esquivel “playfully appropriates resources from the Spanish American canon” (Ibsen 3). Although Esquivel had written this novel as a parody of a genre, it is also a love story that follows Tita, Esquivel’s greataunt, and a man named Pedro. Pedro wants to propose to Tita, but Tita’s mother does not allow it. Tita’s mother, Mama Elena, treats Tita like “a servant in her own home” (Ibsen 3). Mama Elena denies Tita’s marriage to Pedro because of social …show more content…
All throughout the novel, Mama Elena is seen as an authority figure; this sets up the plot and background of the descriptive and meaningful story. Laura Esquivel not only uses gender roles to create a background for the novel, but also magical realism.
“Esquivel invites the reader to reassess conventional approaches to literature”
(Ibsen 3). Esquivel wrote this novel with women as the head of the household. Women are the authority figures. Esquivel portrays the women in the novel with “‘masculine’ attributes such as strength and courage” (Ibsen 4). The underlying message of that is powerful. Esquivel reassures the reader that women can have “masculine” traits, just as men can have “feminine” traits such as: sensitivity and compassion. Esquivel depicts
Mama Elena as a strongvoiced and strict character; she depicts Pedro as more of a
Burk …show more content…
Esquivel also uses magical realism to set the plot of the story. She uses elements of magical realism such as: exhibiting a richness of sensory details, using symbols and imagery extensively, and leaving openended conclusions. Esquivel exhibits a richness of sensory details when she describes the food, and the preparation of the food. Also, the food that Tita cooks contains the feelings she felt while making the food. For example, when Tita’s sister was getting married to Pedro, Tita had to make their wedding cake.
While Tita was making the cake, Tita was heartbroken. She felt sorrow and pain.“The moment they took their first bite of cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing.” (Esquivel 39). Another instance where this happened was when Gertrudis ate the quail in rose petal sauce that Tita made. Before Tita started preparing the food, she and Pedro went star watching. After their “date”, Tita was filled with love. She was filled with an undying fire. Which explains what Gertrudis felt after she ate the quail in rose petal sauce. “Her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to
Omar Burke
World Lit
Mrs. Bregeth th December 11
, 2014
In the novel,
Like Water for Chocolate
, Esquivel “represented the written counterpart to women’s socialization” (de Valdes 1). Esquivel wrote
Like Water for
Chocolate
with women as the head of the household. Esquivel “playfully appropriates resources from the Spanish American canon” (Ibsen 3). Although Esquivel had written this novel as a parody of a genre, it is also a love story that follows Tita, Esquivel’s greataunt, and a man named Pedro. Pedro wants to propose to Tita, but Tita’s mother does not allow it. Tita’s mother, Mama Elena, treats Tita like “a servant in her own home” (Ibsen 3). Mama Elena denies Tita’s marriage to Pedro because of social …show more content…
All throughout the novel, Mama Elena is seen as an authority figure; this sets up the plot and background of the descriptive and meaningful story. Laura Esquivel not only uses gender roles to create a background for the novel, but also magical realism.
“Esquivel invites the reader to reassess conventional approaches to literature”
(Ibsen 3). Esquivel wrote this novel with women as the head of the household. Women are the authority figures. Esquivel portrays the women in the novel with “‘masculine’ attributes such as strength and courage” (Ibsen 4). The underlying message of that is powerful. Esquivel reassures the reader that women can have “masculine” traits, just as men can have “feminine” traits such as: sensitivity and compassion. Esquivel depicts
Mama Elena as a strongvoiced and strict character; she depicts Pedro as more of a
Burk …show more content…
Esquivel also uses magical realism to set the plot of the story. She uses elements of magical realism such as: exhibiting a richness of sensory details, using symbols and imagery extensively, and leaving openended conclusions. Esquivel exhibits a richness of sensory details when she describes the food, and the preparation of the food. Also, the food that Tita cooks contains the feelings she felt while making the food. For example, when Tita’s sister was getting married to Pedro, Tita had to make their wedding cake.
While Tita was making the cake, Tita was heartbroken. She felt sorrow and pain.“The moment they took their first bite of cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing.” (Esquivel 39). Another instance where this happened was when Gertrudis ate the quail in rose petal sauce that Tita made. Before Tita started preparing the food, she and Pedro went star watching. After their “date”, Tita was filled with love. She was filled with an undying fire. Which explains what Gertrudis felt after she ate the quail in rose petal sauce. “Her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to